Murray–Darling Basin
17.11 Entitled diversion of allocated surface water to users

The volumetric value for the line item for the 2012–13 year was 8,844,177 ML. The line item represents diversion (excluding urban water systems) associated with a number of entitlement classes in the Murray–Darling Basin (MDB) region. For Queensland, this line item includes surface water allocation diversions for both urban and non-urban supplemented entitlements (details are after the following tables). Information on allocation diversions for urban water systems for other jurisdictions is included in line item 17.12 Entitled diversion of allocated surface water to urban water system.

The following two tables provide a summary and breakdown information on surface water allocation diversion (excluding urban water systems) within the region. 

 

Summary of Entitled diversion of allocated surface water to users (excluding urban water systems) in the MDB region during the 2012–13 year 

Surface water resource plan area		State/Territory	Volume (ML) for the 2012–13 year
Code	Name		Non-environmental	Environmental	Total
SW20	Warrego–Paroo–Nebine	Qld	1,672	0	1,672
SW19	Condamine–Balonne	Qld	96,366	0	96,366
SW18	Moonie	Qld	n/a	n/a	n/a
SW17	Qld Border Rivers	Qld	86,456	626	87,082
SW16	NSW Border Rivers	NSW	157,946	269	158,215
SW12	Barwon–Darling Watercourse	NSW	n/a	n/a	n/a
SW13	NSW Intersecting Streams	NSW	n/a	n/a	n/a
SW15	Gwydir	NSW	271,012	37,951	308,963
SW14	Namoi	NSW	234,577	7,728	242,305
SW11	Macquarie–Castlereagh	NSW	404,728	137,718	542,446
Sub-total Northern Basin			1,252,757	184,292	1,437,049
SW10	Lachlan	NSW	319,687	66,283	385,970
SW9	Murrumbidgee NSW	NSW	1,911,111	177,946	2,089,057
SW8	NSW Murray and Lower Darling	NSW	1,914,903	48,422	1,963,325
SW3	Northern Victoria	Vic.	1,130,213	29,051	1,159,264
SW2	Vic. Murray	Vic.	1,308,852	13,185	1,322,037
SW4	Wimmera–Mallee	Vic.	9,620	50,327	59,947
SW7	Eastern Mount Lofty Ranges	SA	–	–	–
SW5	SA Murray Region	SA	–	–
SW6	SA River Murray	SA	427,339	189	427,528
SW1	ACT	ACT	n/a	n/a	n/a
Sub-total Southern Basin			7,021,725	385,403	7,407,128
Total for the region			8,274,482	569,695	8,844,177

– = Data not available

 

Details of Entitled diversion of allocated surface water to users (excluding urban water systems) in the MDB region during the 2012–13 year

Water resource plan area	Sustainable diversion limit area		State	Entitlement class	Volume (ML) for the 2012–13 year
	Code	Name			Non-environmental	Environmental	Total
SW20 Warrego–Paroo–Nebine	SS28	Warrego	Qld	supplemented	1,672	0	1,672
SW19 Condamine–Balonne	SS26	Condamine–Balonne	Qld	supplemented	96,366	0	96,366
SW17 Qld Border Rivers	SS24	Qld Border Rivers	Qld	supplemented	86,456	626	87,082
Sub-total Queensland					184,494	626	185,120
SW16 NSW Border Rivers	SS23	NSW Border Rivers	NSW	high security	267	0	267
				general security	157,033	269	157,302
				stock and domestic	646	0	646
				Sub-total	157,946	269	158,215
SW15 Gwydir	SS22	Gwydir	NSW	high security	9,570	0	9,570
				general security	260,728	37,951	298,679
				stock and domestic	714	0	714
				high security research	0	0	0
				Sub-total	271,012	37,951	308,963
SW14 Namoi	SS21	Namoi	NSW	high security	522	0	522
				general security	232,823	7,728	240,551
				stock and domestic	746	0	746
				high security research	486	0	486
				Sub-total	234,577	7,728	242,305
SW11 Macquarie–Castlereagh	SS20	Macquarie–Castlereagh	NSW	high security	7,916	0	7,916
				general security	394,318	137,718	532,036
				stock and domestic	1,776	0	1,776
				high security research	718	0	718
				Sub-total	404,728	137,718	542,446
SW10 Lachlan	SS16	Lachlan	NSW	high security	133,146	0	133,146
				general security	164,292	66,283	230,575
				stock and domestic	4,338	0	4,338
				conveyance	17,911	0	17,911
				Sub-total	319,687	66,283	385,970
SW9 Murrumbidgee NSW	SS15	Murrumbidgee NSW	NSW	high security	336,106	0	336,106
				general security	1,239,599	177,946	1,417,545
				stock and domestic	28,603	0	28,603
				conveyance	305,997	0	305,997
				high security research	300	0	300
				high security Aboriginal cultural	506	0	506
				Sub-total	1,911,111	177,946	2,089,057
SW8 NSW Murray and Lower Darling	SS18	Lower Darling	NSW	high security	4,516	0	4,516
				general security	88,167	0	88,167
				stock and domestic	750	0	750
				Sub-total	93,433	0	93,433
	SS14	NSW Murray	NSW	high security	110,620	0	110,620
				general security	1,401,192	11,373	1,412,565
				stock and domestic	9,630	0	9,630
				conveyance	300,000	37,049	337,049
				high security research	0	0	0
				high security– Aboriginal cultural	0	0	0
				high security– community & education	28	0	28
				Sub-total	1,821,470	48,422	1,869,892
Sub-total New South Wales					5,213,964	476,317	5,690,281
SW3 Northern Victoria	SS4	Ovens	Vic.	high reliability water share	6,972	20	6,992
	SS5	Broken	Vic.	combined high and low reliability	6,240	51	6,291
	SS6	Goulburn	Vic.	combined high and low reliability	1,054,359	18002	1,072,361
	SS7	Campaspe	Vic.	combined high and low reliability	14,357	8232	22,589
	SS8	Loddon	Vic.	combined high and low reliability	48,285	2746	51,031
SW2 Vic. Murray	SS2	Vic. Murray	Vic.	combined high and low reliability	1,308,852	13,185	1,322,037
SW4 Wimmera–Mallee	SS9	Wimmera–Mallee	Vic.	high reliability water share	9,620	50,327	59,947
Sub-total Victoria					2,448,685	92,563	2,541,248
SW7 Eastern Mount Lofty Ranges	SS13	Eastern Mount Lofty Ranges	SA	regulated	–	–	–
				unregulated	–	–	–
				Sub-total	0	0	0
	SS12	Marne Saunders	SA	regulated	–	–	–
				unregulated	–	–	–
				Sub-total	0	0	0
SW5 SA Murray Region	SS10	SA Non-prescribed areas	SA	regulated	–	–	–
				unregulated	–	–	–
				Sub-total	0	0	0
SW6 SA River Murray	SS11	SA Murray	SA	class 1: stock and domestic	–	–	–
				class 3: irrigation and holding	–	–	–
				class 4: recreation	–	–	–
				class 5: industrial	–	–	–
				class 7: environment	–	–	–
				class 8: environmental land management	–	–	–
				combined classes metered	427,339	189	427,528
				combined classes unmetered	–	0	–
				Sub-total	427,339	189	427,528
Sub-total South Australia					427,339	189	427,528
Total for the region					8,274,482	569,695	8,844,177

