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In this section you will find detailed information, including national overviews and state and regional level assessments, from the 2000-2002 National Land and Water Resources Audit theme assessments.
Irrigation - New South Wales
New South Wales
What type and area of culture is supported by irrigation in New South Wales?
The predominant types of irrigated production in New South Wales by area are pasture (27%), cereals (22%), cotton (18%), and rice (12%). Vegetables, fruit and grapevines represent about 1% each of the total irrigated area.
| AWRC Basin | Pasture (ha) | Cereal (ha) | Other Crops (ha) | Vegetables (ha) | Sugar (ha) | Fruit (ha) | Grapes (ha) | Cotton (ha) | Rice (ha) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New South Wales | 346,164 | 279,529 | 14,521 | 19,035 | 15,194 | 232,507 | 225,493 | 151,434 | 104 |
| Barwon Darling Management Area | 34 | 403 | 3,711 | 1 | no data | 19 | 7 | 4,420 | no data |
| Bega River | 1,911 | 4 | 7 | 10 | no data | 2 | 3 | 0 | no data |
| Bellinger River | 1,040 | 4 | 70 | 232 | no data | 219 | 1 | 0 | no data |
| Benanee | 1,832 | 1,239 | 135 | 52 | no data | 465 | 808 | 32 | no data |
| Border Rivers (NSW) | 982 | 2,981 | 35,173 | 122 | no data | 328 | 13 | 43,667 | no data |
| Brunswick River | 175 | 0 | 38 | 55 | no data | 138 | 0 | 0 | no data |
| Bulloo River (NSW Part Only) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | no data | 0 | 0 | 0 | no data |
| Castlereagh River | 249 | 334 | 1,253 | 10 | no data | 16 | 8 | 1,291 | no data |
| Clarence River | 1,881 | 114 | 886 | 228 | no data | 303 | 3 | 1 | no data |
| Clyde River - Jervis Bay | 408 | 3 | 62 | 2 | no data | 21 | 3 | 0 | no data |
| Condamine - Culgoa Rivers (NSW Part Only) | 83 | 1,540 | 7,254 | 1 | no data | 1 | 2 | 7,848 | no data |
| Coopers Creek (NSW Part Only) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | no data | 0 | 0 | 0 | no data |
| Darling River | 1,897 | 3,811 | 5,153 | 167 | no data | 1,199 | 1,992 | 5,031 | no data |
| East Gippsland (NSW Part Only) | 571 | 1 | 2 | 3 | no data | 1 | 1 | 0 | no data |
| Gwydir River | 636 | 4,457 | 53,553 | 12 | no data | 416 | 7 | 65,900 | no data |
| Hastings River | 1,204 | 21 | 73 | 25 | no data | 33 | 0 | 0 | no data |
| Hawkesbury River | 6,083 | 354 | 1,217 | 918 | no data | 1,310 | 199 | 0 | no data |
| Hunter River | 16,055 | 968 | 582 | 376 | no data | 239 | 1,780 | 0 | no data |
| Karuah River | 554 | 7 | 24 | 8 | no data | 39 | 7 | 0 | no data |
| Lachlan River | 37,394 | 29,401 | 5,881 | 2,495 | no data | 1,690 | 1,263 | 688 | no data |
| Lake Bancannia | 7 | 214 | 250 | 0 | no data | 1 | 10 | 205 | no data |
| Lake Frome (NSW Part Only) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | no data | 0 | 0 | 0 | no data |
| Lake George | 23 | 4 | 5 | 2 | no data | 2 | 2 | 0 | no data |
| Lower Murray River (NSW Part Only) | 126 | 59 | 10 | 40 | no data | 283 | 438 | 0 | no data |
| Macleay River | 335 | 14 | 62 | 109 | no data | 61 | 0 | 0 | no data |
| Macquarie - Tuggerah Lakes | 170 | 0 | 214 | 64 | no data | 257 | 0 | 0 | no data |
| Macquarie River | 13,351 | 7,618 | 30,421 | 1,102 | no data | 1,620 | 965 | 32,125 | no data |
