State of the Environment

2006

Indicator: IW-01 Annual river discharge

Data

Streamflow in Victoria, Megalitres per day (ML/d)
Stream Name Years of Record Long Term Average Daily Flow
August
(ML/d)		 1982/83 Drought Average Daily Flow
August
(ML/d)		 Flow at 30 Sept 2004
(ML/d)		 Flow at 30 Sept 2004 as % of Long Term Average Flow at 30 Sept 2005
(ML/d)		 Flow at 30 Sept 2005 as % of Long Term Average
Genoa River 32 339 24 8.9 3 26 8
Suggan Buggan R 47 265 41 136 51 1190 449
Snowy River 26 2800 420 976 34 1868 67
Mitchell River 67 4790 1030 2629 55 2819 59
Macalister R 37 1640 494 917 56 1369 83
Moe River 44 301 111 241 81 139 46
Tarra River 58 174 19.2 47 27 45 26
Yarra River 41 906 173 538 59 898 99
Deep Creek 49 480 5.9 37 8 46 10
Werribee R 31 143 1.5 35 24 15.3 11
Moorabool R 59 482 1.3 9.5 2 6.4 1
Barwon River 33 611 26 128 21 109 18
Woady Yaloak R 49 335 7.1 30 9 19.4 6
Hopkins R 74 230 5.7 44 19 39 17
Merri River 56 467 26 98 21 35 7
Glenelg River 51 4650 121 1356 29 161 3
Snowy Creek 72 1030 198 824 81 3212 312
Tallangatta Ck 29 496 46 182 36 2009 405
Rose River 42 439 38 132 30 410 93
Hollands Ck 44 574 32 128 22 1337 233
Sunday Creek 50 211 3.4 12.5 6 16.4 8
Goulburn R 50 2160 415 941 44 1666 77
Loddon River 57 257 3.8 64 25 93 36
Mt Hope Ck 37 177 0 14 8 0.3 0
Avoca River 115 534 14.3 11.8 2 12.8 2
Avoca River 40 297 6.1 0 0 19.7 7
Wimmera R 58 444 13.1 39 9 23.7 5
Wimmera R 73 196 5.3 18.3 9 8.9 5

adapted from Source: Department of Primary Industries, Victoria 2005, Streamflows: Tabulated Data, viewed 17 Nov 2005, http://www.dpi.vic.gov.au/dpi/vro/vrosite.nsf/
40a2f70b889ac885ca256656002ed378/02333d7bace9aa2f4a25682a001e6d26?OpenDocument, accessed 2 Feb 2005 and 10 November 2005.

Streamflow in Victoria during the drought period as a percentage of the long term average, (ML/d) Flow as at 30 Sept 2004

Streamflow in Victoria during the drought period as a percentage of the long term average, (ML/d) Flow as at 30 Sept 2004
Mean and median annual flows during natural and current conditions since 1892
Flows under natural conditions, in GL/year Current flows under regulated conditions, in GL/year
Mean Median Mean Median
Darling 3 042 1 746 2 272 1 053
Murrumbidgee 2 794 2 527 1 184 644
Goulburn, Broken and Campaspe 3 668 3 510 1 774 1 211
Loddon 247 202 100 37
Namoi 872 570 402 177
Gwydir system* 60 11 120 55
Murray 13 754 11 883 4 915 2 539

Murray-Darling Basin Commission, Water Audit Study, cited in Source: Murray-Darling Basin Commission, The Impacts of Water Regulation and Storage on the Basin's Rivers, viewed 12 Apr 2005, http://kids.mdbc.gov.au/encyclopedia/water_regulation_and_storage Table 1

Yearly Streamflow for Major Surface Water: Sources Impact of water availability - WA

Yearly Streamflow for Major Surface Water Sources Impact of water availability - WA

Source: Water Corporation 2003, Yearly Streamflow for Major Surface Water Sources, viewed 7 Sep 2005, http://www.watercorporation.com.au/dams/dams_streamflow.cfm

What the data mean

Examples given for southern Australia show a decrease in river discharge over recent years, mainly due to drought.

Data Limitations

Data on discharge from other river systems are not available.

Issues for which this is an indicator and why

Inland Waters - Catchment scale influences - Hydrological condition - Surface-water availability and human use 

This indicator provides a measure of the difference in total flow volume between current and natural conditions. Changes can have impacts on habitat condition. Nutrient enrichment and reduced river flow due to over-extraction of water have increased the frequency and extent of toxic blue-green algal blooms. Other water quality issues arise from reduced flow and decreased flushing.

River discharge can also be an indicator of sediment transport capacity. For example, the rivers of north and central Queensland tend to have high sediment transport capacity because of the high seasonal discharges in the summer wet season.

Other indicators for this issue:

Human Settlements - Services provided by the environment to human settlements - Water 

River discharge can influence the quantity and quality of water available for human use. Discharge rates are often reduced by storing flood water in dams or artificial lakes and releasing it during periods of low river flow. This can come at the cost of reducing a river’s capacity for flushing its accumulated sediment load.

Other indicators for this issue:

Further Information

The Impacts of Water Regulation and Storage on the Basin's Rivers - Murray Darling Basin

Key

   Links to another web site
   Links to data in the DRS
   Opens a pop-up window

Before you download

Some documents are available as PDF files. You will need a PDF reader to view PDF files.
List of PDF readers 

If you are unable to access a publication, please contact us to organise a suitable alternative format.