Victorian Water Accounts 2008-2009
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Victorian Water Accounts 2008-2009 A statement of Victorian water resources Published by the Victorian Government Department of Sustainability and Environment Melbourne, October 2010 © The State of Victoria Department of Sustainability and Environment 2010 This publication is copyright. No part may be reproduced by any process except in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968. Authorised by the Victorian Government, 8 Nicholson Street, East Melbourne. Printed by Stream Solutions. Printed on 100% recycled paper. ISSN 1837-591X (print) ISSN 1837-5928 (online) For more information contact the Department of Sustainability and Environment’s Customer Service Centre 136 186. Disclaimer This publication may be of assistance to you but the State of Victoria and its employees do not guarantee that the publication is without flaw of any kind or is wholly appropriate for your particular purposes and therefore disclaim all liability for any error, loss or other consequence which may arise from you relying on any information in this publication. Data presented in this report has been compiled from a number of sources and varies in reliability. However, where possible checks on the accuracy of the data have been undertaken and the data compilation process is auditable. Acknowledgements Data compilation: GHD Editor: Ann White Foreword The challenge of the thirteenth straight year of drought was dramatically highlighted in the Victorian Water Accounts 2008-2009. The year started with water supplies and inflows at extremely low levels and it ended with storages in a worse situation: the total volume stored in Victoria’s major rural reservoirs fell from 22 per cent of capacity at the start of the year to only 17 per cent. In addition, the worst bushfires in a century directly affected water supplies in several towns and damaged a third of Melbourne’s catchments, fortunately without threatening the city’s two major storages. All irrigation systems in northern Victoria started the year with a zero allocation for the second successive year; 366 towns were on some form of restricted water use; several small towns were experiencing extreme water shortages; and groundwater resources were under pressure. To manage these challenges, the Victorian Government worked closely with water businesses, progressing water augmentations across the state and facilitating emergency response measures when required. Lessons learned through managing scarce water resources since 2006/07 were applied. Various responses were developed, including water restrictions in urban areas, seasonal allocations of surface water and groundwater in regulated systems; restrictions, rosters and bans on users in unregulated systems; operating the emergency water supply network; augmenting water supply systems; water carting; and qualifying rights to water. This responsiveness and flexibility were among several positives to emerge from this difficult year of continuing low flows. Apart from capably managing scarce water resources, the water industry saw the benefits start emerging from Our Water Our Future: The Next Stage of the Government’s Water Plan. The first pipeline project completed under the Victorian Water Plan – the Goldfields Superpipe supplying water from the Goulburn system to Bendigo and Ballarat – provided a reliable supply of water to the drought-affected cities. The reconnected Tarago Reservoir increased the water supply available to Melbourne. These projects were among many initiatives implemented under the Victorian Water Plan, which aims to secure future water supplies through augmentation such as the desalination plant and Tarago reconnection, water saving projects such as irrigation modernisation and the Wimmera Mallee Pipeline, increased recycling, expanding the water grid and conservation. This report includes an update on the plan. I commend this report as an important account of water availability, entitlement, use and related water resource management measures in 2008/09. Tim Holding MP Minister for Water Victorian Water Accounts 2008-2009 Page i Alphabetical listing of Victoria’s river basins Basin Chapter Avoca 13 Barwon 28 Broken 9 Bunyip 23 Campaspe 11 Corangamite 29 East Gippsland 16 Glenelg 33 Goulburn 10 Hopkins 31 Kiewa 7 Latrobe 21 Loddon 12 Mallee 14 Maribyrnong 25 Millicent Coast 34 Mitchell 19 Moorabool 27 Murray 6 Otway Coast 30 Ovens 8 Portland Coast 32 Snowy 17 South Gippsland 22 Tambo 18 Thomson 20 Werribee 26 Wimmera 15 Yarra 24 Page ii Victorian Water Accounts 2008-2009 Contents Introduction xi Part 1 Overview of Victorian water resources 2008/09 1 1 Water availability 3 1.1 Rainfall 3 1.2 Streamflow 7 1.3 Storages 17 1.4 Groundwater 19 1.5 Conclusion 22 2 Management of