State of the Environment

2006

Indicator: IW-03 Surface water used for irrigation

Data

Area of irrigated crops and pastures, by industry – 1996-97 and 2000-01
2000-01 1996-97
NSW/ACT Vic. Qld SA WA Tas. NT Aust. Aust.
‘000 ha ‘000 ha ‘000 ha ‘000 ha ‘000 ha ‘000 ha ‘000 ha ‘000 ha ‘000 ha
Livestock, pasture, grains, dairy and other
   Livestock, pasture, grains and other 509 214 113 51 11 27 — 924 na
   Dairy farming 67 340 25 23 6 17 — 479 na
   Total 576 554 138 74 17 44 — 1 403 1 175
Vegetables 18 25 32 14 9 17 — 116 89
Fruit 26 25 33 18 8 3 — 116 82
Grapes 32 34 2 57 8 1 3 133 70
Sugar — — 208 — 4 — — 211 173
Cotton 298 — 139 — — — — 437 315
Rice 177 2 — — — — — 179 152
Total 1 073 640 511 163 46 68 4 2 506 2 057

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics 2004, Water Account Australia 2000-01, Cat. No. 4610.0, Australian Bureau of Statistics, Canberra, viewed 9 Nov 2005, http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf
/Lookup/D828F04237840B07CA256F4C007155B3, Table 5.10, p. 61

Australia's mean annual water use (GL) by surface water and groundwater (1996/97)
Total use surface water Total use groundwater Ratio of surface water to groundwater use
New South Wales 9 000 1 008 9
Victoria 5 166 622 8.3
Queensland 2 969 1 622 1.8
Western Australia 658 1 138 0.6
South Australia 746 419 1.8
Tasmania 451 20 22.6
Northern Territory 51 128 0.4
Australian Capital Territory 68 5 13.6
Total 19 109 4 962 3.9

adapted from Source: National Land and Water Resources Audit 2001, Australian Water Resources Assessment 2000, Land and Water Australia, Canberra, viewed 13 Apr 2005, http://audit.ea.gov.au/ANRA/water/docs/national/Water_Use.html Table 13

Change in mean annual surface water use (GL) between 1983/84 and 1996/97

Total use 1983/84 surface water (GL)

Total use 1996/97 surface water (GL)

Percent increase in surface water use

New South Wales

5 932

9 000

52

Victoria

3 714

5 166

39

Queensland

1 209

2 969

145

Western Australia

461

658

43

South Australia

498

746

50

Tasmania

165

451

173

Northern Territory

29

51

76

Australian Capital Territory

n/a

68

-

Total

12 008

19 109

59

adapted from Source: National Land and Water Resources Audit 2001, Australian Water Resources Assessment 2000, Land and Water Australia, Canberra, viewed 13 Apr 2005, http://audit.ea.gov.au/ANRA/water/docs/national/Water_Use.html Table 19

Water consumption* by selected industries, 1996–97 and 2000-2001
Water consumption (ML)
1996–97 2000-01
Irrigated agriculture 15 502 973 16 660 381
Forestry and fishing 18 815 26 924
Mining 570 217 400 622
Manufacturing 727 737 866 061
Electricity and gas supply 1 307 834 1 687 778
Water supply 1 706 645 1 793 953
Household 1 828 999 2 181 447
Environmental flows 459 393
Other 522 513 832 100

* Water consumption = mains water use + self extracted water use + reuse water use –water supplied to other uses- in-stream water use

adapted from Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics 2004, Water Account Australia 2000-01, Cat. No. 4610.0, Australian Bureau of Statistics, Canberra, viewed 9 Nov 2005, http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf
/Lookup/D828F04237840B07CA256F4C007155B3, Table 1.3, p. 8 and

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics 2000, Water Account for Australia 1993-94 to 1996-97, Cat. No. 4610.0, ABS, Canberra, viewed 27 Apr 2006, http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf
/Lookup/B73DB095D62546D2CA256E980079E54C, Table 1.4, p. 10

What the data mean

The area irrigated increased between 1996-97 and 2000-01, with a corresponding increase in water consumption. Water allocated for environmental flows totalled 459 393 ML in 2000-01.

Data Limitations

The methodology used by ABS differs between Water Accounts. The ABS data do not differentiate between surface and groundwater sources. NLWRA data have not been updated.

Issues for which this is an indicator and why

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

The irrigation sector is the greatest user of surface water.

Unsustainable irrigation development is responsible for the over-allocation of water in many river systems. Current irrigation practices tend to be inefficient, and consequently a large proportion of the water extracted for irrigation is wasted. New irrigation developments have the potential to introduce best practice irrigation management. The water saved by increased efficiencies can either be returned to the environment used to irrigate new areas and increase the productivity of a basin.

Water can be lost in distribution systems before it reaches an irrigator. Over-irrigation of crops also wastes substantial volumes of water in Australia. Additionally, over-irrigation can also have adverse impacts on agriculture and the environment. The wasted irrigation water not used by the crop can 'leak' into the groundwater, causing water tables to rise, waterlogging of surface soils and land salinisation.

Changes in quantity water used for irrigation is a direct measure of the pressure of water extraction, the contribution of inland waters to agriculture, and the response to the pressure.

Other indicators for this issue:

Human Settlements - Pressures created by human settlements on the environment - Water use 

The indicator is a direct measure of one aspect of water use.

Other indicators for this issue:

Further Information

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