National Water Account 2018

Border Rivers: Key findings

For the water account period 1 July 2017–30 June 2018

  • Total annual rainfall was well below average and the lowest in more than 50 years.
  • The dry conditions resulted in low streamflows across the region; end of year storage volume dropped by 41% from last year.
  • Surface water use decreased from last year reflecting the very dry conditions across the region.

Climate and water

Rainfall

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423 mm

well below the average of 629 mm

Streamflow

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below average

less than last year

Storage

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335 GL

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41% less than last year

Water use

Water accessible

Graph showing accessible volume and the percentage abstracted in the Border rivers catchment. Out of total 501,973 ML accessible volume, 58% was abstracted .

Water supplied

Graph showing breakdown of water users in the Border rivers catchment. A total of 292,293 ML of water was supplied (excluding runoff dam and plantation use) to users in 2017–18. 97% of total water supply was for individual users; 1% was for urban system; and 3% was for held environmental water supplies.