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Melbourne: Statement of Water Assets and Water Liabilities

For the water account period 01 July 2022 - 30 June 2023 

  • Water availability in the Melbourne region's storages increased during the 2022-23 year for the fourth consecutive year.
  • Water availability is represented by the net water assets, which are the volume of water assets minus the water liabilities.

Schematic representation of the Melbourne region. Total surface water and groundwater assets on 30 June 2023 was 1,902 GL. Total water liabilities was 12 GL. Closing net water assets on 30 June 2023 was 1,890 GL, 6% more than last year.

The Statement of Water Assets and Water Liabilities is provided in the table below.
The statement presents the volume of water assets and water liabilities at the start and end of the reporting year.

 

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  2023 (ML) 2022 (ML) 2021 (ML) 2020 (ML) 2019 (ML) 2018 (ML)
Water assets
Surface water 1,833,000 1,726,298 1,503,931 1,280,929 1,031,669 1,171,944
Accessible storage 1,743,783 1,642,599 1,417,422 1,197,978 946,595 1,092,821
Dead storage 76,623 76,623 76,623 76,623 76,623 76,623
Rivers 12,594 7,076 9,886 6,328 8,451 2,500
 
Groundwater 40,000 39,737 38,638 38,638 38,619 38,619
Water table aquifers 23,000 23,172 22,073 22,073 22,054 22,054
Underlying aquifers 17,000 16,565 16,565 16,565 16,565 16,565
 
Urban water system 28,906 28,906 28,906 28,613 28,809 28,419
Urban waste system storages 28,906 28,906 28,906 28,613 28,809 28,419
 
Total water assets 1,901,906 1,794,941 1,571,475 1,348,180 1,099,097 1,238,982
Water liabilities
Surface water liability 12,156 12,456 11,451 11,229 5,958 8,408
Allocation remaining: surface water users 12,156 12,456 11,451 11,229 5,958 8,408
Commitment: inter-region 0 0 0 0 0 0
 
Groundwater liability 0 0 0 0 0 0
Groundwater allocation remaining: individual users 0 0 0 0 0 0
 
Total water liabilities 12,156 12,456 11,451 11,229 5,958 8,408
Net water assets
Net surface water assets 1,820,844 1,713,842 1,492,480 1,269,700 1,025,711 1,163,536
Opening net surface water assets 1,713,842 1,492,480 1,269,700 1,025,711 1,163,536 1,244,337
Change in net surface water assets 107,002 221,362 222,780 243,989 (137,825) (80,801)
Closing net surface water assets 1,820,844 1,713,842 1,492,480 1,269,700 1,025,711 1,163,536
 
Net groundwater assets 40,000 39,737 38,638 38,638 38,619 38,619
Opening net groundwater assets 39,737 38,638 38,638 38,619 38,619 38,619
Change in net groundwater assets 263 1,099 0 19 0 0
Closing net groundwater assets 40,000 39,737 38,638 38,638 38,619 38,619
 
Net urban water assets 28,906 28,906 28,906 28,613 28,809 28,419
Opening net urban water assets 28,906 28,906 28,613 28,809 28,419 29,026
Change in net urban water assets 0 0 293 (196) 390 (607)
Closing net urban water assets 28,906 28,906 28,906 28,613 28,809 28,419
Total closing net water assets 1,889,750 1,782,485 1,560,024 1,336,951 1,093,139 1,230,574
Total change in net water assets 107,265 222,461 223,073 243,812 (137,435) (81,408)

 

Note: quantification approaches used to derive each item volume are provided in the Methods