Water Use and Demand in Australia
On a per capita basis, Australia has one of the largest consumptions of water in the world.
On average each Australian uses 1.31 million litres each year-a total of 24 000 GL in
1996/97.
Irrigated agriculture is the biggest water user (about 70-75%). The rest is taken for urban
and industrial purposes (about 20%) and in rural areas for stock and domestic purposes (5%).
In a typical Australian household in 1996/97 each person used around 350 L/day of water
that had been treated to drinking water standard.
Half of this was used for gardening; flushing toilets used about a quarter.
People in Asia, Africa and Latin America use 50-100 L/day, people in the USA use
400-500 L/day.
On average, Australian water use increased by 65% between 1983/84 and 1996/97.
This was mostly due to increases in irrigated agriculture.
Urban water use per person declined over the 1990s mainly due to an increased awareness
of the need to reduce water waste and implementation of water pricing.
Industrial use is not large and is falling as industries become more efficient.
Australia's mean annual water use (GL) by category (1996/97) (Note: does not include groundwater).
Irrigation Urban/ Rural Total use
Industrial + Other
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New South Wales 8 643 1 060 305 10 008
Victoria 4 451 987 339 5 777
Queensland 2 978 1 052 561 4 591
Western Australia 710 1 027 59 1 796
South Australia 819 292 53 1 164
Tasmania 276 186 9 471
Northern Territory 53 87 39 179
Australian Capital
Territory 5 63 4 72
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Total 17 935 4 754 1 369 24 058
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Australia stores a lot of water
Australia stores more water than any other country --: more than 4 million litres per
person (or 12 times the average household consumption).
To ensure a reliable water supply during periods of drought, much large water storages
have been built in Australia than elsewhere. In fact, Australia stores more water per
head of population than anywhere else in the world. This in turn mean that a greater
proportion of the flows are retained in storages.
Examples of large water storages for urban use are:
Warragamba Dam, supplying Sydney, which can hold about two million megalitres; and
Thomson Dam, supplying Melbourne, which can hold about one million megalitres.
Large storages in Tasmania are used for hydro-electric power generation and a cable is
to be laid across Bass Strait to deliver power to the South Eastern grid (NSW, Victoria
and South Australia).
Water is stored in:
447 large dams for urban, irrigation and hydro-electric purposes (79 000 GL)
several million farm dams (2000 GL).
Australia has about 26 000 GL of groundwater that could be used on a sustainable basis;
72% of this is of adequate quality for stock, domestic purposes and irrigation.
Most water extracted from natural sources is not pure and needs to be treated before being
used for various purposes. The quality of water used in the water supply is likely to vary
with flow and other factors.
Frequently it requires some form of physical and/or chemical treatment to make it safe and
pleasant to drink.
Various technologies are used to remove contaminants from water and to improve and protect
water quality.
One particular issue affecting water quality in many areas of Australia is salinity,
which is now widely recognized as one of the nation's most devastating environmental
problems.
Federal, State and Territory governments are beginning to understand the full
ramifications of the problem and are working with scientists and land managers to slow
the rate of destruction and to repair the damage where this is possible.
One major problem is keeping the salinity of Adelaide's drinking water, drawn from the
Murray River low enough to meet health standards.
Reviews of Water Use in Australia
`Three major studies on water usage in Australia have been produced recently
# In May 2000, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) produced the first update of
Australian water usage since 1985. The ABS Water Account for Australia 1993-94 to 1996-97
(Catalogue No. 4610.0).
See Australian Bureau of Statistics: Water Review
# In February 2001, the National Land and Water Resources Audit published the Australian
Water Resources Assessment 2000 - surface and groundwater availability and quality,
the first comprehensive national audit of Australia's surface water and groundwater
resources covering water quantity and water quality.
See National Land & Water Resources Audit: Theme Water Resources
# Australia State of the Environment 2001. This Report by the Australian State of
the Environment Committee (ASEC) provides an independent assessment of the condition
of Australia's environment in the year 2001.
The ASEC has, to the extent possible, provided information on environmental trends and
changes and what these mean for more effective environmental planning and management.
Despite some areas of significant improvement, Australians still have major challenges
in the sustainable use of resources and in the maintenance of our natural and cultural heritage.
This Report concludes, as did SoE (1996), that progress towards sustainability requires
the integration of environmental with economic and social policies.
See Australia State of the Environment 2001. Inland Waters
Major Findings from these reviews:
ABS Water Account for Australia
Water Use in Australia in 1996-97
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Agriculture 70 per cent
Households 8 per cent
Water services 6 per cent
Manufacturing industry 3 per cent
Mining industry 3 per cent
Other uses 2 per cent
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About 52 per cent of water consumed in Australia is harvested using major engineering
infrastructure and piped to its point of use. The remaining 48 per cent is extracted
directly from the environment to meet local requirements.
Most of this water (19 000 GL) comes from rivers and dams; the rest (5000 GL) is from
groundwater.
