Background information

  • The Canberra region is located in the upper reaches of the Murrumbidgee River catchment; the Murrumbidgee River is the main source of the region's water supply.
  • The region covers the Australian Capital Territory and parts of New South Wales; Canberra is the largest urban centre in the region.
  • Surface water is the main water source, primarily for urban supply.

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For further geographic information about the region scroll down this page or click on the links below:

 

 

General description

Area: 4,202 km²

Population: Approximately 450,000 (Australian Bureau of Statistics 2016)

 

Figure R1 Contextual map of the Canberra region
Figure R1 Contextual map of the Canberra region

 

  • The Canberra region is located in the southeast of Australia and within the Murray–Darling Basin.
  • The Canberra region boundary adopted for these integrated water accounts encompasses the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and extends into New South Wales (NSW).
  • Included in the region are five river catchments: Cotter River, Gudgenby River, Molonglo River, Murrumbidgee River (part) and Queanbeyan River.
  • Only 0.1% of Australia's water use (including in-stream use) occurs within the region. Most of the water used is from surface water stores for urban purposes.

 

Land use

Figure R2 Land use in the Canberra region
Figure R2 Land use in the Canberra region
Source: Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences 2016

 

  • The Canberra-Queanbeyan urban area is the major population center in the area. It accounts for 11% of the region's land use and is home to approximately 432,000 residents.
  • Conservation and natural environment areas account for 47% of the region's land use, and are particularly extensive over the south and west of the region.
  • 29% of the region is used for grazing, which is a key land use activity outside the urban centres.

 

Significant aquatic ecosystems

Figure R3 Significant wetlands in the Canberra region
Figure R3 Significant wetlands in the Canberra region

 

  • The Canberra region contains the Ramsar-listed Ginini Flats Wetland Complex in the Namadgi National Park, which consists of a series of interconnected flats known as the Ginini Flats and the Cheyenne Flats.
  • The region contains 12 nationally important wetlands listed in the Directory of Important Wetlands in Australia (Environment Australia 2001).
  • The nationally important wetlands in the region are located upstream of any water abstraction or storage and so are unaffected by water resource management activities.

  

Water resources

  • Most of the region's water supply comes from surface water.
  • Groundwater resources are used primarily for town supply and stock and domestic purposes. Recycled wastewater is used for treatment plant operations and irrigation of sports fields.

 

Surface water

Rivers

Figure R4 Key flow gauging stations on the Cotter, Molonglo, and Queanbeyan rivers within the Canberra region
Figure R4 Key flow gauging stations on the Cotter, Molonglo, and Queanbeyan rivers within the Canberra region

 

  • The three main rivers in the Canberra region are the Molonglo, Cotter and Queanbeyan rivers, which all contribute to the Murrumbidgee River.
  • The Murrumbidgee River is the largest river that flows through the Canberra region, and is the source of inflows from outside of the region and the destination of all the region's outflows.
  • The Murrumbidgee River is the second longest river in Australia, draining much of southern New South Wales and all of the Australian Capital Territory. 

 

Figure R5 Mean monthly flows along the Molonglo, Cotter, and Queanbeyan rivers and mean monthly rainfall for the Canberra region
Figure R5 Mean monthly flows along the Molonglo, Cotter, and Queanbeyan rivers and mean monthly rainfall for the Canberra region

 

  • The seasonal flow characteristics of rivers within the region reflect seasonal variations in evapotranspiration more so than rainfall, which is relatively uniform throughout the year.
  • Typically, high streamflows occur in winter and spring, following high runoff from partially saturated catchments in autumn and winter. Summer typically sees drier catchment conditions due to higher evapotranspiration.

 

Storages

Figure R6 Major storages and lakes in the Canberra region; capacity of each storage is also shown

 Figure R6 Major storages and lakes in the Canberra region; capacity of each storage is also shown

 

  • The four major storages in the region—Bendora, Corin, Cotter and Googong—are used mainly for urban supply.
  • The region also has three lakes used for recreational purposes and water pollution control: Lake Burley Griffin, Lake Ginninderra and Lake Tuggeranong. 

 

Groundwater

  • The Canberra region falls within the Lachlan Fold Belt geologic province. The region encompasses low-yield fractured volcanic aquifers overlain in places by minor, high-yield aquifers in superficial, unconsolidated alluvium and colluvium. The alluvial aquifers have local significance as a source of water, but across the wider region, groundwater is a minor component of total water use.

 

Figure R7 Groundwater management areas in the Canberra region

Figure R7 Groundwater management areas in the Canberra region

 

  • There are three groundwater management areas (GMAs) in the Canberra region: the ACT GMA, the Lachlan Fold Belt GMA, and the Yass Catchment GMA. The Lachlan Fold Belt and Yass Catchment GMAs extend beyond the region's boundaries.

 

Water systems

Urban water system

 

Figure R8 Key infrastructure of the urban water system in the Canberra region
Figure R8 Key infrastructure of the urban water system in the Canberra region  

 

  • Water service providers in the region are Icon Water (formerly ACTEW Water), a statutory body of the ACT government, and Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council.
  • Icon Water owns and manages most of the region's water supply system, including major storages and two water treatment plants. The Mount Stromlo water treatment plant receives water from the Bendora and Cotter reservoirs; the Googong water treatment plant receives water diverted from Googong Reservoir.
  • Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council receives bulk water from Icon Water, supplies potable water through its reticulation system, and collects and treats wastewater for its own local government area.
  • More information about the Canberra urban water system can be found at the Icon Water website.

 

Recycled water

  • Three wastewater reuse schemes operate in the ACT: North Canberra Water Reuse Scheme, Lower Molonglo Water Quality Control Centre effluent reuse scheme and Southwell Park Watermining® Project.
  • Most treated wastewater from Icon Water is discharged to the Molonglo River, with the balance recycled for internal use at the treatment plants and/or irrigation purposes.

 

Farm dams

  • Farm dams refer to landscape catchment storages used to harvest runoff, floodwater, or collected rainwater. They are an important water resource in the region; however, water held in farm dams is considered to be taken from the shared pool of water resources and, as such, is not included as part of the region's water assets.
  • Water held in farm dams is primarily used for stock and domestic, and agricultural purposes.
  • The majority of the region's farm dams are filled by rainfall–runoff capture; it has been estimated that runoff harvesting to farm dams reduces runoff to surface water in the Canberra region by approximately 1%. A smaller portion of farm dams are filled by groundwater extractions, surface water diversions, or recycled water transfers.  Farm dams in the region hold approximately 7,500 ML, or 2% of the total surface water storage capacity in the region.