National Overview
National picture

In 2013–14, rainfall was below to very much below average across most of eastern Australia, while across northern and southern central parts of the country rainfall was above to very much above average. This was the second consecutive year below average rainfall conditions were experienced across most of Australia.

2013–14 annual rainfall compared to historical records

Decreases in storage were observed in five of the nine regions, including the Murray–Darling Basin, Melbourne, South East Queensland, and Sydney, which reflects the rainfall conditions in these areas. The impact was greatest in the Murray–Darling Basin, where storage volumes decreased from 69% to 57% capacity during the year. This follows a drop from 92% to 69% of capacity in 2012–13.

Storage volumes increased by 20–40% in the other four regions. Increases in the Adelaide, Ord and Perth regions were attributed to above average rainfall occurring in the regions; the increase in Canberra was primarily due to increased storage capacity of the enlarged Cotter Reservoir.

Overall, storage volumes decreased by almost 3% during 2013–14.

Surface water storage and capacity volumes