4610.0.55.007 - Water and the Murray-Darling Basin - A Statistical Profile, 2000-01 to 2005-06  
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Contents >> Water use in the Murray-Darling Basin >> Water Use by Industries and Households

WATER USE BY INDUSTRIES AND HOUSEHOLDS

The allocation of water to competing users in Australia's economy and society (e.g. Agriculture, other industries and households) presents a significant planning issue for resource managers. This becomes especially relevant during droughts when contingency plans are formed (e.g. MDB dry inflow contingency planning, see Appendix). To reliably underpin the trade-offs which arise during water planning, data are required on the volume of water used, and the value of that water use to society and industries.

Industries (including Agriculture) and households in the MDB accounted for more than half (52%) of Australia's total water consumption in 2004-05.

The following section examines water consumption by industries and households in the MDB, and presents comparisons with state and Australia-level water consumption.


Agriculture

Agriculture is a large water user (in 2004-05 accounting for 83% of all industry and household water consumption in the MDB), but consumption varies across different agricultural activities. In 2005-06, agricultural water consumption in the MDB was 7,720 GL, accounting for 66% of total agricultural water consumption in Australia (table 3.1). The major agricultural water users in the MDB were: cotton (1,574 GL), dairy farming (1,287 GL), pasture for livestock (excluding dairy, 1,284 GL) and rice (1,252 GL). These crops and pasture collectively accounted for 70% of all agricultural water consumption in the MDB. The MDB accounted for all irrigated water consumption in Australia for rice (100%), and the vast majority for cotton (91%), cereals other than rice (88%) and grapes (81%).

3.1 Water consumption, by agricultural commodity—2005–06

MDB
Aust.
MDB as a proportion of Aust.
GL
GL
%

Dairy farming(a)
1 287
1 893
68
Pasture for other livestock(b)
1 284
2 042
63
Rice
1 252
1 253
100
Cereals (excl. rice)
782
894
88
Cotton
1 574
1 735
91
Grapes
515
633
81
Fruit (excl. grapes)
413
630
66
Vegetables
152
431
35
Other agriculture(c)
461
2 178
21
Total Agriculture(d)
7 720
11 689
66

(a) Includes irrigated pasture for grazing, hay and seed; livestock drinking; and shed washdown.
(b) Includes irrigated pasture for grazing, hay and seed.
(c) Includes other broadacre crops, nurseries, livestock (other than dairy) drinking.
(d) Components may not add to total due to rounding.
Source: Water use on Australian Farms (cat. no. 4618.0); ABS data available on request, Agricultural Census, 2005–06


Some irrigated agricultural crops are confined to relatively small areas of the MDB, others are more widely distributed (see table 3.2). This pattern of agricultural activity affects spatial patterns of water consumption. In 2005–06, 72% of water used for growing cotton was in New South Wales compared with 28% in Queensland (table 3.3). Almost all water consumption for rice (99%) occurred in New South Wales. The majority of water for dairy farming was consumed in Victoria (82%). Water used for growing grapes, fruit and nuts (hereafter referred to as fruit), and vegetables is more evenly distributed between New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia.

3.2 Irrigated area, by agricultural commodity and Basin state—Murray-Darling Basin—2005–06

NSW/ACT
VIC.
QLD
SA
TOTAL MDB(a)
Area
Proportion of total MDB
Area
Proportion of total MDB
Area
Proportion of total MDB
Area
Proportion of total MDB
Area
Proportion of total MDB
'000 ha
%
'000 ha
%
'000 ha
%
'000 ha
%
'000 ha
%

Pasture for dairy farming(b)
40
15
226
82
3
1
7
3
276
100
Pasture for other livestock(b)
243
55
174
40
15
3
8
2
441
100
Rice
101
99
1
1
-
-
-
-
102
100
Cereals (excl. rice)
252
77
39
12
37
11
2
-
329
100
Cotton
169
68
-
-
78
32
-
-
247
100
Grapes
39
37
33
32
1
1
32
30
106
100
Fruit (excl. grapes)
24
32
32
43
5
6
14
19
75
100
Vegetables
13
40
8
24
4
13
8
24
32
100
Other agriculture(c)
32
71
9
19
4
8
1
2
46
100
Total Agriculture(a)
913
55
522
32
147
9
71
4
1 654
100

- nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)
(a) Components may not add to total due to rounding.
(b) Includes irrigated pasture for grazing, hay and seed.
(c) Includes other broadacre crops, nurseries, livestock (other than dairy) drinking.
Source: Water use on Australian farms 2005-06; ABS data available on request, Agricultural Census, 2005–06

