Canberra
17.7 Entitled diversion of non-allocated surface water to users
Supporting information
The volume presented in the water accounting statements 1,648 ML represents the volume of water diverted in the Canberra region for irrigation, stock and domestic, commercial and industrial and other surface water entitlements without prior allocation announcement.
The entitled non-allocated surface water diversions consists of the diversions in Australian Capital Territory and New South Wales (NSW) portion of the Canberra region. The existing unregulated entitlements under NSW Office of Water were replaced by new water sharing plan for the Murrumbidgee unregulated and alluvial water sources commenced in October 2013 under Water Management Act 2000. The volume to be representative for unregulated entitlement was estimated for the period from July to September till commencement of the new water sharing plan.
This following presents the breakdown of non-allocated surface water diversions in the Canberra region.
| Data Provider | Holder type | Volume (ML) |
| ACT Government, Environmental and Sustainable Development Directorate (ESDD) | unavailable | 1,478 |
| New South Wales Office of Water | irrigation, farming | 68 |
| industrial (sand and gravel) | 14 | |
| domestic, stock | 3 | |
| recreation | 22 | |
| within urban area (Palerang Council) | 63 | |
| Total | 1,648 |
Quantification approach
Data source
ESDD: Water Resources Unit, Water Resource Information Database; NSW Office of Water: Navigator Water Tools.
Provided by
ESDD, NSW Office of Water.
Method
Australian Capital Territory
This line item includes diversions of unregulated flows under multi-use licences for non–potable water within the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). It includes licensed abstractions within urban area for unspecified purposes and licensed abstractions for all purposes outside of the urban area.
Individual licensees submit monthly meter readings to the ACT Environment Protection Authority (EPA) on an annual basis. Where a licensee has not provided meter data, the EPA estimates usage based on historical usage data.
New South Wales
In the New South Wales (NSW) portion of the subaccount, annual use has been estimated to be 50% of the NSW Office of Water surface water licence volume for all entitlements within this line item, except for the urban entitlement for Palerang Council. Annual use for Palerang Council has been estimated as 100% of the entitlement.
These existing unregulated entitlements were replaced by new water sharing plan for the Murrumbidgee unregulated and alluvial water sources commenced in October 2013 under Water Management Act 2000. Therefore, the volume to be representative for the unregulated entitlement was estimated for the period from July to September (3 months) till commencement of the new water sharing plan.
The Navigator Water Tools ArcGIS add–on was used to query the NSW Office of Water database spatially and extract usage for the area inside the entity.
Assumptions, limitations, caveats and approximations
- In NSW, the accuracy of Navigator Water Tools data is limited by the quantity and accuracy of the geographical coordinates defined in the licensing administration system.
- Unregulated water use in NSW was assumed to be 50% of the total NSW Office of Water licence volume for all categories of entitlements, except for entitlements within the urban area (Palerang Council). Calculation of this estimate was carried out by the Bureau.
Uncertainty information
Australian Capital Territory
More than 60% of meters are inspected each year to validate the readings supplied by licensees. Estimated uncertainty for meter accuracy is +/–5 %. Uncertainty can not be quantified for estimated usage where meters were not read.
New South Wales
Derived from geographic information system data. Estimated uncertainty is +/– 30% to +/– 50% based on established practice and professional judgement by NSW Office of Water.