Daly
Water accounting policies

The information presented in the Daly region water accounting report is based on agreements between and information provided by:

• The Department of Land Resource Management
  
• Power and Water Corporation
  

The report has been prepared using an accrual basis of water accounting, with the exception of the water flow information. The water attribute being quantified is volume and the unit of account is megalitres (ML). Where a reported volume is negative, it is shown in brackets.

Only water that is held or managed by the state licensing authority or the region's urban water system, and from which future benefit can be derived by stakeholders of the region, is defined as a water asset. Water liabilities are constituted by present commitments to supply water, the discharge of which is expected to result in a decrease of the region's water assets or an increase in another water commitment to supply water.

A water asset is recognised in the Statement of Water Assets and Water Liabilities provided:

• the volume can be quantified in a way that is complete, neutral and free from material error; and
• the derived benefit is probable

A water liability is recognised in the Statement of Water Assets and Water Liabilities provided:

• the volume can be quantified in a way that is complete, neutral and free from material error; and
  
• the decrease of the region's water assets or increase in another water commitment to supply water is probable

The increases and decreases to the reported water assets and water liabilities consist of changes that can be quantified in a way that is complete, neutral, and free from material error. These volumes are presented in the Statement of Changes in Water Assets and Water Liabilities and the Statement of Water Flows.

Precipitation and evaporation are recognised only in relation to the surface areas relevant to the open storage volumes for the storages (9.1 Precipitation on surface water and 17.1 Evaporation from surface water). They do not represent all precipitation, evaporation, and evapotranspiration within the region (notably, these processes occurring from the landscape are not captured).

That portion of runoff that flows into the surface water store (storages and rivers) is quantified and recognised on the Statement of Changes in Water Assets and Water Liabilities. This runoff includes precipitation captured in the catchment less evaporation and infiltration and is recorded as 9.4 Runoff to surface water.

Allocation announcements on regulated entitlements have been recognised as an increase in water liabilities. Please refer to the Water rights, entitlements, allocations and restrictions note for more information on allocations.

The volumes of several water assets and water liabilities identified in the Daly region were not reported in the water accounting statements but replaced by dashes ('–') as they 'failed the recognition criteria' specified in the Australian Water Accounting Standard 1 (the Standard).

The descriptions of those water assets and water liabilities that failed the recognition criteria are given in the following line item notes:

• 1.2 Unregulated river
• 1.4 Lakes and wetlands
• 2.1 Water table aquifer
• 2.2 Underlying aquifers
  

The volumes of several changes to water assets and water liabilities identified in the Daly region were not reported in the water accounting statements but replaced by dashes ('–') as they 'failed the recognition criteria' specified in the Australian Water Accounting Standard 1 (the Standard), because:

• they could not be quantified in a way that is complete, neutral, and free from material error; and/or
  
• in the case of changes to water assets, they were unlikely to provide a future benefit to the region or the region's stakeholders; and/or
  
• in the case of changes to water liabilities, they were unlikely to result in a decrease in the region's water assets or an increase in another water liability when the obligation is discharged.

The descriptions of those changes to water assets and water liabilities that failed the recognition criteria are given in the following line item notes:

• 9.6 Overbank flood return to river channel
• 10.2 Groundwater inflow from outside region at coast
• 10.6 Leakage from urban water system
• 17.5 Overbank flood spilling
• 18.2 Groundwater outflow to outside region at coast
• 18.3 Discharge to landscape.