Fitzroy: Statement details
- Below-average rainfall for most of the year contributed to low storage inflows and runoff across the region.
- End of year storage volume dropped to 40% full compared to 56% full last year.
For further information on the regions water accounting statements scroll down this page or click on the links below:
Water assets
Surface water assets
- Surface water asset volumes in the region at 30 June 2018 were 693,382 ML, more than 99% of which is water held in storages. The remaining amount is water held in rivers .
Figure S1 Percentage-full volume on 30 June 2018 for each storage and total volumes for the 2017–18 year (inset).
- Storage volumes decreased from 56% full at 1 July 2017 to 40% full (682,702 ML) at 30 June 2018.
- Except for a small peak in storage volume in early March 2018 following high rainfall in February, storage volumes declined for almost the entire year.
- Most of the storages in the eastern part of the region closer to the coast were at more than 80% of capacity at 30 June 2018, similar to last year; however, Fairbairn Reservoir, which is the largest storage in the region, was less than 30% full at the end of the year.
- More detailed information on the individual storages within the region is available on the Bureau of Meteorology's Water Storage website.
- River volume at 30 June 2018 was much lower than at the start of the year, which reflects the well below-average streamflow conditions experienced across the region during most of the year.
Groundwater assets
- The groundwater asset volume of 14,624 ML represents the total licensed entitlements associated with the region's aquifers.
- The asset volume remained constant during the year as there was no change in licences.
Water liabilities
- Water liabilities in the Fitzroy region refer to the volume of allocation remaining on licence entitlements at the end of the 2017–18 year.
| Description | Individual users (ML) | Urban system (ML) | Irrigation scheme (ML) | |
| Opening balance at 1 July 2017 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| add | Allocation | 112,032 | 11,580 | 275,566 |
| less | Allocated diversion | 73,485 | 8,368 | 195,373 |
| less | Adjustment and forfeiture | 38,547 | 3,212 | 80,193 |
| Closing balance at 30 June 2018 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Description | Individual users (ML) | Urban system (ML) | Irrigation scheme (ML) | |
| Opening balance at 1 July 2017 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| add | Allocation | 688 | 987 | 13,443 |
| less | Allocated extraction | 361 | 320 | 9,443 |
| less | Adjustment and forfeiture | 327 | 667 | 4,000 |
| Closing balance at 30 June 2018 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
- Most of the licences have a water year from 1 July–30 June. The portion of water allocation that has not been abstracted at the end of a water year is forfeited and the allocation remaining at the end of the year was 0 ML.
- A more detailed description of water allocations and associated water rights in the Fitzroy region is given in the Water rights note.
Water asset increases
- Total water asset increases for the year was 3,088,790 ML.
- The key item contributing to water asset increases for the region was runoff, which made up approximately 94% of total water asset increases.
- Runoff was less than average, and much lower than the previous year, due to the relatively poor rainfall across the region for most of the year.
Water asset decreases
- Total water asset decreases for the year was 2,333,832 ML.
- The key item contributing to water asset decreases for the region was outflow from surface water, which made up approximately 46% of the total water asset decreases.
- Outflow was well below average, and much lower than the previous year, due to the relatively poor rainfall across the region for most of the year.
Water flows
- Total water inflows to the region was 3,088,790 ML, equal to the volume of Water asset increases.
- Total water outflows from the region was 2,621,182 ML, higher than the volume of Water asset decreases (2,333,832 ML) as it also includes flows corresponding to the accrual transactions—allocated diversions and allocated extractions (see the Water liabilities section above).
- A detailed description on all the water flows associated with the surface water and groundwater stores is provided in the Water stores note.
Unaccounted-for difference
- The unaccounted–for difference is the volume necessary to reconcile the opening water storage and closing water storage with the total water inflows and total water outflows reported in the water accounting statements.
| Description | Volume (ML) | |
| Closing water storage balance at 1 July 2017 | 708,006 | |
| less | Total inflows | 3,088,790 |
| add | Total outflows | 2,621,182 |
| less | Opening water storage balance at 30 June 2018 | 1,107,743 |
| Unaccounted-for difference | (867,345) | |
- The unaccounted-for difference value is primarily attributed to uncertainties associated with the runoff estimate (see Methods).