Canberra
Future outlook

Future prospects

Table 1 shows that there is a surplus of available water assets over water liabilities and future water commitments that are expected to be settled within 12 months of the reporting date.

¹ Some water stored in the lakes and wetlands in the Canberra region can in fact be accessed. Data on the dead storage component of these storages were not available for the 2014 Account and as such the entire volume has been reported as water that is not available to be accessed, taken or delivered.

Only an estimate of the diversion of surface water allocation has been included as a future commitment expected to be settled within 12 months. It is assumed that this will similar to the volume reported under  Entitled diversion of allocated surface water to urban water system in the 2014 Account.

Based on average historical data, future inflows to the storages used for urban water supply are likely to be between 60,000 ML and 411,000 ML. On an average year, inflow to the reservoirs is 206,000 ML. Of this inflow, only a limited amount is available to ACTEW Water for delivery for urban use. Water is also required to maintain environmental flows along the Queanbeyan, upper Murrumbidgee, and Cotter rivers. Evaporation from the connected surface water store has not been included in this table.

Enlarged Cotter Dam

The enlargement of the Cotter Dam will play a key role in helping secure the water supply for the ACT and surrounding region in the future, allowing it to deal with frequent, longer and more severe droughts without having to endure high-level water restrictions for extended periods. The new reservoir has a total capacity of 79,374 ML, nearly 20 times its previous size, and the new reservoir increased the ACT's water storage capacity by 35%.

The Cotter Dam project received the endorsement of the ACT Government in 2007. Construction of the dam commenced in November 2009, and was completed in 2013. The reservoir began impounding water on 1 March 2013 and has since allowed total storage in the ACT to exceed the previous capacity. It is likely that the Cotter Dam will achieve full storage in early 2015.

Murrumbidgee to Googong water transfer

The Murrumbidgee to Googong water transfer involves the transfer of up to a maximum of 100 ML of water per day from the Murrumbidgee River through a 12-kilometre underground pipeline to Burra Creek in NSW. The water then flows approximately 13 kilometres down Burra Creek into Googong Reservoir. The amount of water that can be transferred each day will depend on the availability of water in the Murrumbidgee River, maintenance of the Murrumbidgee River environmental flows and the available storage capacity in Googong Reservoir. Construction commenced in early 2011 and was completed in August 2012 but has not been operated except for maintenance purposes.  

Contingent water assets and contingent water liabilities