COMMONWEALTH ENVIRONMENTAL WATER

Commonwealth environmental water holdings

How much is there?

The following table provides details of the Commonwealth environmental water holdings.

Holdings at 30 April 2012 *
*All figures are rounded to the nearest megalitre (ML)
River System Security Registered
entitlements 1,2,3,4(ML)
Queensland
Border Rivers High  
Medium 10,610
Unsupplemented 1,000
Lower Balonne Unsupplemented 31,041
Moonie Unsupplemented 1,415
Nebine Unsupplemented 5,920
Warrego Unsupplemented 16,050
Total QLD High  
Medium 10,610
Unsupplemented 55,426
New South Wales
Barwon-Darling Unregulated 14,603
Border Rivers High  
General 269
Gwydir High 375
General 89,525
Supplementary 19,100
Lachlan High 733
General 85,249
Lower Darling High  
General 492
Macquarie/Cudgegong High  
General 93,703
Supplementary 1,888
Murray High 2,636
General 232,080
Murrumbidgee High 429
General 153,157
Conveyance 1,649
Supplementary 20,820
Namoi (upper) High  
General 105
Namoi (lower) High  
General 6,098
Total NSW High 4,173
General 660,678
Conveyance 1,649
Supplementary 41,808
Unregulated 14,603
Victoria
Broken High 47
Low 4
Campaspe High 6,409
Low 395
Goulburn High 182,634
Low 10,654
Loddon High 2,746
Low 527
Murray High 206,484
Low 11,205
Ovens High 70
Total Victoria High

398,390
Low 22,786
South Australia
Murray High 94,264
Total SA High 94,264
Total Murray-Darling Basin
  High 496,827
  General/Medium/Low 694,074
  Conveyance 1,649
  Supplementary 41,808
  Unsupplemented/Unregulated4 70,029
GRAND TOTAL   1,304,387
 
Southern Connected Basin5
  High 495,572
  General/Low 408,511
  Conveyance 1,649
  Supplementary 20,820
TOTAL   926,552
Non-Southern Connected Basin
  High 1,255
  General/Medium/Low 285,563
  Supplementary 20,988
  Unregulated/Unsupplemented4 70,029
TOTAL   377,835

Notes:

  1. Formal transfer of ownership to the Commonwealth takes place on registration of the entitlement by the relevant State water authority. The entitlement becomes part of the Commonwealth environmental water holdings at that time.
  2. Registration can occur a number of months after the exchange of contract, so the amount in the holdings differs from the volume of entitlements secured under contract through the Restoring the Balance in the Murray-Darling Basin program and the Sustainable Rural Water Use and Infrastructure program.
  3. Allocations of water against entitlements held in regulated systems are made periodically and will depend on factors including seasonal inflows and rules associated with water held in storages.
  4. Unsupplemented and unregulated entitlement figures represent the annual volumetric limit of water that may be available when licence conditions are met. Where the licence conditions specify the annual volumetric limit as a maximum volume of water that may be accessed in a multi-year period, the entitlement volume reported reflects the average annual volumetric limit available.
  5. Southern Connected Basin entitlements include Murrumbidgee, Murray, Lower Darling, Goulburn, Campaspe (excluding Coliban) and Loddon titles.