About 98 per cent of Australian dwellings are connected to a mains water supply.
Change in mean annual water use (GL) in Australia by water use category
Water use category 1985 review 1996-97 review Percentage change
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Irrigation 10 200 17 940 76
Urban/industrial 3 060 4 750 55
Rural 1 340 1 370 2
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Total 14 600 24 060 65
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Irrigation now accounts for 75% of water used in Australia.
The largest increase in water use was for irrigation in New South Wales and
Queensland where the area of irrigated land has doubled.
In 1997, 1.472 million hectares of land was irrigated in the Murray-Darling Basin,
71% of the total area irrigated in Australia.
Consumption by State
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NSW/ACT 39%
Victoria 30%
Queensland 17%
Other States 14%
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In 1996-97 the agriculture sector accounted for the majority of net water consumption.
Total agricultural net water consumption was 15,522 GL, which comprised 70% of the total net
water consumption for Australia.
Livestock, pasture and grains (excluding rice) consumed 8,795 GL of irrigated water in
1996-97. Cotton, rice and sugar each consumed 1,841 GL; 1,643 GL; and 1,236 GL respectively
in 1996-97.
Rice was the most water intensive industry, with an irrigated gross value of $189 per ML
of water used. Irrigated pastures, other grains and livestock returned an average value of
$289 per ML of water used. The next most intensive water users included irrigated sugar
and cotton, with gross values of $418 per ML and $612 per ML respectively.
Household water consumption totaled an estimated 1,829 GL during 1996-97, representing
8% of total water consumption for that year. Household water consumption for the three
previous years totaled 1,704 GL (1993-94); 1,800 GL (1994-95); and 1,691 GL (1995-96).
Mean household water use was highest in the Northern Territory (500kL/year), Queensland
(340kL/year) and Western Australia (320kL/year). Tasmanian households used the least amount
of water (average 176kL/year), while NSW/ACT, Victoria and South Australia used between
218 and 237 kL/year.
Water supply, sewerage and drainage services used 1,707 GL (8% of total water consumption)
in 1996-97. Most of this amount is conversion losses and environmental flow allocations,
where these have been measured. In previous years, this sector has used over 2,000 GL or
10% of total water consumption.
Net water consumption by the electricity and gas sector totaled 1,308 GL in 1996-97.
This amount excludes in-stream used for hydro-electricity generation.
In-stream use of water for hydro-electricity power generation totaled 46,509 GL in 1996-97;
most of which occurred in Tasmania.
Effluent reuse totaled 134,424 ML in 1996-97. The largest users of effluent reuse were
the mining sector (41,811 ML-31% of the total effluent reuse) and agriculture
(38,118 ML-28% of total effluent reuse).
Mining consumed 570 GL of water, or around 3% of total water consumption for 1996-97.
Most of this was self-extracted from surface and groundwater sources, with only a small
amount (approximately 30 GL) supplied through mains infrastructure.
In 1996-97 an estimated 68,703 GL of surface and groundwater was extracted from the
environment, of which 11,525 GL was distributed for use via mains infrastructure.
Discharge of water back to the environment (directly to surface waters) totaled 49,480 GL,
of which 46,509 GL was utilized in-stream by hydro-electric power generation schemes.
Net water consumption, therefore, was 22,186 GL. (Net water consumption refers to the
amount of water used and not discharged back to existing water bodies).
Water Use and the Economy
The agriculture sector is the most intensive user of water with an industry gross product
(IGP) of $588/ML of water use in 1996-97 (includes IGP for both dryland and irrigated
agriculture).
This contrasts with the less intensive service industries sector (excluding utilities)
which had an IGP per ML water use totaling $382,000/ML.
All other sectors fall between these two extremes, with the utilities sectors
(water supply, sewerage and drainage; and the electricity and gas industries) being
the next most water intensive.
The value of irrigated production accounted for approximately 26% of the total gross value
of production from agriculture which was estimated at $28,156 million in 1996-97.
Irrigated pasture covered the largest area of irrigated land, accounting for
approximately 935,000 hectares.
It is a major contributor to the livestock, pasture, grains and other agriculture industry
group.
The vegetable and fruit industries returned the highest gross value per ML water used
for irrigated agriculture, at $1,760/ML and $1,460/ML respectively.
The water intensive activity of rice growing resulted in the lowest ratio of gross
value per ML water used ($189/ML), followed by $289/ML for irrigated pastures,
other grains and livestock.
WATER USE AND GROSS VALUE FOR IRRIGATED AGRICULTURE
Industry Gross value ($m) Net water use (ML) Irrigated area (ha)
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Livestock, pasture,
grains and
other agriculture 2,540 8,795,428 1,174,687
Vegetables 1,119 634,913 88,782
Sugar 517 1,236,250 173,224
Fruit 1,027 703,878 82,316
Grapes 613 648,574 70,248
Cotton 1,128 1,840,624 314,957
Rice 310 1,643,306 152,367
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Total 7,254 15,502,973 2,056,580
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