| Manning River | 3,397 | 134 | 108 | 3 | no data | 28 | 1 | 0 | no data |
| Moonie River (NSW) | 6 | 43 | 395 | 0 | no data | 0 | 0 | 415 | no data |
| Moruya River | 77 | 5 | 11 | 1 | no data | 9 | 1 | 0 | no data |
| Murray (NSW) | 104,185 | 45,958 | 6,621 | 1,152 | no data | 735 | 702 | 0 | no data |
| Murrumbidgee River (NSW) | 139,226 | 163,919 | 23,636 | 6,754 | no data | 8,241 | 6,919 | 72 | no data |
| Namoi River | 6,130 | 14,188 | 47,171 | 60 | no data | 81 | 19 | 54,804 | no data |
| Paroo River (NSW Part Only) | 43 | 1,488 | 4,833 | 2 | no data | 6 | 73 | 6,189 | no data |
| Richmond River | 2,556 | 122 | 1,606 | 55 | no data | 868 | 1 | 0 | no data |
| Shoalhaven River | 614 | 25 | 104 | 28 | no data | 70 | 4 | 0 | no data |
| Snowy River (NSW Part Only) | 144 | 2 | 3 | 39 | no data | 9 | 1 | 0 | no data |
| Sydney Coast - Georges River | 366 | 1 | 42 | 78 | no data | 54 | 1 | 0 | no data |
| Towamba River | 1,502 | 3 | 5 | 8 | no data | 1 | 2 | 0 | no data |
| Tuross River | 465 | 6 | 10 | 26 | no data | 5 | 1 | 0 | no data |
| Tweed River | 393 | 1 | 44 | 505 | no data | 292 | 0 | 0 | no data |
| Upper Murray River (NSW Part Only) | 519 | 70 | 68 | 3 | no data | 124 | 115 | 0 | no data |
| Warrego River (NSW Part Only) | 0 | 15 | 1,903 | 1 | no data | 3 | 6 | 2,917 | no data |
| Wollongong Coast | 114 | 0 | 11 | 1 | no data | 17 | 1 | 0 | no data |
Source: ABS AgStats 1997
What is the trend in area under irrigated production in New South Wales?
The change in area under irrigated production for the period 1982/83 to 1996/97 is shown in the following chart and table.
There are significant changes observed in the reported irrigated areas for cereals and pasture in both Western Australia and South Australia, and the Other Crop category in Queensland. These changes are likely to be the result of inconsistencies in data collection questionnaires in different years, or data errors.
| State / Territory | 83/84 (ha) | 86/87 (ha) | 89/90 (ha) | 90/91 (ha) | 91/92 (ha) | 92/93 (ha) | 93/94 (ha) | 96/97 (ha) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New South Wales | 661,589 | 855,042 | 813,499 | 911,231 | 985,555 | 929,755 | 1,145,060 | 907,051 |
| Pasture | 289,324 | 405,821 | 451,453 | 505,059 | 474,064 | 517,245 | 634,584 | 907,051 |
| Cereal | 244,738 | 243,201 | 170,692 | 193,850 | 213,700 | 229,112 | 283,896 | 279,528 |
| Other Crops | 90,049 | 161,559 | 148,134 | 168,865 | 257,050 | 143,333 | 176,453 | 232,506 |
| Vegetables | 13,219 | 13,175 | 15,467 | 15,127 | 13,896 | 13,840 | 16,795 | 14,521 |
| Sugar | no data | no data | no data | no data | no data | no data | no data | 103 |
| Fruit | 24,255 | 31,282 | 27,750 | 19,228 | 18,483 | 18,788 | 22,300 | 19,035 |
| Grapes | no data | no data | no data | 9,102 | 8,361 | 7,436 | 11,031 | 15,194 |
| Cotton | no data | no data | no data | no data | no data | no data | no data | 225,493 |
| Rice | no data | no data | no data | no data | no data | no data | no data | 151,434 |
ABS AgStats 97, 93 & 84 (concorded to 1996/97 SLA boundaries by BRS)
ABS AgStats 97, 93 & 84 (concorded to 1996/97 SLA boundaries by BRS)
Source: ABS AgStats 1997
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