National Water Account 2019

Menu

Key findings

Climate and water

Water Accounting Statements

Supporting information

Region description

Reference information

Focus area

Border Rivers

Murray–Darling Basin: Water access and use

Accessible water

Surface water

Figure S8 Surface water accessible for take in key water resource plan areas in the region

• Accessible surface water is the volume of water in storages and rivers that is lawfully accessible for consumptive use. It is based on the volume of carryover of water entitlements from the previous year and announced allocations during the year.
• There are 20 water resource plan areas for surface water in the Murray–Darling Basin region (see Water management). Most of the surface water lawfully accessible for take is associated with six of these water resource plan areas.
• 73% of the accessible surface water was taken. Most of the surface water diverted was for irrigation and agricultural purposes.

Figure S9 Accessible surface water and diversions in the Murray–Darling Basin region for the years ending 30 June, from 2013–2019

• Surface water accessible for consumptive use, as well as the actual water taken, was lower than the previous few years due to the continued dry conditions across the region decreasing water availability.
• The amount of water lawfully accessible for environmental use is based on the volume of carryover of water entitlements from the previous year and announced allocations during the year, and is shown here for comparative purposes.
• The volume of water accessible for environmental use has steadily increased over the last few years; however, in 2018–19 the water accessible for environmental benefit, as well as the actual water diverted, was the lowest in more than five years.

Groundwater

Figure S10 Groundwater accessible for take in key water resource plan areas in the region

• Accessible groundwater is the volume of water in aquifers that is lawfully accessible for consumptive use. It is based on the volume of carryover of water entitlements from the previous year and announced allocations during the year
• There are 19 water resource plan areas for groundwater in the Murray–Darling Basin region (see Water management). Most of the groundwater lawfully accessible for take is associated with six of these water resource plan areas.
• 61% of the accessible groundwater was taken. Most of the groundwater extracted was for irrigation supply.

Figure S11 Accessible groundwater and extractions in the Murray–Darling Basin region for the years ending 30 June, from 2013–2019

• Groundwater accessible for consumptive use was similar to the previous few years. Actual water taken increased from last year, which was largely influenced by the drop in surface water availability across the region. The dry conditions meant users had to rely more on water supplied directly from the aquifers.
• The amount of water lawfully accessible for environmental use, which is based on the volume of carryover of water entitlements from the previous year and announced allocations during the year, is less than 1% of the water accessible for consumptive use.
• There were no groundwater extractions for environmental purposes, similar to the previous few years.

Water restrictions

• Information on restrictions related to available water for New South Wales sustainable diversion limit resource units is available on the NSW Department of Industry website.
• Information on restrictions on allocations for high- and low-reliability water shares (non-urban use) in Victorian sustainable diversion limit resource units is available in the monthly water report from the Victorian Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning.
• More information on current restrictions is available on the Bureau's Water Restrictions website.

Water market activity

• The Murray–Darling Basin accounts for 70% of Australia's water entitlement trade and more than 95% of Australia's water allocation trade.
• Most of the water trade in the region is related to surface water. In 2018–19, 5,287 GL of surface water allocations and 1,050 GL of surface water entitlements were traded. Allocation trade was more than 25% lower than last year, which was influenced by the dry conditions across the region.
• In terms of groundwater, 267 GL of allocations and 167 GL of entitlements were traded during the year.
• More information is available in the Australian Water Markets Report 2018–19 and on the Bureau's Water Information Dashboard.

Figure S12 Direction and volume of interstate allocation trades in the Murray–Darling Basin in 2018–19

• South Australia, New South Wales, and Queensland were net importers of allocation water, while Victoria was a net exporter. A similar trend of net allocation trade to South Australia was observed during the previous four years.
• The majority of water transferred to South Australia from the other States was for environmental purposes.

Cultural and environmental water

Cultural benefit

• Cultural water values are considered within the region's water resource plans (see Water management note), generally as part of the environmental water provisions.
• One important site within the region is the Ranch Billabong, which has been identified as a priority cultural site for rehabilitation by Traditional Owners and Aboriginal groups. The billabong is a culturally significant site to the Wotjobaluk people.
• In December 2018, environmental water was delivered to the Ranch Billabong for the first time. A second delivery of water occurred in March 2019.
• Monitoring of the billabong before and after these releases showed a drop in salinity levels and increased frog and birdlife (see the Victorian Environmental Water Holder website for further information).

Environmental benefit

• Water for the environment in the Murray-Darling Basin region is delivered through two broad environmental water scenarios: planned environmental water and held environmental water.

Planned environmental water provisions

• Planned environmental water provisions are defined in the overarching Basin Plan as well as the individual water management plans throughout the region (see Water management note).
• In groundwater systems, water provisions to protect environmental values include annual extraction limits, trading rules, extraction restrictions based on local water level responses, and restrictions on water supply works near environmental and cultural sites.
• In unregulated rivers, water provisions include annual diversion limits and daily access rules to maintain environmental flows and ecological values.
• In regulated rivers, in addition to annual diversion limits, water provisions include rule-based requirements for active release of environmental flows at given locations on the rivers.

Figure S13 Lower lakes at the downstream end of the River Murray

• Water levels in the lakes at the downstream end of the Murray–Darling river system are effected by water diversions and planning provisions across the whole region.
• One key environmental objective in the Basin Plan is to maintain water levels in the lower lakes to ensure sufficient discharge to the Coorong and Murray Mouth, prevent river bank collapse and acidification of wetlands, and provide connection between Lakes Alexandrina and Albert (see the Basin Plan for more detail).

Planned environmental water outcomes

• In 2018–19, over 500 GL of environmental surface water was delivered under plan provisions.
• Planned deliveries in all jurisdictions was lower than the previous few years reflecting the dry conditions and low water availability across the region.

Figure S14 Water level in the lower lakes at the River Murray mouth during 2018–19

• The Basin Plan includes an objective for the lakes at the River Murray mouth to keep water levels above 0.4 m Australian Height Datum (AHD) 95% of the time and above 0.0 mAHD 100% of the time.
• In 2018–19, the lakes remained above both targets throughout the entire year.

Held environmental water provisions

• Held environmental water refers to licensed water entitlements that are used exclusively for environmental purposes such as wetland watering or provision of environmental river flows.
• The volume of water lawfully accessible for environmental use in 2018–19 was over 2,400 GL. More than 99% of this was for surface water sources.
• The Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder (CEWH) held about 60% of these environmental entitlements. The remaining entitlements were held by some Basin states, the Living Murray program, and other smaller governmental programs.

Held environmental water outcomes

• In 2018–19, 1,246 GL of held environmental water was delivered by environmental managers in the Murray–Darling Basin region.
• Allowing for estimated return flows, net environmental deliveries were 873 GL.