scarce water resources 23 2.1 Living with less water 23 2.2 Role of government in responding to less water availability 23 2.3 Victoria’s regional sustainable water strategies 23 2.4 Victoria’s water plan 24 2.5 Urban water restrictions 25 2.6 Seasonal allocation of water in irrigation districts 27 2.7 Restrictions on diversions from unregulated streams 28 2.8 Seasonal allocations of groundwater in water supply protection areas 29 2.9 Emergency water supply network 29 2.10 Water carting 30 2.11 Augmenting water supply systems 31 2.12 Qualification of rights 33 2.13 Conclusion 34 3 Water for consumptive use 35 3.1 Victoria’s water allocation framework 35 3.2 Consumptive entitlements 36 3.3 Water availability and use 36 3.4 Urban water conservation measures 40 3.5 Surface water entitlement and use 43 3.6 Groundwater use 45 3.7 Water trade and movement 47 3.8 Recycled water 51 3.9 Conclusions 53 4 Water for the environment 55 4.1 The environment’s share of water 55 4.2 Entitlements for the environment 55 4.3 Drought conditions and environmental water 57 4.4 Compliance with passing flow requirements 57 4.5 Total flow at basin outlet 58 4.6 Streamflow management plans 60 4.7 Donations 61 4.8 Trade in environmental water 61 4.9 Conclusion 61 Part 2 Basin water accounts 2008/09 63 5 Overview of methodology 65 5.1 Introduction 65 5.2 Data sources 65 5.3 Comparison with 2007/08 65 5.4 Methodology, key assumptions and limitations of data 66 5.5 Seasonal allocations and restrictions on water use, diversions and extractions 68 5.6 Surface water balance 68 5.7 Small catchment dams 69 5.8 Water entitlement transfers 69 Victorian Water Accounts 2008-2009 Page iii 5.9 Volume diverted 69 5.10 Drought contingency measures 69 5.11 Water for the environment 69 5.12 Comparison of the water accounts with other data sources 70 6 Murray basin (Victoria) 71 6.1 Murray basin summary 71 6.2 Responsibilities for management of water resources 71 6.3 Rainfall, flows and storage in 2008/09 72 6.4 Total water resources in the basin 73 6.5 Location of water resources 74 6.6 Surface water resources 75 6.7 Groundwater resources 78 6.8 Drought contingency measures 80 6.9 Seasonal allocations and restrictions on water use, diversions and extractions 80 6.10 Recycled water 82 6.11 Water for the environment 83 7 Kiewa basin 85 7.1 Kiewa basin summary 85 7.2 Responsibilities for management of water resources 85 7.3 Rainfall, flows and storages in 2008/09 85 7.4 Total water resources in the basin 86 7.5 Location of water resources 87 7.6 Surface water resources 88 7.7 Groundwater resources 89 7.8 Drought contingency measures 90 7.9 Seasonal allocations and restrictions on water use, diversions and extractions 90 7.10 Recycled water 91 7.11 Water for the environment 92 8 Ovens basin 93 8.1 Ovens basin summary 93 8.2 Responsibilities for management of water resources 93 8.3 Rainfall, flows and storages in 2008/09 93 8.4 Total water resources in the basin 94 8.5 Location of water resources 95 8.6 Surface water resources 96 8.7 Groundwater resources 98 8.8 Drought contingency measures 100 8.9 Seasonal allocations and restrictions on water use, diversions and extractions 100 8.10 Recycled water 102 8.11 Water for the environment 102 9 Broken basin 105 9.1 Broken basin summary 105 9.2 Responsibilities for management of water resources 105 9.3 Rainfall, flows and storages in 2008/09 105 9.4 Total water resources in the basin 106 9.5 Location of water resources 107 9.6 Surface water resources 108 9.7 Groundwater resources 110 9.8 Drought contingency measures 111 9.9 Seasonal allocations and restrictions on water use, diversions and extractions 112 9.10 Recycled water 112 9.11 Water for the environment 113 10 Goulburn basin 115 10.1 Goulburn basin summary 115 10.2 Responsibilities for management of water resources 115 10.3 Rainfall, flows and storages in 2008/09 116 Page iv Victorian Water Accounts 2008-2009 10.4 Total water resources in the basin 117 10.5 Location of water resources 118 10.6 Surface water resources 119 10.7 Groundwater resources 123 10.8 Drought contingency measures 124 10.9 Seasonal allocations and restrictions on water use, diversions and extractions 125 10.10 Recycled water 126 10.11 Water for the environment 127 11 Campaspe basin 129 11.1 Campaspe basin summary 129 11.2 Responsibilities for management of water resources 129 11.3 Rainfall, flows and storages in 2008/09 129 11.4 Total water resources in the basin 131 11.5 Location of water resources 132 11.6 Surface water resources 133 11.7 Groundwater resources 135 11.8 Drought contingency measures 137 11.9 Seasonal allocations and restrictions on water use, diversions and extractions 138 11.10 Recycled water 139 11.11 Water for the environment 139 12 Loddon basin 141 12.1 Loddon basin summary 141 12.2 Responsibilities for management