National Water Account 2019

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Key findings

Climate and water

Water Accounting Statements

Supporting information

Region description

Reference information

Canberra: Statement details

Water assets

• Water asset volumes in the region at 30 June 2019 were 203 GL, about 80% of which is water held in storages. The remaining amount is water held in lakes, rivers, and the urban distribution pipe network.

Figure S1 Total storage volume in the region at 30 June 2019 compared with the previous 9 years

• Storage volumes decreased from 70% full at 30 June 2018 to 57% full at 30 June 2019. This is the second consecutive decrease in storage volume.
• The end of year storage volume at 30 June 2019 was the lowest since 2010.
• In 2013 the Cotter Reservoir was enlarged, increasing the region's total storage capacity to better deal with water demand during periods of drought (see 2013 Account).

Figure S2 Percentage-full volume on 30 June 2019 for each storage and total daily storage volume from 2016–2019 (inset)

• Except for a small rise in storage in December 2018 following high rainfall in that month, storage volumes declined for most of the year.
• Low storage volume in the Googong Reservoir (62% full at 30 June 2019) is significant. The reservoir has remained full, or near full, since the end of the Millennium Drought in 2010; however, from the start of 2017, storage volume has dropped by almost 40%.
• More detailed information on the individual storages within the region is available on the Bureau of Meteorology's Water Storage website.

Water liabilities

• Water liabilities in the Canberra region refer to the volume of allocation remaining on licence entitlements at the end of the 2018–19 year.

• The water supply licences for the region have a water management year that ends on 30 June. The portion of water allocation that has not been abstracted at the end of the water year is either forfeited or is carried over into the next water year.
• For individual users and the urban licence entitlement the unused portion of the allocation is assumed to be 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 Canberra region is given in the Water access and use note.

Water flows

• Total surface water flows into the region's storages was 227 GL. The key item contributing to surface water inflows was runoff, which made up 60% of the total surface water inflows.
• Runoff was much lower than average (based on modelled data from 1971–2019) and the lowest in more than 10 years due to the relatively poor rainfall across the region. This was the second successive year of below-average runoff across the region.
• A key item contributing to surface water outflows from the region's storages was river outflow, which made up almost 50% of the total surface water outflows. River outflow was well below average due to the dry conditions and low runoff across the region.
• A detailed description on all the water flows associated with the surface water and groundwater stores, as well as the urban water system, 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.

• The relatively high unaccounted–for difference volume is primarily attributed to uncertainties associated with the runoff estimate and groundwater recharge from surface water (see Methods).