National Water Account 2016

National overview

Rainfall across Australia during July 2015–May 2016 and June 2016 compared with historical records (1900–2015)

For most of 2015–16, the climate was influenced by strong El Niño conditions contributing to below-average annual rainfall across Australia.
In June 2016, east coast lows brought large amounts of rainfall across southeastern Australia.

Percentage-full volume at 30 June 2016 for region storages compared to the previous year

In the Murray–Darling Basin region, storage volumes dropped from 42% to 39% full, the fourth successive annual decrease since 2012.
Ord and South East Queensland regions saw the largest decreases of 17% and 13% respectively.
In Sydney and Canberra, storage levels increased above the previous year due to rainfall associated with the east coast low event in early June 2016.

Water allocations and abstractions in the regions for 2015–16 compared with 2014–15

Total water allocations was 17,542,600 ML, which was 4% less than the previous year.
63% of allocated water was abstracted, which is less than the previous year and primarily reflects the decreased surface water availability and drier conditions in the Murray–Darling Basin region for most of the year.

Total water sourced in the regions for 2015–16 compared with 2014–15

Total water sourced by the regions was 12,850,400 ML, which was less than the previous year.
Surface water made up 78% of total water use across the regions.
Groundwater remains the primary water source in only two regions—Daly and Perth.
Inter-region water supply increased from the previous year, reflecting the increased deliveries into Adelaide and Melbourne in response to drier conditions.

Users of water in the regions for the 2015–16 year

72% of water supply was used for irrigation, industry and other uses.
18% was used for urban use and 10% was for environmental purposes in the Murray–Darling Basin region.
Four of the ten regions—Burdekin, Daly, Murray–Darling Basin and Ord—are primarily agricultural; the remaining six regions are dominated by urban water use.

Water sources and volumes for urban centres for years 30 June 2012–30 June 2016

Except for Canberra and Melbourne, urban water supply was similar to the previous year.
Water supply to the Canberra and Melbourne urban water systems increased by more than 6% from last year due to drier conditions.
In Adelaide and Melbourne, inter-region supply increased mitigating the poor storage inflows in these regions.
In Perth, the desalination plants operated near capacity and provided almost half of the urban water supply.

Interstate trade allocation activity in the Murray–Darling Basin region in 2015–16

The Murray–Darling Basin accounts for more than 95% of surface water entitlement trade and almost all of the allocation trade in the National Water Account.
The volume of trade in surface water allocations in the region was 5,347,000 ML, a decrease of 5% from last year.
Queensland and South Australia were net importers of allocation water, while New South Wales and Victoria were net exporters, which is similar to the previous 2 years.