Sydney: Statement of Water Flows
for the year ended 30 June 2019
- The volume of water in the region's storages decreased during 2018–19 for the third successive year.
- This decrease represents the change in water volume in the region's surface water storages.
The Statement of Water Flows is provided below and presents the actual water flows associated with the region's water stores during the year, including flows corresponding to the accrual transactions shown in the Statement of Changes in Water Assets and Water Liabilities.
Select comparative year
| 2019 ML | 2018 ML | 2017 ML | 2016 ML | 2015 ML | 2014 ML | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water inflows | ||||||
| Surface water inflows | 1,549,891 | 1,426,950 | 4,654,903 | 5,125,053 | 5,481,488 | 2,148,258 |
| Precipitation | 34,539 | 80,591 | 173,155 | 139,962 | 155,848 | 91,668 |
| Runoff | 1,430,858 | 1,280,612 | 4,357,364 | 4,909,529 | 5,239,511 | 1,986,928 |
| Discharge: user | 0 | 81 | 828 | 0 | 8 | 2,485 |
| Delivery: inter-region agreement | 6,675 | 9,215 | 3,712 | 4,448 | 3,068 | 7,499 |
| Discharge: wastewater* | 70,273 | 55,217 | 77,924 | 71,114 | 83,053 | 59,678 |
| Flood return | 7,546 | 1,234 | 41,920 | – | – | – |
| Groundwater inflows | 751,985 | **710,660 | **41,670 | **37,665 | **37,210 | **40,390 |
| Inter-region inflow | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Recharge: landscape | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Recharge: surface water* | 704,153 | 663,398 | – | – | – | – |
| Leakage: urban* | 47,832 | 47,262 | 41,670 | 37,665 | 37,210 | 40,390 |
| Urban water system inflows | 1,089,460 | 1,068,716 | 1,125,786 | 1,102,892 | **1,089,904 | **1,037,274 |
| Wastewater collected | 518,384 | 461,542 | 562,042 | 547,783 | 547,009 | 480,243 |
| Allocated diversion: surface water* | 563,283 | 607,174 | 563,744 | 555,109 | 542,895 | 557,031 |
| Delivery: desalinated water | 7,793 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total water inflows | 3,391,336 | 3,206,326 | 5,822,359 | 6,265,610 | 6,608,602 | 3,225,922 |
| Water outflows | ||||||
| Surface water outflows | 2,483,429 | 2,060,036 | 4,957,977 | 4,794,630 | 5,171,009 | 2,526,255 |
| Evaporation | 48,946 | 179,549 | 189,060 | 150,271 | 166,963 | 168,947 |
| Outflow | 968,890 | 551,766 | 3,888,675 | 4,036,219 | 4,403,694 | 1,724,770 |
| Diversion: statutory rights | 32,257 | 32,257 | 32,257 | 32,530 | 32,530 | 32,530 |
| Recharge: groundwater* | 704,153 | 663,398 | – | – | – | – |
| Overbank flow | 152,530 | 11,241 | 265,696 | – | – | – |
| Allocated diversion: individual users | 13,370 | 14,651 | 18,545 | 20,501 | 24,927 | 42,977 |
| Allocated diversions: urban water system* | 563,283 | 607,174 | 563,744 | 555,109 | 542,895 | 557,031 |
| Groundwater outflows | 3,409 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Inter-region outflow | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Discharge: landscape | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Allocated extraction: individual users | 3,409 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Allocated extraction: urban system | 0 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Urban water system outflows | 1,087,600 | 1,051,653 | 1,117,802 | 1,087,676 | **1,077,439 | **1,022,598 |
| Leakage: groundwater* | 47,832 | 47,262 | 41,670 | 37,665 | 37,210 | 40,390 |
| Supply system delivery: urban users | 511,123 | 532,632 | 502,178 | 491,281 | 478,372 | **487,104 |
| Recycled water delivery: urban users | 16,618 | 14,394 | 13,596 | 17,502 | 20,515 | 22,018 |
| Wastewater and recycled water discharge: surface water* | 70,273 | 55,217 | 77,924 | 71,114 | 83,053 | 59,678 |
| Discharge: sea | 416,052 | 384,874 | 456,190 | 432,491 | 443,546 | 394,499 |
| Other supply system decreases | 11,219 | 12,036 | 11,076 | 10,113 | 14,743 | 15,153 |
| Discharge: landscape | 0 | 0 | 94 | – | – | – |
| Other wastewater and recycled water system decreases | 14,483 | 5,238 | 15,074 | 27,510 | 0 | 3,756 |
| Total water outflows | 3,574,438 | 3,111,689 | 6,075,779 | 5,882,306 | 6,248,448 | 3,548,853 |
| Unaccounted-for difference | (412,103) | **(740,798) | **122,894 | **(226,715) | **(83,258) | **(127,383) |
| Water storage | ||||||
| Surface water storage | 1,449,663 | 2,044,868 | 2,691,029 | 2,821,555 | 2,664,966 | 2,388,070 |
| Opening surface water storage | 2,044,868 | 2,691,029 | 2,821,555 | 2,664,966 | 2,388,070 | 2,838,384 |
| Change in surface water storage | (595,205) | (646,161) | (130,526) | 156,589 | **276,896 | (450,314) |
| Closing surface water storage | 1,449,663 | 2,044,868 | 2,691,029 | 2,821,555 | 2,664,966 | 2,388,070 |
| Groundwater storage | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Opening groundwater storage | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Change in groundwater storage | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Closing groundwater storage | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Total closing water storage | 1,449,663 | 2,044,868 | 2,691,029 | 2,821,555 | 2,664,966 | 2,388,070 |
* between-store flows
** different to published volume in historical accounts (see Governance section for more information)