National Water Account 2018

Melbourne: Key findings

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

  • Below-average annual rainfall contributed to low streamflow across the region.
  • The drier conditions contributed to an 8% decrease in end of year storage volumes.
  • Water use increased by 5% from the previous year reflecting the decreased rainfall conditions.

Climate and water

Rainfall

Rainfall icon

772 mm

below the average of 857 mm

Streamflow

Streamflow iconarrowpointingdown

below average

less than last year

Storage

Storage icon

59% full

arrowpointingdown

8% less than last year   

Water use

Water supplied

Graph showing breakdown of water users in the Melbourne region. A total of 503,273 ML of water was supplied to users in 2017–18. 91% of total water supply was for the urban system; 8% was for individual users and 1% was for inter-region supply.

503,273 ML

urban system

91%

individual users

8%

inter-region

1%

Water status

Entitlements

1,036 GL

total surface water, groundwater and desalination entitlements

Water assets

1,167 GL

net water assets at 30 June 2018

93 GL less than last year

Outlook

Decrease

in storage expected during the 2018–19 year