3.3 Water consumption, by agricultural commodity and Basin state—Murray-Darling Basin—2005–06

NSW/ACT
VIC.
QLD
SA
TOTAL MDB(a)
Volume
Proportion of total MDB
Volume
Proportion of total MDB
Volume
Proportion of total MDB
Volume
Proportion of total MDB
Volume
Proportion of total MDB
GL
%
GL
%
GL
%
GL
%
GL
%

Dairy farming(b)
167
13
1 057
82
9
1
54
4
1 287
100
Pasture for other livestock(c)
678
53
521
41
51
4
33
3
1 284
100
Rice
1 239
99
13
1
-
-
-
-
1 252
100
Cereals (excl. rice)
617
79
84
11
77
10
4
1
782
100
Cotton
1 128
72
-
-
447
28
-
-
1 574
100
Grapes
178
35
180
35
3
1
154
30
515
100
Fruit (excl. grapes)
125
30
165
40
7
2
116
28
413
100
Vegetables
59
39
37
24
10
7
45
30
152
100
Other agriculture(d)
295
64
79
17
66
14
20
4
461
100
Total Agriculture(a)
4 487
58
2 136
28
671
9
426
6
7 720
100

- nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)
(a) Components may not add to total due to rounding.
(b) Includes: irrigated pasture for grazing, hay and seed; livestock drinking; and, shed washdown.
(c) Includes irrigated pasture for grazing, hay and seed.
(d) Includes other broadacre crops, nurseries, livestock (other than dairy) drinking.
Source: Water use on Australian farms 2005–06; ABS data available on request, Agricultural Census, 2005–06



Electricity and gas

Water is an essential production input for the Electricity and gas industry. Water is used for cooling processes during electricity generation within coal or natural gas power stations. This is an example of consumptive water use by the Electricity and gas industry. Water is also used non-consumptively (in-stream use) during hydro-electricity generation when water is extracted from a storage facility, then immediately discharged after passing through generating turbines. In the Snowy Mountains region of the MDB, water is diverted from outside the Basin via several storage dams, and then discharged into the MDB through a series of tunnels, dams and generating stations (Snowy Hydro 2007).

In 2004-05, the MDB generated approximately 3% of Australia's electricity and 33% of the nation's hydro-electricity. Hydro-electricity represented the bulk of the Basin's generated electricity. Approximately 15,900 GL of water was used (non-consumptively) in the MDB to generate 5,209 GWh of hydro-electricity (tables 3.4 and 3.5). The volume of water used in the MDB represented 27% of Australia's hydro-electricity (in-stream) water use. Two-thirds of the water used was in New South Wales, and one-third in Victoria.

3.4 Hydro-electricity generators' in-stream water use, by Basin state—2004–05

GL

New South Wales
10 271
Victoria
5 581
Queensland
-
South Australia
-
Murray-Darling Basin
15 852
Australia
57 867

- nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)
Source: ABS data available on request, Water Account

3.5 Electricity generated—2004–05

GWh

Hydro-electricity
Murray-Darling Basin
5 209
Australia
15 991
Total electricity - Australia
194 471

Source: ABS data available on request, Water Account



Water supply industry

Minimising losses from water storage and delivery infrastructure is a fundamental aspect of national and MDB-specific water policies (see Appendix). The effectiveness of such policies can be assessed by evaluating whether the share of the entire economy's water use represented by water losses reduces over time.

Apart from Agriculture, the largest source of industry water consumption in the MDB was water lost or unaccounted for during delivery from water supply sources to end-users (accounting for 13% of total water consumption in the MDB). Water losses can result from evaporation, channel seepage, pipe leakage or bursts, mains flushing, and water meter errors. The standard water accounting convention, according to the System of Environmental and Economic Accounting for Water (UN 2006), is to attribute this consumption to the water supply industry. This industry includes both urban and irrigation water suppliers.

In 2004–05, water consumption by the water supply industry in the MDB (1,246 GL) accounted for 60% of Australia's total water supply industry consumption. This is because four of the five largest irrigation water suppliers in Australia (by delivery volume) operate in the MDB (ANCID 2007). Irrigation water suppliers in Australia lose proportionally more water (23% of total distributed water) than urban suppliers (12%) (ABS 2006a).

Most water consumption by the water supply industry in the MDB occurred in Victoria (53%) and New South Wales (39%) (table 3.6).

