Murray-Darling Basin
17.12 Surface water allocation diversion - urban water system

Supporting Information

The volumetric value for the line item for the 2010–11 year was 267,384 ML. The line item represents surface water allocation diversions in urban water systems associated with a number of entitlement classes in the Murray–Darling Basin (MDB) region.

The following two tables provide a summary and breakdown information on surface water allocation diversions in urban water systems within the region. 

 

Summary of surface water allocation diversions for urban water systems in the MDB region during the 2010–11 year
Water resource plan area

State

 Volume (ML) 

 Code

Name

SW19 Warrego – Paroo – Nebine Qld 0
SW18 Condamine–Balonne Qld 0
SW17 Moonie Qld na
SW16 Qld Border Rivers Qld 0
SW15 NSW Border Rivers NSW 398
SW11 Barwon–Darling watercourse NSW 0
SW12 NSW Intersecting Streams NSW na
SW14 Gwydir NSW 2,084
SW13 Namoi NSW 4,066
SW10 Macquarie–Castlereagh NSW 8,961
Sub-total Northern Basin 15,509
SW9 Lachlan NSW 4,359
SW8 Murrumbidgee NSW NSW 27,775
SW7 NSW Murray and Lower Darling NSW 20,591
SW3 Northern Victoria Vic 34,336
SW2 Vic Murray Vic 33,270
SW4 Wimmera–Mallee Vic na
SW6 Eastern Mount Lofty Ranges SA na
SW5 SA Murray SA 90,600
SW1 ACT ACT 40,944
Sub-total Southern Basin 251,875
Total for the region 267,384

na = not applicable

 

Details of surface water allocation diversions for urban water systems in the MDB region during the 2010–11 year
Water resource plan area

Sustainable diversion limit area

State

Entitlement class

 Volume (ML) 

Code

Name

NSW Border Rivers  SS23 NSW Border Rivers  NSW Local water utility 398
Gwydir  SS22 Gwydir 

NSW

Local water utility 2,084
Namoi  SS21 Namoi  NSW Local water utility 4,066
Macquarie–Castlereagh  SS20 Macquarie–Castlereagh  NSW Local water utility 8,961
High security – town water supply 0
Sub-total  8,961
Lachlan SS16 Lachlan NSW Local water utility 4,359
Murrumbidgee NSW SS15 Murrumbidgee NSW NSW Local water utility 8,006
High security – town water supply 19,769
Sub-total  27,775
NSW Murray and Lower Darling SS18 Lower Darling NSW Local water utility 961
SS14 NSW Murray NSW Local water utility 16,460
High security – town water supply 3,170
Sub-total  19,630
Sub-total New South Wales 68,234
Northern Victoria  SS4 Ovens Vic Urban – regulated 3,153
SS5 Broken Vic Urban – regulated 1,142
SS6 Goulburn Vic Urban – regulated 19,921
SS7 Campaspe Vic Urban – regulated 9,521
SS8 Loddon Vic Urban – regulated 599
Vic Murray SS2 Vic Murray Vic Urban  33,270
Sub-total Victoria 67,606
SA Murray SS11 SA Murray SA Class 2 – other urban (country town) water supply 34,164
Class 6 – Metro-Adelaide water supply scheme 56,436
Combined classes urban 0
Sub-total  90,600
Sub-total South Australia 90,600
ACT SS1 ACT ACT Urban – regulated  40,944
Total for the region 267,384

 

Queensland

In Queensland, the resource operation plans (ROPs) distinguish between high and medium priority of supplemented water allocation. The water audit monitoring (WAM) data, which are the data source for the 2011 Account, only distinguish between supplemented and unsupplemented entitlements. Both urban and non-urban supplemented entitlements are included within supplemented entitlement class. Supplemented urban and supplemented non-urban volumes on allocations, diversions and other attributes were received together and not possible to be separated out for two purposes. Therefore, surface water allocation diversions for both urban and non-urban supplemented entitlements are included in line item 17.11 Surface water allocation diversion    

Toowoomba regional council has entitlements within the Moreton Water Resource Plan area that is within the South East Queensland region. Toowoomba regional council receives water from Perseverance, Cressbrook and Wivenhoe storages (through Cressbrook Reservoir) for urban purposes within the MDB region. This water supplements the Toowoomba regional council's diversions within the MDB region. This transfer arrangement delivers water directly into the Toowoomba regional council's distribution network, which is excluded from the MDB region. The transferred volume, 2,396 ML, for the year 2010–11 from Cressbrook and Perseverance storages is therefore not reported in the water accounting statements for the MDB region.

