COMMONWEALTH ENVIRONMENTAL WATER

Commonwealth environmental water holdings

How much is there?

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

Holdings at 31 December 2011 *
*All figures are rounded to the nearest megalitre (ML)
River System Security Registered
entitlements 1,2,3,4(ML)
Queensland
Border Rivers High  
Medium 10,403
Unsupplemented 1,000
Lower Balonne Unsupplemented 215
Moonie Unsupplemented 1,415
Nebine Unsupplemented 5,920
Warrego Unsupplemented 16,050
Total QLD High  
Medium 10,403
Unsupplemented 24,600
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 84,844
Lower Darling High  
General 492
Macquarie/Cudgegong High  
General 71,411
Supplementary 1,888
Murray High 908
General 221,323
Murrumbidgee High 429
General 136,599
Supplementary 20,820
Namoi (upper) High  
General 105
Namoi (lower) High  
General 6,098
Total NSW High 2,445
General 610,666
Supplementary 41,808
Unregulated 14,603
Victoria
Broken High 47
Low 4
Campaspe High 6,154
Low 395
Goulburn High 121,152
Low 10,527
Loddon High 2,032
Low 527
Murray High 170,137
Low 11,125
Ovens High 70
Total Victoria High

299,592
Low 22,579
South Australia
Murray High 87,002
Total SA High 87,002
Total Murray-Darling Basin
  High 389,039
  General/Medium/Low 643,648
  Supplementary 41,808
  Unsupplemented/Unregulated4 39,203
GRAND TOTAL   1,113,697
 
Southern Connected Basin5
  High 387,784
  General/Low 380,988
  Supplementary 20,820
TOTAL   789,592
Non-Southern Connected Basin
  High 1,255
  General/Medium/Low 262,659
  Supplementary 20,988
  Unregulated/Unsupplemented4 39,203
TOTAL   324,105

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.