– = Data not available

The line item volume includes allocated environmental water diverted from the source (does not include environmental water used in water source) as reported by the states. Environmental volumes provided under General security entitlement class for New South Wales include volumes for the other entitlement classes (except for Conveyance class for NSW Murray). Inter-valley transfers have been accounted to the destination valley for environmental use.  

The environmental volumes shown in the tables reflect diversions made under various environmental water allocation programmes. It is possible that the total volume diverted during the year could be higher than the volume shown in the above tables due to data availability issues.

 

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 2013 Account, only distinguish between supplemented and unsupplemented entitlements. Both urban and non-urban entitlements are included within supplemented entitlement class. Supplemented urban and supplemented non-urban volumes on allocations, diversions, and other attributes were received together and could not be separated out for two purposes. Therefore, this line item includes surface water allocation diversions for both urban and non-urban supplemented entitlements.   

New South Wales

Water use for cultural, industrial, research, community, and education activities have been categorised as non-urban.  Therefore, related information is included in this line item.

 

Victoria

Victorian allocation diversions are shown in the source valley, even though the water was taken in a different destination valley. Therefore all entitlements in the Goulburn region have their diversions shown in the Goulburn sustainable diversion limit area, rather than the destination valleys of the Loddon or the Campaspe, or transferred to Melbourne.

Diversion volumes that could not be specified under high reliability water share or a low reliability water share were reported as combined high and low reliability diversions.

 

South Australia

South Australian volumes represent diversions made under entitlement classes 1, 3, 4, 7, 8, and 9 including environmental diversions.

(1) New South Wales Office of Water's water accounting section: New South Wales water use data; and (2) Murray–Darling Basin Authority: WAM data received from Queensland (5 February 2014), South Australia (17 March 2014), and Victoria (14 February 2014). WAM data are stored in the Murray–Darling Basin Authority HYDRO database.

Bureau of Meteorology.

Allocation diversion is as calculated by the states.

New South Wales 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.

WAM-supplied data are either measured, modelled or estimated.

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

A single metered abstraction point may provide water to a range of users, under various types of entitlements (e.g. stock and domestic class). When this happens, the jurisdiction may split the metered abstraction into several classes of entitlements or types of users, according to priority rules governing the entitlements. This split has an inherent uncertainty that is not considered here.

Estimates of uncertainty of the diversions are indicative accuracy of bulk diversions at the abstraction point on the river only and do not provide an uncertainty of diversion at the diversion point.

Information provided in this line item may have been based on Cap valleys in the HYDRO database, which may not align perfectly with sustainable diversion limit areas.

WAM data uncertainty estimate definitions

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 percentage for non-urban allocation diversions in the jurisdictions

Jurisdiction	Entitlement class	Uncertainty percentage
Qld	Condamine–Balonne	5
Qld	Border Rivers	5
Qld	Warrego	5
NSW	All regulated non-urban	10
Vic.	Broken	10
Vic.	Goulburn	5
Vic.	Campaspe	5
Vic.	Loddon	5–15
Vic.	Ovens	18
Vic.	Kiewa	15
Vic.	Murray	5–20
Vic.	Wimmera–Mallee	5
SA	class 1	40
SA	class 3, class 4, class 5, class 7, class 8, class 9, and combined class metered	5
SA	combined classes unmetered	20
ACT	All regulated non-urban	5

A change into the presentation of volumes resulted in the restatement of the 2011–12 year volume. The respective volumes associated with the change are detailed in the following table.

Restatement of comparative year information made for the line item 17.11 Entitled diversion of allocated surface water to users

Segment	2013 Account volume for the 2011–12 year (ML)	2012 Account volume for the 2011–12 year (ML)	Difference due to a change into the presentation (ML)
Northern Basin	685,467	685,467	0
Southern Basin	5,593,729	5,930,626	(336,897)
Whole region	6,279,196	6,616,093	(336,897)

 

The change into the presentation was due to reporting Victorian volumes before system losses in the 2012 Account for the 2011–12 year. In the 2013 Account volumes were presented after the system losses for both 2011–12 and 2012–13 years.