New South Wales

New South Wales volumes for this line item contain the diversions made under major and local water utility classes as well as the high security town water supply class.

Victoria

Victorian volumes included within the Goulburn allocation diversions is 7,476 ML, which has been transferred to Melbourne via the Killingworth Pump (North–South Pipeline) and 73 ML transferred from Goulburn system via the Goldfields Superpipe to Ballart.

South Australia

South Australian urban diversions include the Metro-Adelaide and the South Australian country town allocation diversions. The diversions to Metro-Adelaide are part of the River Murray entitlements and are pumped from within the MDB region to Adelaide.

Australian Capital Territory

The line item includes regulated diversions made from the Murrumbidgee River for urban purposes.

 

Quantification Approach

Data Source

(1) New South Wales: NSW Office of Water's Water Accounting section, and (2) WAM data received from Australian Capital Territory (13 January 2012), Queensland (22 December 2011) South Australia (07 February 2012) and Victoria (31 January 2012). WAM data are stored in the Murray–Darling Basin Authority HYDRO database.

Provided by

Murray–Darling Basin Authority.

Method

The NSW Office of Water supplied data are prepared on a water balance approach. It implies that the movement of values during the year will balance the opening and closing balances. The forfeitures and adjustments have been checked to ensure that the closing balance reconciles.

The other data supplied for this line item result from an estimate based on user meter readings.

Assumptions, Limitations, Caveats and Approximations

Uncertainty reported for diversion at the abstraction point account for possible errors in the data collection process.

The estimates of accuracy of the diversion are indicative of the accuracy of diversions at the abstraction point on the river only.

Uncertainty Information

WAM uncertainty percentages
Percentage  (%)

Accuracy description

5 Metered diversions
10 Estimate based on user meter readings
20 Detailed estimate based on regional surveys
40 Estimate based on user returns

 

The following table outlines the WAM uncertainty percentage for each entitlement class for each jurisdiction.

 

Uncertainty percentages for each class within jurisdiction
Jurisdiction

Entitlement class

 Uncertainty (%)

SA Class 2 and Class 6

5

NSW Combined NSW regulated data reliability

10

ACT All classes

5

Vic Broken

10

Vic Goulburn

5

Vic Campaspe

5

Vic Loddon

5

Vic Ovens

0

Vic Murray

6

Vic Wimmera–Mallee

5

Qld Condamine–Balonne

5

Qld Border Rivers

5

Qld Moonie System

na

Qld Nebine

na

Qld Warrego

5

Qld Paroo

na

na = not quantified

Comparative year

This line item corresponds to line items listed in the following table and reported in the 2010 Account. In the 2011 Account, the following change was made that caused the 2009–10 year value to be restated:

  • Presentation and classification of the line items has changed since the 2010 Account: line items have been regrouped.

The changes and their respective values are detailed in the following table.

 

Restatement of comparative year information made for the line item 17.12 Surface water allocation diversion- urban water system
Description

Northern Basin (ML)

Southern Basin (ML)

Whole region (ML)

Line item names and values reported as at the 2009–10 year in the 2010 Account 14.7.2.4 Allocation diversion of regulated flows – high security, urban holder 1,511 117,478 118,989
14.7.4 Allocation/claim diversion of regulated flows – urban water access entitlement/arrangement 21,261 77,365 98,626
14.7.9.4 Allocation diversion of regulated flows – urban holder 5,031 0 5,031
Total value reported for the 2010 Account 27,803 194,843 222,646
Changes in the value reported in the 2010 Account due to regrouping of line items  –1511 84,131 82,620
Value reported for the 2009–10 year in the 2011 Account  26,292 278,974 305,266

 

Changes in the value reported in the 2010 Account due to regrouping of line items were due to the following reasons:

  • The high security entitlement classes within New South Wales for research, industrial, cultural, community and education were reported under urban line items in the 2010 Account.  Diversions associated with these entitlement classes were designated as non-urban and excluded from this line item for the 2011 Account.  

  •  In the 2010 Account, Victorian allocation diversion volumes were not separated into urban and non-urban and reported under line item 14.7.9.7 Allocation diversion of regulated flows – other lumped holders. For the 2011 Account, these volumes were restated after separating into urban and non-urban entitlement classes.