Murray–Darling Basin
Water resources and systems

Introduction
Surface water
Groundwater
Off-channel water storages

Introduction

The following set of notes provides water accounting statements for each of the water stores and segments (Northern Basin and Southern Basin) within the MDB region during the 2013–14 year. Information on all water flows to and from each water store and system is presented in this note, including between-store flows and transfers that are not presented in the consolidated water accounting statements (which are shown in italics).

For more information about the region, please refer to the General description section of the 'Contextual information'. For more information on between-store flows and transfers that occur in the region, please refer to the Supporting information note.

Surface water

Table 1 Statement of Water Assets and Water Liabilities as at 30 June 2014 for the surface water store
Water assets	Northern Basin		Southern Basin		Whole region
Water assets	2014 ML	2013 ML	2014 ML	2013 ML	2014 ML	2013 ML
Surface water
Storages	1,421,820	2,982,391	11,734,827	13,039,372	13,156,647	16,021,763
Unregulated river	–	–	–	–	–	–
Regulated river	8,943	10,911	1,117,869	998,377	1,126,812	1,009,288
Lakes and wetlands	0	0	1,893,866	1,799,526	1,893,866	1,799,526
Inter-region claim on water	0	0	670,826	306,397	670,826	306,397
Other surface water assets	0	0	10,079	20,592	10,079	20,592
Total surface water assets	1,430,763	2,993,302	15,427,467	16,164,264	16,858,230	19,157,566

Water liabilities
Surface water allocation remaining	395,968	1,502,176	2,628,312	2,844,215	3,024,280	4,346,391
Surface water allocation remaining: urban water supply	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total surface water liabilities	395,968	1,502,176	2,628,312	2,844,215	3,024,280	4,346,391

Opening net water assets	1,491,126	2,238,289	13,320,049	15,722,567	14,811,175	17,960,856
Change in net water assets	(456,331)	(747,163)	(520,894)	(2,402,518)	(977,225)	(3,149,681)
Closing net water assets	1,034,795	1,491,126	12,799,155	13,320,049	13,833,950	14,811,175

– = Data not available

Table 2 Statement of Changes in Water Assets and Water Liabilities for the year ended 30 June 2014 for the surface water store
Description	Northern Basin		Southern Basin		Whole region
Description	2014 ML	2013 ML	2014 ML	2013 ML	2014 ML	2013 ML
Water asset increases
Surface water increases
Precipitation on surface water	88,594	157,744	1,084,029	997,873	1,172,623	1,155,617
River inflow to region¹	0	0	240,948	2,156,320	151,000	451,000
Groundwater discharge to surface water	67,158	61,788	50,414	496,982	117,572	558,770
Runoff to surface water	6,536,939	10,679,507	14,202,891	14,464,367	20,739,830	25,143,874
Point return from irrigation scheme	0	0	259,779	212,773	259,779	212,773
Overbank flood return to river channel	–	–	–	–	–	–
Discharge from urban water system	0	0	32,551	31,636	32,551	31,636
Direct discharge by user	–	–	–	–	–	–
Increase of inter-region claim on surface water	0	0	2,059,594	1,748,700	2,059,594	1,748,700
Total surface water increases	6,692,691	10,899,039	17,930,206	20,108,651	24,532,949	29,302,370
Water liability decreases
Surface water liability decreases
Adjustment and forfeiture of surface water allocation	(31,454)	319,804	706,920	845,760	675,466	1,165,564
Adjustment and forfeiture of surface water allocation: urban water supply	16,233	20,928	175,989	148,661	192,222	169,589
Total surface water liability decreases	(15,221)	340,732	882,909	994,421	867,688	1,335,153

Water asset decreases
Surface water decreases
Evaporation from surface water	246,950	311,830	2,454,797	2,710,120	2,701,747	3,021,950
River outflow from the region²	89,948	1,705,320	1,784,000	5,267,000	1,784,000	5,267,000
Groundwater recharge from surface water	62,957	35,736	210,336	645,142	273,293	680,878
Leakage to landscape	–	–	–	–	–	–
Overbank flood spilling	207,528	437,901	0	0	207,528	437,901
Surface water diversions: other statutory rights	37,687	37,687	30,523	30,523	68,210	68,210
Entitled diversion on non-allocated surface water to users	720,960	1,468,484	616,132	668,541	1,337,092	2,137,025
Entitled diversion of non-allocated surface water to urban water supply	7,168	10,976	0	8,904	7,168	19,880
River and floodplain leakage, evaporation and errors	5,573,670	6,770,147	6,982,508	5,848,214	12,556,178	12,618,361
Decrease of inter-region surface water claim on water	0	0	3,000	215,000	3,000	215,000
Total surface water decreases	6,946,868	10,778,081	12,081,296	15,393,444	18,938,216	24,446,205

