Bureau Home » Water Information » National Water Account » 2021 Account » Ord » Supporting information » Outlook

Ord: Outlook for 2022 Account

as at 1 December 2022

  • Rainfall is likely to be average during the 2021–22 wet season.
  • Inflows into the region's storages are expected to be lower than last year.

 

Schematic representation of the Ord region. In 2021–22, wet season rainfall is expected to be average. End-of-year storage volume is likely to decrease from last year. Water use is likely to increase from last year.

 

For further information on the outlook for the region during the 2021–22 year scroll down this page or click on the links below:

 

Current water levels

  • Average rainfall has fallen across the region during July–November 2021. Storage levels have continued to steadily decrease during this 5-month period.
  • Storages were 62% full at 1 December 2021 compared to 28% full at the same time last year.
  • More information on current storage levels in the region is available on the Bureau of Meteorology's Water Storage website.

 

Climate outlook

Map of Ord region showing the spatial distribution of the chance of exceeding median rainfall in percentage categories for December 2021–February 2022. Rainfall has a greater than 60% chance of exceeding median rainfall during December 2021–February 2022 across the region and a greater than 70% chance of exceeding median rainfall across the entire southern half of the region upstream of Lake Argyle. Key aspects of the rainfall map are described in the text below the figure.
Figure S9 Chance of exceeding median rainfall for December 2021–February 2022

 

  • The next few months (December–February) are usually when about two thirds of the region's annual rainfall occurs. According to the Bureau of Meteorology's climate outlook (25 November 2021), rainfall is expected to be average during this period.
  • The El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is currently in a La Niña phase. However, this La Niña is likely to be short-lived, persisting only until the late summer or early autumn 2022.
  • Inflows into the region's storages for the 2021–22 year are expected to be average and less than 2020–21.

 

Future commitments

  • Water use is expected to be more than 2020–21, primarily due to the likely average rainfall conditions.