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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.
Water - Challenges for Water Resource Management
Water resource characterisation
Australia has excellent hydrological information on its surface water availability as a result of a long period of strategic investment, fostered and encouraged through previous Commonwealth initiatives such as the Australian Water Resources Council. Continued and comprehensive data collection for surface water and groundwater quality and quantity is essential. Priority needs to be given to:
Resource characterisation of groundwater-the assembly of data of adequate reliability and frequency to meet management needs. Most groundwater data will be used within their own jurisdiction. Differences between jurisdictions are not critical. However, occasions will occur when data will need to be assembled and analysed across jurisdictions. This will be easier if common standards can be agreed and adopted. The proposed Australian Groundwater Data Infrastructure (National Groundwater Committee 1999) will facilitate efficient assembly and analysis of such data.
Strategic design and implementation of water quality monitoring programs to serve catchment, river and estuary management needs, particularly the collection of water quality trend and loads information-nutrients, turbidity, and salinity.
Tactical water quality monitoring to respond to specific and localised water quality issues (e.g. toxic chemicals and pathogens).
Selected investment in water quality monitoring programs in less disturbed basins to improve understanding of ?natural? system dynamics and provide a basis for comparative water quality assessments (e.g. Indian Ocean, Timor Sea, Gulf of Carpentaria and Lake Eyre Drainage Divisions).
Surface water quality management
Under the framework provided by Australian and New Zealand Environment and Conservation Council, Australia has progressed surface water quality management against water quality guidelines set for particular rivers and environments. We need to build on these initiatives with:
Specific investigations and tools development to link water quality and quantity with catchment land uses and practices, and provide a basis for integrated catchment management programs and setting of targets and priorities for improved land use practice and allocation.
Refinement of water quality guidelines at a basin or region-specific level.
Management objectives and monitoring programs that recognise the natural variability in Australia?s rivers and catchments.
Water use and water use efficiency
Data collection systems and water use documentation that encourage and implement improved water use efficiency are key to the sustainable management and development of Australia?s water resources.
Water use efficiency will be achieved through improved water use practices and water recycling-on farm, in industry and for urban uses. Water use efficiency will also be improved by optimising efficiency of supply infrastructure particularly at irrigation scheme and farm operation scales (e.g. lining irrigation channels and piping of open channels to reduce significant water losses, replacing groundwater distribution drains with polyethylene pipes, bore capping). Priority activities include:
Full cost pricing, including environmental cost, as promoted by the National Water Reform Framework.
Implementing water use monitoring as part of water administration and allocation activities.
Progressively implementing volumetric allocation, metering, recording systems and reporting (through water supply companies, management authorities and government agencies) at least for highly- and over-committed surface and groundwater systems.
Setting targets for water use efficiency to reduce water consumption in urban areas and improve water use efficiency in irrigation practice, and then undertaking initiatives to meet these targets.
Water resource sustainability
The National Water Reform Agenda has provided the lead for the progressive development of sustainable water management across Australia. Audit findings show that much still needs to be done on a needs basis: including more precisely defining sustainability and developing assessment methods. Priority areas for further activities include:
Developing systems to assess and report on sustainability, surface and groundwater systems.
Agreeing and adopting Australia-wide comparable definitions and methods for determining sustainable flow regimes for surface water, and sustainable yield for groundwater resources. This must recognise the complex relationships between river, wetland, estuary, aquifer and catchment health, and water quantity and quality.
Developing and applying tools that quantify and link impacts of land use practices and patterns on catchment water yield (e.g. on-farm storages, changes in irrigated crops and afforestation).
Developing and applying methods to understand and then manage at a basin scale conjunctive use, and to integrate surface water and groundwater management within an overall context of sustainability.
Designing and implementing a range of administrative measures that build on current instruments such as caps on water use and licence rationalisation, to support implementation of sustainability.
Water resource assessment and reporting
Australia needs to routinely maintain and update data, assess condition of water resources and report regularly on management progress to ensure cost-effective and efficient investment in water resource management. Data quality must be improved through better standards and quality assurance processes. Minimum standards and units of measurement and methods are essential so that data across Australia are comprehensive and comparable. Australian Water Resources Assessment 2000 has provided the baseline and framework for tracking progress. Priority activities to build on this investment include:
Five-yearly cooperative and Australia-wide assessment of progress towards achieving sustainable water resource management.
National sponsors that coordinate data management andimplementation of standards, and work with State and Territory data custodians to continually improve assessment, reporting and data access capabilities across water quality and quantity.
Australian Water Resources Assessment 2000
Australian Water Resources Assessment 2000 has:
- Collated and presented information on Australia?s surface water and groundwater quality and quantity at management scales in the Australian Natural Resources Atlas and as summarised in this report. This is key information for regional groups as they develop, implement and evaluate regional natural resources management strategies.
Addresses Audit objective 1: Providing a clear understanding of the status of, and changes in, the nation?s land, vegetation and water resources and implications for their sustainable use
- Defined surface and groundwater management units. Data for these areas have been compiled in standardised databases as part of the Audit?s Data Library. It is accessible as summary information products through the Australian Natural Resources Atlas.
Addresses Audit objective 3: Developing a national information system of compatible and readily accessible resource data
- Undertaken assessments of the sustainability of Australia?s surface water and groundwater use and whether it meets surface water quality guidelines. These assessments have been undertaken in the wider context of natural resources management and are inputs to other Audit integrated assessments.
Addresses Audit objective 4: Producing national land, vegetation and water-surface and groundwater-assessments as integrated components of the Audit
- Worked closely with most water resources management agencies to build on their data collection and management activities and provide these agencies with data management systems that improve their ability to present management-orientated information on Australia?s water resources. The Audit has collaborated with the National Competition Council in its role to oversee the National Water Reform Agenda and the Australian Bureau of Statistics in its role to produce National Environmental Accounts (e.g. ABS 2000).
Addresses Audit objective 5: Ensuring integration with, and collaboration between, other relevant initiatives
- Provided a framework and directions for monitoring, assessment and reporting on Australia?s water resources. This includes definition of management units, collation of benchmark information and provision of database structures that can be implemented as part of water management administration within State and Territory water resource agencies.
Addresses Audit objective 6: Providing a framework for monitoring Australia?s land and water resources in an ongoing and structured way
Australian Water Resources Assessment 2000 has highlighted major areas for further investment as key inputs to the improved management of Australia?s water resources.
Table of Contents for the Australian Water Resources Assessment 2000
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