Water liability increases
Surface water liability increases
Surface water allocation announcements	144,446	1,166,361	6,774,526	7,619,454	6,918,972	8,785,815
Surface water allocation announcements: urban water supply	42,487	42,492	478,187	492,692	520,674	535,184
Total surface water liability increases	186,933	1,208,853	7,252,713	8,112,146	7,439,646	9,320,999

Balancing item—surface water	0	0	0	0	0	0

Change in net water assets	(456,331)	(747,163)	(520,894)	(2,402,518)	(977,225)	(3,149,681)

– = Data not available
¹Please note 89,948 ML for the 2013–14 year and 1,705,320 ML for the 2012–13 year for the Southern Basin 'River inflow to region' was eliminated in the whole region.
²Please note the volume for the Northern Basin for 'River outflow from the region' was eliminated from the whole region.

Table 3 Statement of Water Flows for the year ended 30 June 2014 for the surface water store
Description	Northern Basin		Southern Basin		Whole region
Description	2014 ML	2013 ML	2014 ML	2013 ML	2014 ML	2013 ML
Water inflows
Surface water inflows
Precipitation on surface water	88,594	157,744	1,084,029	997,873	1,172,623	1,155,617
River inflow to region¹	0	0	240,948	2,156,320	151,000	451,000
Groundwater discharge to surface water	67,158	61,788	50,414	496,982	117,572	558,770
Runoff to surface water	6,536,939	10,679,507	14,202,891	14,464,367	20,739,830	25,143,874
Point return from irrigation scheme	0	0	259,779	212,773	259,779	212,773
Overbank flood return to river channel	–	–	–	–	–	–
Discharge from urban water system	0	0	32,551	31,636	32,551	31,636
Direct discharge by user	–	–	–	–	–	–
Delivery of water under inter-region agreement to surface water	0	0	1,692,165	2,141,079	1,692,165	2,141,079
Total surface water inflows	6,692,691	10,899,039	17,562,777	20,501,030	24,165,520	29,694,749

Water outflows
Surface water outflows
Evaporation from surface water	246,950	311,830	2,454,797	2,710,120	2,710,747	3,021,950
River outflow from the region²	89,948	1,705,320	1,784,000	5,267,000	1,784,000	5,267,000
Groundwater recharge from surface water	62,957	35,736	210,336	645,142	273,293	680,878
Leakage to landscape	–	–	–	–	–	–
Overbank flood spilling	207,528	437,901	0	0	207,528	437,901
Surface water diversions: other statutory rights	37,687	37,687	30,523	30,523	68,210	68,210
Entitled diversion on non-allocated surface water to users	720,960	1,468,484	616,132	668,541	1,337,092	2,137,025
Entitled diversion of non-allocated surface water to urban water supply	7,168	10,976	0	8,904	7,168	19,880
River and floodplain leakage, evaporation and errors	5,573,670	6,770,147	6,982,508	5,848,214	12,556,178	12,618,361
Entitled diversion of allocated surface water to users	1,282,108	1,437,050	6,283,509	9,134,262	7,565,617	10,571,312
Entitled diversion of allocated surface water to urban water supply	26,254	21,564	302,198	344,031	328,452	365,595
Total surface water outflows	8,255,230	12,236,695	18,664,003	24,656,737	26,829,285	35,188,112

Balancing item—surface water	0	0	0	0	0	0

Opening water storage	2,993,302	4,330,958	15,857,867	20,013,574	18,851,169	24,344,532
add/(less): Change in water storage	(1,562,539)	(1,337,656)	(1,101,226)	(4,155,707)	(2,663,765)	(5,493,363)
Closing water storage	1,430,763	2,993,302	14,756,641	15,857,867	16,187,404	18,851,169

– = Data not available
¹Please note 89,948 ML for the 2013–14 year and 1,705,320 ML for the 2012–13 year which are flow volumes from Northern to Southern Basin, were eliminated from the whole region 'River inflow to region' volume.
²Please note the volume for the Northern Basin for 'River outflow from the region' was eliminated from the whole region.

