Every year the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) releases data on water supply and use in Australia.
The latest data is from the 2024–25 financial year and shows that while overall water consumption remained relatively stable, the type of water we're using is changing.
Here are five interesting insights from today’s release:
1. Australia is increasingly turning to climate-independent water sources
Australia’s water utilities supplied 3.5 per cent more water when compared to 2023–24. More of this was reuse and desalinated water than in the previous year.
Reuse water is wastewater that is captured and supplied to be used again. It is used in irrigation or industrial processes, rather than being discharged to rivers or oceans.
Desalinated water is water with a high salt content (usually sea water) that has had the salt removed to make it suitable for domestic or industrial use.
2. The amount of reuse water supplied reached its highest level since 2015–16 – more than 300 billion litres!
In 2024–25, a total of 323 gigalitres (GL) of reuse water was supplied – an increase of 5.5 per cent.
This reflects sector-wide initiatives to improve resilience to increasingly variable weather, combined with lower rainfall and declining dam storages observed throughout the year.
3. Desalination surged
Desalinated water supplied by water utilities increased to 199 GL, a 16 per cent increase from 2023–24.
South Australia recorded the strongest growth, while Western Australia remained Australia’s largest user of desalinated water.
While desalination accounted for only around 1.2 per cent of national water consumption, it was one of the fastest-growing water sources during the year.
4. Australians used more water at home
Household water use increased by 2.7 per cent to 1,920 GL in 2024–25, while average household water use increased to 176 kilolitres.
Despite the increase, the average household still uses less water than it did a decade ago.
5. Water doesn’t stop when it goes down the drain
Water utilities received 2,301 GL of wastewater in 2024–25.
Some of this water was treated and supplied again as reuse water, while some was returned to the environment.
The growing use of reuse water highlights how yesterday’s wastewater is increasingly becoming tomorrow’s water supply.
Media notes
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