Adelaide: Key findings

For the water account period 1 July 2020–30 June 2021

  • Total annual rainfall was below average for the fourth consecutive year.
  • End-of-year storage was only slightly less than last year due to high rainfall in early Spring 2020.
  • Water taken for consumptive water use was 229 GL, similar to the last year.

Climate and water

Rainfall

Rainfall icon

516 mm

below the average of 629 mm

Streamflow

Streamflow icon

below average

for most of the year

Storage

Storage icon

48% full

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4% less than last year

Water use

Water sourced

Graph showing breakdown of water sources used in the Adelaide region. A total of 229GL of water was used in the region in 2020–21. Inter-region deliveries made up 54% of total water sourced. Surface water made up 23%, groundwater 20%, and desalinated water 2% of water sourced.

Water supplied

Graph showing breakdown of water users in the Adelaide region. A total of 229 GL of water was supplied to users in 2020–21. 74% of total water supply was for the urban system. 21% was for individual users and 5% for irrigation.

* Includes non-allocated water use

Water status

Allocations

267 GL

total surface water and groundwater allocations

Water availability

288 GL

surface water available in 2020–21

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13% less than average

Outlook

Increase

in storage expected during the 2021–22 year