Adelaide: 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 Adelaide region's water resources and the associated allocation announcements and abstractions.
The 2015 NWA 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 2015 Account, the Bureau 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 Adelaide region for the 2014–15 year have been classified as shown below.
Surface water rights
Surface water rights in the Adelaide region during the 2014–15 year refer to surface water supply for:
- Individual users—8,629 ML
- Urban water system—143,000 ML.
These rights allow entitlement holders to divert allocated water. In the Adelaide region, surface water allocations for individual users and the urban water system are equal to 100% of the WAE.
The volume of surface water entitlements, corresponding water allocations, and volumes of diversion for the 2014–15 year, compared with the 2013–14 year are shown in Figure N31. The percentage shows the ratio of diversion to the WAE.
Note that water allocations and abstractions related to the urban water system appear in the Surface water store note; however, they do not appear in the water accounting statements because they are transactions that occurred within the region and therefore did not impact upon its total water assets and water liabilities.
Figure N31 Surface water access entitlements, allocations, and diversions in the Adelaide region for the years ending 30 June 2015 and 2014
Figure N31 shows that entitlements, allocation announcements, and diversions for individual users has been increased as a result of including diversions made from the Western Mount Lofty Ranges PWRA for the 2014–15 year that was not reported in previous years. Diversions made from the Western Mount Lofty Ranges PWRA were previously reported as water use under other statutory rights. Figure N31 includes diversions in the Barossa PWRA in addition to the volume for the Western Mount Lofty Ranges PWRA.
Figure N32 shows the annual allocation announcement to individual users for each licence purpose for the 2014–15 year changed compared to the previous year. Information for Western Mount Lofty Ranges PWRA is shown as unspecified in Figure N32.
Figure N32 Surface water allocation to individual users for each licence purpose in Barossa PWRA for the 2014–15 year and the 2013–14 year
Allocations for the urban water system during the 2014–15 year remain unchanged from the previous year; however, diversions to the urban water system increased by 18% as a result of decreased desalinated water supply.
Groundwater rights
The volume of groundwater allocation and extraction for the 2014–15 year compared with the previous year is shown in Figure N33. The percentage shows the ratio of extraction to the allocation announcement which is equal to the entitlement.
Figure N33 Groundwater allocations and extractions in the Adelaide region for the years ending 30 June 2015 and 2014
Groundwater allocation announcements only exist in the Adelaide region for individual users. Approximately 80% of licences are issued are for irrigation, with other services including recharge water credits, industrial, recreational, and stock and domestic use. There were no groundwater allocations for the urban water system. See the Groundwater store note for further information on groundwater extractions.
Figure N33 shows that the volume of allocated extraction for individual users doubled as a result of including extractions made from the Western Mount Lofty Ranges PWRA for the 2014-15 year that was not reported in previous years. As informed by the DEWNR, extractions made from the Western Mount Lofty Ranges PWRA were previously reported as water use under other statutory rights. Reporting extractions under individual users for the Western Mount Lofty Ranges PWRA has resulted in decreased extractions for other statutory rights, in the 2014–15 year (Figure N33).
Non-allocated extractions for the irrigation scheme represents recycled water which is injected to groundwater for storage and subsequently supplied to the WBWC for irrigation, as part of the Aldinga Aquifer Storage and Recovery Scheme. The recycled water is supplied from the Christies Beach WWTP and injected to the Port Willunga Formation aquifer for temporary storage. This scheme has been operating since the 2012–13 year.
Figure N34 shows the annual allocation announcement to individual users for each licence purpose for the 2014–15 year and the previous year. In Figure N34, volumes for Western Mount Lofty Ranges PWRA are stated under unspecified class as information on licence purposes was not available.
Figure N34 Groundwater allocation to individual users for each licence purpose for the 2014–15 year and the 2013–14 year
Water market activity
In the Adelaide region, trade or lease of water entitlements and allocations does not occur between prescribed area consumptive pools but can occur within them if they are managed under a water allocation plan.
Accordingly, surface water trade reported for the Adelaide region during the 2014–15 year includes trades within both the Barossa PWRA and the Western Mount Lofty Ranges PWRA.
