National Water Account 2019

Canberra: Key findings

For the water account period 1 July 2018–30 June 2019

  • Dry conditions contributed to very low streamflows across the region.
  • End of year storage dropped by 18% from last year, the second successive drop in annual storage.
  • Total consumptive water use was 57 GL, similar to last year.

Climate and water

Rainfall

Rainfall icon

626 mm

below the average of 784 mm

Streamflow

Streamflow icon

below average

for most of the year

Storage

Storage icon

57% full

arrowpointingup

18% less than last year

Water use

Water sourced

Graph showing breakdown of water sources used in the Canberra region. A total of 57,346 ML of water was used in the region in 2018–19. Surface water made up 98% of total water use; groundwater made up 2% of the use.

Water supplied

Graph showing breakdown of water users in the Canberra region. A total of 57,346 ML of water was supplied to users in 2018–19. 92% of total water supply was for the urban system; 8% was for individual users.

Water status

Allocations

82 GL

total surface water and groundwater allocations

Water assets

203 GL

water assets at 30 June 2019

35 GL less than last year

Outlook

Decrease

in storage expected during the 2019–20 year