3.6 Water supply industry water consumption, by state/territory—2004–05

Water consumption
MDB water consumption as a proportion of
MDB
Total state/Aust.
Total MDB
Total state/Aust.
GL
GL
%
%

New South Wales
486
631
39
77
Victoria
657
793
53
83
Queensland
83
426
7
20
South Australia
15
71
1
21
Australian Capital Territory
5
5
-
100
Total
1 246
(a)2 083
100
(a)60

- nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)
(a) Includes water consumption by WA, Tas. and NT.
Source: ABS data available on request, Water Account



Mining

Water is important for mining operations to facilitate the transport, flotation, grinding and separation of minerals (Norgate and Lovel 2004), as well as dust suppression. Water consumption by Mining in the MDB represented an insignificant proportion of MDB water consumption (0.2%) in 2004–05. As a proportion of all water consumption by the Mining industry, the MDB has a relatively minor contribution (5% or 20 GL). Of this, most (78%) occurred in the New South Wales section of the Basin (table 3.7). Of the businesses engaged in Mining in the MDB, metal ore mining businesses consumed the most water.

3.7 Mining water consumption, by state/territory—2004–05

Water consumption
MDB water consumption as a proportion of
MDB
Total state/Aust.
Total MDB
Total state/Aust.
GL
GL
%
%

New South Wales
16
63
78
25
Victoria
2
32
11
7
Queensland
2
83
9
2
South Australia
-
19
1
2
Australian Capital Territory
-
-
1
100
Total(a)
20
(b)413
100
(b)5

- nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)
(a) Components may not add to total due to rounding.
(b) Includes water consumption by WA, Tas. and NT.
Source: ABS data available on request, Water Account



Manufacturing

Water is used in Manufacturing for a variety of purposes including cooling, cleaning, as a solvent, and as a food or beverage constituent. The types of manufacturing businesses which use the highest volumes of water in the MDB include pulp and paper mills, abattoirs and other food manufacturing, dairy factories and breweries. Like Mining, water consumption by Manufacturing in the MDB was an insignificant proportion of overall MDB water consumption (0.6%) in 2004–05. Compared with Australia, MDB Manufacturing water consumption was also relatively minor (9%). Most occurred in the New South Wales (56%) and Victoria (28%) sections of the MDB (table 3.8).

3.8 Manufacturing water consumption, by state/territory—2004–05

Water consumption
MDB water consumption as a proportion of
MDB
Total state/Aust.
Total MDB
Total state/Aust.
GL
GL
%
%

New South Wales
30
126
56
24
Victoria
15
114
28
13
Queensland
5
158
9
3
South Australia
3
55
5
5
Australian Capital Territory
1
1
1
100
Total(a)
53
(b)589
100
(b)9

(a) Components may not add to total due to rounding.
(b) Includes water consumption by WA, Tas. and NT.
Source: ABS data available on request, Water Account



Other industries

Water is also important for other industries operating in the MDB. These include, but are not limited to: local, state and commonwealth governments, service industries, restaurants, motels, schools and hospitals. Water is used for activities such as irrigating parks, gardens and sporting fields, for fire fighting, filling swimming pools and laundry operation. When describing water consumption, collectively these are referred to as "Other industries".

Although the quantity of water consumption by each of the "Other industries" cannot be disaggregated due to data quality issues, collectively these industries accounted for 1.6% of the total water consumption in the MDB in 2004–05.


Households

Households accounted for only 2% of MDB water consumption in 2004–05. Household water consumption in the MDB (189 GL) accounted for 9% of water consumption by all Australian households in 2004–05 (table 3.9). This is consistent with the proportion of the total population living in the MDB (10% in 2006).

The majority of MDB household water consumption was in New South Wales (36%), followed by Victoria (28%), and the Australian Capital Territory (16%), which reflects the population distribution of the MDB (see Chapter 2). However, per capita water consumption varied across the Basin states and was highest in Queensland (119 kilolitres/person), and lowest in New South Wales (88 kilolitres/person) (table 3.10).

3.9 Household water consumption, by state/territory—2004–05

Water consumption
MDB water consumption as a proportion of
MDB
Total state/Aust.
Total MDB
Total state/Aust.
GL
GL
%
%

New South Wales
68
573
36
12
Victoria
52
405
28
13
Queensland
26
493
14
5
South Australia
11
144
6
8
Australian Capital Territory
31
31
16
100
Total(a)
189
(b)2 108
100
(b)9

(a) Components may not add to total due to rounding.
(b) Includes water consumption by WA, Tas. and NT.
Source: ABS data available on request, Water Account

3.10 Household water consumption, per household and per capita—2004–05

Water consumption (GL)
kL/household
kL/capita

Murray-Darling Basin
New South Wales
68
227
88
Victoria
52
233
91
Queensland
26
314
119
South Australia
11
253
101
Australian Capital Territory
31
252
96
Total(a)
189
244
94
Australia
2 108
268
103

(a) Components may not add to total due to rounding.
Source: Australian Demographic Statistics, Dec 2005 (cat. no. 3101.0); ABS data available on request, Water Account








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