For groundwater, trade has been reported within the following groundwater resource areas:
- Barossa PWRA
- McLaren Vale PWA
- Northern Adelaide Plains PWA
- Western Mount Lofty Ranges PWRA.
| Transaction | Transaction type | Number of licences | Volume (ML) |
| surface water entitlement trade within region | trade | 11 | 175 |
| groundwater entitlement trade within region | trade | 190 | 4,145 |
| groundwater entitlement trade within region | lease | 16 | 252 |
| groundwater allocation trade within region | trade | 35 | 332 |
| Total | 252 | 4,904 |
Water use
Economic, social and cultural benefit
Surface water and groundwater are used for economic purposes in the Adelaide region including urban water supply and private water supply for stock, rural domestic, irrigation, commercial, and industrial purposes. For a summary of the water volumes allocated for various economic purposes within the region, refer to both the Surface water store and Groundwater store sections in the 'Supporting information' note.
Social and cultural uses are not typically covered by water rights, even in prescribed areas. Stock and domestic water use, including Indigenous use, is considered a basic right. These rights are described in the South Australian Natural Resources Management Act 2004, the Australian Government Native Title Act 1983, and the notice of authorisation to take water for stock and domestic purposes and for native title purposes (published in the South Australian Government gazette).
Social and cultural water use is licensed in specific instances as detailed in the relevant water allocation plan. For example, stock and domestic groundwater use is licensed in the Northern Adelaide Plains PWA. There are also a small number of water licences for recreational use in the Little Para prescribed watercourse and the Barossa PWRA. For further information refer to the relevant water allocation plan:
- Barossa PWRA Water Allocation Plan
- McLaren Vale PWA Water Allocation Plan
- Northern Adelaide Plains PWA Water Allocation Plan
- Western Mount Lofty Ranges PWRA Water Allocation Plan.
Environmental benefit
Information on legislative, administrative and governing arrangements of environmental water in the region is available in the Environmental water management section of the 'Contextual information'.
In the Adelaide region, water for environmental benefit is provided according to three different environmental water management scenarios:
- planned unregulated surface water
- planned partly regulated surface water
- planned groundwater.
Planned unregulated surface water
Environmental water determination and commitment
In the planned unregulated surface water situation, environmental water requirements are met by controlling the water access regime through water allocation plans.
Water allocation plans consider the capacity of the water resource to meet demands and the needs of water-dependent ecosystems in developing rules and principles for allocating water resources.
In the Adelaide region, currently only the surface waters of the Barossa PWRA and Western Mount Lofty Ranges PWRA are managed by a water allocation plan (Barossa PWRA Water Allocation Plan and Western Mount Lofty Ranges PWRA Water Allocation Plan).
The Barossa PWRA Water Allocation Plan identifies ecological flow requirements for water-dependent ecosystems in three reaches of the North Para River, located within the managed area. The ecological flow requirements considers different flow bands (baseflow, freshets, pool connection, etc.) and identifies target streamflow regimes (volume, timing, and frequency) for each of these flow bands. The ecological flow requirements for each reach are described in more detail in the Barossa PWRA Water Allocation Plan (AMLRNRMB: 12–13: tables 4–6) and were developed to ensure that the frequency and seasonality of streamflows closely resembles what would occur naturally. The applicable threshold flow rates are described in more detail in principles 63–64 of the water allocation plan (AMLRNRB: 49-50).
Similarly, the Western Mount Lofty Ranges PWRA Water Allocation plan details environmental water provisions that aim to maintain water-dependent ecosystems at an acceptable level of risk: a target that is expected to allow indicator populations to be self-sustaining. Environmental provisions are details in ss. 2.3–2.5 of the plan and include managing the impacts of water extractions through the use of threshold flow rates and reservoir releases (see below regarding SA Water's environmental commitment).
Environmental water outcomes
Although the Barossa PWRA Water Allocation Plan describes target streamflows and rules associated with water licences to achieve this, these regimes are not used for monitoring or compliance.
The Western Mount Lofty Ranges PWRA Water Allocation Plan was only adopted on the 17 September 2013. Information on environmental releases for the National water Account was not available.
Planned partly regulated surface water
Environmental water determination and commitment
In the planned partly regulated surface water situation, environmental water requirements are met by operational releases from storages to control or influence flows. During the 2013–14 year, SA Water was issued with a water licence under the Natural Resources Management Act 2004. This licence entitles SA Water to divert up to an annual maximum of 143,000 ML of surface water from the Western Mount Lofty Ranges PWRA for the purposes of public water supply. According to the licence conditions, SA Water will participate in an environmental flow trial with the objective of establishing, timing, frequency, duration, and governance of environmental flows up to 16,500 ML per annum as defined under the Western Mount Lofty Ranges PWRA Water Allocation Plan.
Environmental outcomes
No information was available on the water released under the trial programme during the 2014–15 year.