Groundwater

Table 4 Statement of Water Assets and Water Liabilities as at 30 June 2014 for the groundwater store
Water assets	Northern Basin		Southern Basin		Whole region
Water assets	2014 ML	2013 ML	2014 ML	2013 ML	2014 ML	2013 ML
Groundwater
Water Table aquifer	–	–	–	–	–	–
Underlying aquifers	–	–	–	–	–	–
Other groundwater assets	1,102,530	1,537,388	1,986,997	2,655,778	3,089,527	4,193,166
Total groundwater assets	1,102,530	1,537,388	1,986,997	2,655,778	3,089,527	4,193,166

Water liabilities
Groundwater allocation remaining	0	0	2,132	2,404	2,132	2,404
Groundwater allocation remaining: urban water supply	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total groundwater liabilities	0	0	2,132	2,404	2,132	2,404

Opening net water assets	1,537,388	1,548,941	2,653,374	2,462,176	4,190,762	4,011,117
Change in net water assets	(434,858)	(11,553)	(668,509)	191,198	(1,103,367)	179,645
Closing net water assets	1,102,530	1,537,388	1,984,865	2,653,374	3,087,395	4,190,762

– = Data not available

Table 5 Statement of Changes in Water Assets and Water Liabilities for the year ended 30 June 2014 for the groundwater store
Description	Northern Basin		Southern Basin		Whole region
Description	2014 ML	2013 ML	2014 ML	2013 ML	2014 ML	2013 ML
Water asset increases
Groundwater increases
Groundwater inflow from outside region	0	0	2,733	2,646	2,733	2,646
Groundwater inflow from outside region at coast	0	0	82	50	82	50
Groundwater recharge from landscape	403,728	546,103	3,148,804	992,995	3,552,532	1,539,098
Groundwater recharge from surface water	62,957	35,736	210,336	645,142	273,293	680,878
Leakage from off-channel water storage	–	–	–	–	–	–
Leakage from urban water system	–	–	–	–	–	–
Leakage from irrigation scheme	–	–	–	–	–	–
Managed aquifer recharge: other schemes	0	0	1,211	631	1,211	631
Other groundwater increases	531,479	53,825	482,096	216,284	1,013,575	270,109
Total groundwater increases	998,164	635,664	3,845,262	1,857,748	4,843,426	2,493,412
Water liability decreases
Groundwater liability decreases
Adjustment and forfeiture of groundwater allocation	177,558	299,378	900,314	905,367	1,077,872	1,204,745
Adjustment and forfeiture of groundwater allocation: urban water supply	13,703	14,258	22,022	17,375	35,725	31,633
Total groundwater liability decreases	191,261	313,636	922,336	922,742	1,113,597	1,236,378

Water asset decreases
Groundwater asset decreases
Groundwater outflow to outside region	0	0	31	21	31	21
Groundwater outflow to outside region at coast	0	0	1,516	1,446	1,516	1,446
Groundwater discharge to landscape	14,625	34,933	1,569,243	2,698,664	1,583,868	2,733,597
Groundwater discharge to surface water	67,158	61,788	50,414	496,982	117,572	558,770
Groundwater extractions: other statutory rights	72,445	74,329	148,963	156,087	221,408	230,416
Other groundwater decreases	966,337	65,378	1,150,877	25,180	2,117,214	90,558
Total groundwater asset decreases	1,120,565	236,428	2,921,044	3,378,380	4,041,609	3,614,808

Water liability increases
Groundwater liability increases
Groundwater allocation announcements	674,599	661,110	1,523,133	1,485,884	2,197,732	2,146,994
Groundwater allocation announcements: urban water supply	27,531	27,350	42,691	41,379	70,222	68,729
Total groundwater liability increases	702,130	688,460	1,565,824	1,527,263	2,267,954	2,215,723

Balancing item—groundwater¹	(198,412)	35,965	949,239	(2,316,351)	750,827	(2,280,386)

Change in net water assets	(434,858)	(11,553)	(668,509)	191,198	(1,103,367)	179,645

– = Data not available

¹See 'Supporting information' for Unaccounted-for difference for details.

