Fitzroy: Water stores
- Below-average rainfall conditions for most of the wet season contributed to low runoff across the region and a decrease in surface water storage.
- Water supply to the irrigation scheme was higher than last year reflecting the drier conditions.
For a water balance on each of the region's water stores for the 2017–18 year scroll down this page or click on the links below:
Surface water store
| Description | Volume (ML) | |
| Opening surface water store | 1,093,119 | |
| add | Inflows | 3,088,790 |
| less | Outflows | 2,517,586 |
| add | Balancing item | (970,941) |
| Closing surface water store | 693,382 | |
- The volume of surface water in the region decreased from 1,093,119 ML at 1 July 2017 to 693,382 ML at 30 June 2018.
- The balancing item is almost double the closing surface water store volume. Such a high balancing item is primarily attributed to uncertainties associated with the runoff estimate (see Methods).
Surface water flows
Figure S2 Water inflows and outflows for the surface water store during the 2017–18 year
- The largest natural water flows in the region were runoff and outflow. Both were below average compared to previous years due to the dry conditions and low soil moisture across the region throughout most of the year.
Figure S3 Allocated surface water diversions during the 2017–18 year in the region's key water management areas
- Total surface water diverted in the region was 505,006 ML.
- 55% of the surface water diversions were associated with an allocation (277,226 ML); the remainder was non-allocated diversions for individual users.
- 70% of the allocated diversions were for the irrigation schemes, mostly from the Nogoa Mackenzie water supply scheme; 27% were for individual users and 3% were for the urban system.
- For a more detailed description of the water usage in the region, and the associated entitlements, see the Surface water rights note.
Groundwater store
| Description | Volume (ML) | |
| Opening groundwater store | 14,624 | |
| add | Inflows | 0 |
| less | Outflows | 103,596 |
| add | Balancing item | 103,596 |
| Closing groundwater store | 14,624 | |
- The groundwater in the region is equivalent to the licensed entitlement volume and, therefore, remains unchanged from year to year.
Groundwater flows
Figure S4 Water inflows and outflows for the groundwater store during the 2017–18 year
- Groundwater movement across the region boundary as well as surface water–groundwater interactions are considered to occur within the region; however, these flows could not be quantified due to a lack of available data.
- Total groundwater extracted in the region was 103,596 ML.
- 91% was for individual users , mostly associated with non-allocated licences; 9% of the total extraction was for irrigation scheme supply. Less than 1% was for the urban system.
- For a more detailed description of the water usage in the region, and the associated entitlements, see the Groundwater rights note.