Canberra
Water access and use
Water rights, entitlements, allocations and restrictions
Introduction
This note provides information about the water access rights granted by jurisdictions to the users of the region's water resources and the associated allocation announcements and abstractions.
The 2014 Account acknowledges that the legislative water resource management frameworks relating to Australian water rights vary greatly across jurisdictions, sometimes making comparisons difficult. To facilitate meaningful comparisons between the water accounting reports included in the 2014 Account, the Bureau of Meteorology has developed and applied an accounting concept to classify and report water entitlements within a water asset/water liability framework.
According to that framework, water rights for the Canberra region for the 2013–14 year have been classified as shown in the sections below. The water rights are categorised broadly into:
- water rights that may not create a water liability: other statutory water rights and water access entitlements for non-allocated abstractions
- water rights that may create a water liability: water access entitlements for allocated abstractions.
In the National Water Account 'Other statutory water rights' are defined as water rights conferred by water legislation (a water Act or water sharing plan), for which there is no individual entitlement.
Surface water rights
The volume of surface water entitlements, corresponding water allocations and volumes of abstraction for the 2013–14 year, compared to the previous two years, are shown in Figure 1. The percentage shows the ratio of abstraction to the water access entitlement (WAE).
In the Canberra region, surface water allocations for individual users and the urban water system are equal to 100% of the WAE. No allocations are associated with WAEs for non-allocated abstractions and other statutory water rights.
Note that water allocations and abstractions related to the urban water system appear in the Surface water note; however, they do not appear in the water accounting statements because they are transactions that occurred within the region. These transactions did not impact the region's total water assets and water liabilities.
Figure 1 Surface water access entitlements, allocations and abstractions in the Canberra region for the years ending 30 June 2014, 2013 and 2012
Figure 1 shows that surface water entitlements for non-allocated diversions to individual users during the 2013–14 year decreased from the previous year; abstractions associated with this water right also decreased. Surface water entitlements for allocated diversions to individual users and the urban water system, and other stautory rights, all remain unchanged from the previous two years. Entitled diversion of allocated surface water to individual users and diversions for other statutory rights could not be quantified accurately due to a lack of available data. Surface water diversion to the urban water system marginally increased from the previous two years.
Groundwater rights
The volume of groundwater entitlements, corresponding water allocations and volumes of abstraction for the 2013–14 year, compared to the previous two years, are shown in Figure 2. The percentage shows the ratio of abstraction to the WAE.
In the Canberra region, groundwater allocations for individual users are equal to 100% of the WAE. No allocations are associated with WAEs for non-allocated abstractions and other statutory water rights.
Figure 2 Groundwater access entitlements, allocations and abstractions in the Canberra region for the years ending 30 June 2014, 2013 and 2012
Figure 2 shows that groundwater entitlements for non-allocated extractions to individual users during the 2013–14 year increased from the previous year; abstractions associated with this water right decreased. Groundwater entitlements for allocated extractions to individual users and other stautory rights remain unchanged from the previous two years.
Combined surface water and groundwater rights
In the ACT, there are provisions to abstract water from either surface water or groundwater as given in Environment and Planning Directorate (EPD) entitlements. For the 2013–14 year, the entitled volume was 2,474 ML.
Water market activity
The groundwater trade reported in the Canberra region during the 2013–14 year was 3 ML. There was no surface water trade reported during this period.
Water use
Economic benefit
Water resources within the Canberra region are used for urban consumption, agriculture and industries. For a summary of the water volumes allocated for various economic purposes within the region, including the actual volumes abstracted, refer to Surface water rights and Groundwater rights above.
Environmental benefit
Introduction
Information on legislative, administrative and governing arrangements of environmental water in the Canberra region is available in the Environmental water management section of the 'Contextual information'.
The ACT Government EPD identifies and manages water for ecosystems under the Water Resources Act 2007 (ACT). The 2013 Environmental Flow Guidelines is a statutory instrument that is used to determine allowable volumes when licensing the taking of water. These guidelines are consistent with the Territory Plan 2008 and use the precautionary principle in accordance with the Intergovernmental Agreement on the Environment (1992).
Water for environmental benefit in the region is provided as 'planned partly regulated surface water'. The dominant feature of environmental water management in this scenario is the ability to control or influence flow by operational releases from storage.
Environmental water legislation
Environmental water provisions are defined for different aquatic ecosystems in the Canberra region. These provisions are outlined in the 2013 Environmental flow guidelines.
The guidelines recognise that there have been substantial changes to flow regimes due to changes in land use in parts of the region. As a result, aquatic ecosystems have been classified into four broad types:
- Natural: ecosystems that remain in a relatively pristine condition
- Water supply: ecosystems in catchments that are used for water supply
- Modified: ecosystems modified by land use or by changes to the flow regime
- Created: ecosystems in water bodies developed as a result of urbanisation.
The key management goals and ecological objectives for each of these aquatic ecosystems are outlined in Chapters 2 and 4, respectively, of the guidelines.
Environmental water provisions
Environmental water provisions in the Canberra region include the protection of the following components of the flow regime:
- baseflow
- small floods (riffle maintenance flows)
- larger floods (pool or channel maintenance flows)
- special purpose flows
- impoundment drawdown level.
All of these components of the flow regime are important for maintaining aquatic ecosystems in the region.
For each component of the flow regime, environmental flow requirements have been established to maintain each of the four types of aquatic ecosystems defined above. These flow requirements are described in Chapter 5 of the 2013 Environmental flow guidelines and are outlined for specific river reaches within the region.
The required environmental flows are maintained from a combination of strategic water releases or spills from storages and restricting the volume of water that can be abstracted from a catchment.
Environmental water outcomes
Information on monitoring environmental water outcomes is provided in Chapter 6 of the 2013 Environmental flow guidelines; however, no information about the environmental water outcomes for the 2013–14 year was available for inclusion in the 2014 Account.