Table 6 Statement of Water Flows for the year ended 30 June 2014 for the groundwater store
Description	Northern Basin		Southern Basin		Whole region
Description	2014 ML	2013 ML	2014 ML	2013 ML	2014 ML	2013 ML
Water inflows
Groundwater inflows
Groundwater inflow from outside region	0	0	2,733	2,646	2,733	2,646
Groundwater inflow from outside region at coast	0	0	82	50	82	50
Groundwater recharge from landscape	403,728	546,103	3,148,804	992,995	3,552,532	1,539,098
Groundwater recharge from surface water	62,957	35,736	210,336	645,142	273,293	680,878
Leakage from off-channel water storage	–	–	–	–	–	–
Leakage from urban water supply	–	–	–	–	–	–
Leakage from irrigation scheme	–	–	–	–	–	–
Managed aquifer recharge: other schemes	0	0	1,211	631	1,211	631
Other groundwater increases	531,479	53,825	482,096	216,284	1,013,575	270,109
Total groundwater inflows	998,164	635,664	3,845,262	1,857,748	4,843,426	2,493,412

Water outflows
Groundwater outflows
Groundwater outflow to outside region	0	0	31	21	31	21
Groundwater outflow to outside region at coast	0	0	1,516	1,446	1,516	1,446
Groundwater discharge to landscape	14,625	34,933	1,569,243	2,698,664	1,583,868	2,733,597
Groundwater discharge to surface water	67,158	61,788	50,414	496,982	117,572	558,770
Groundwater extractions: other statutory rights	72,445	74,329	148,963	156,087	221,408	230,416
Entitled extraction of allocated groundwater to users	497,041	361,732	623,091	580,611	1,120,132	942,343
Entitled extraction of allocated groundwater to urban water supply	13,828	13,092	20,669	24,004	34,497	37,096
Other groundwater decreases	966,337	65,378	1,150,877	25,180	2,117,214	90,558
Total groundwater outflows	1,631,434	611,252	3,564,804	3,982,995	5,196,238	4,594,247

Balancing item – groundwater¹	(198,412)	35,965	949,239	(2,316,351)	750,827	(2,280,386)

Opening water storage	1,537,388	1,548,941	2,655,778	2,464,674	4,193,166	4,013,615
add/(less): Change in water storage	(434,858)	(11,553)	(668,781)	191,104	(1,103,639)	179,551
Closing water storage	1,102,530	1,537,388	1,986,997	2,655,778	3,089,527	4,193,166

– = Data not available

¹See Supporting information for Unaccounted-for difference for details.

Off-channel water storages

The purpose of this note is to provide a consolidated report on the off-channel water store within the MDB region during the 2013–14 year. Information on storage volumes, inflows and outflows for the off-channel water store is also provided.

Water in store

Table 7 shows that the total off-channel water store decreased during the 2013-14 year in the MDB region.

Table 7 Off-channel water store volume at the start and end of the 2013–14 year
Description	30 June 2014 (ML)			30 June 2013 (ML)
Description	Northern Basin	Southern Basin	Whole region	Northern Basin	Southern Basin	Whole region
Off-channel water storage volume	338,838	442,407	781,245	412,096	446,748	858,844
Total	338,838	442,407	781,245	412,096	446,748	858,844

Off-channel water store inflows and outflows

Table 8 shows the inflows and outflows associated with the off-channel water store during the 2013–14 year in the MDB region.

Table 8 Volume of inflows and outflows during the 2013–14 year for the off-channel water store
Description	Volume (ML)
Description	Northern Basin	Southern Basin	Whole region
Off-channel water inflows
Precipitation on off-channel water storages	421,340	346,203	767,543
Groundwater discharge into off-channel water storages	–	–	–
Runoff harvesting into off-channel water storages	500,898	502,674	1,003,572
Surface water diversion into off-channel water storages	–	–	–
Groundwater extraction into off-channel water storages	–	–	–
Total Off-channel water inflows	922,238	848,877	1,771,115

Off-channel water outflows
Evaporation from off-channel water storages	663,180	476,138	1,139,318
Leakages from off-channel water storages	–	–	–
Off-channel storages water abstraction	333,491	376,889	710,380
Total Off-channel water outflows	996,671	853,027	1,849,698

Balancing item—off-channel water	0	0	0

Change in off-channel water storage	(74,433)	(4,150)	(78,583)

Opening off-channel water storage	412,096	446,748	858,844
Closing off-channel water storage	337,663	442,598	780,261

– = data not available

Murray–Darling BasinWater resources and systems

Introduction

Surface water

Groundwater

Off-channel water storages

Graphical Views

Murray–Darling Basin
Water resources and systems