Measuring up to manage water better NatStats Conference 08 Melbourne 21 November 2008

Over-allocation to Irrigation Bushfire Recovery Impacts Expanding Plantations Drying & Warming Climate Uncapped Groundwater Extraction Expanding Farm Dams Growing Urban Demand The Environmental Flows Imperative The big 8 water scarcity factors Water scarcity: A deepening problem.

Long term deficits remain across the MDB 7 very dry years for the basin

Recent inflows into the Murray system.

Irrigation System Nov08.

Information to support water reform. Prudent environmental flow management Good water information is the key Judicious infrastructure investments Fair pricing and equitable sharing of a scarce resource Properly functioning water markets Adequate flood risk protection Greater efficiency in water use

National Water Resource Assessment. National Water Accounting. Real-Time Status of Water Resources. The four cornerstones of water information to support sustainable water resources management. Hydrologic Forecasting.

The Bureau’s new water information role. 10-year Commonwealth program, started July 07 $450m funding 110 new staff (added to 40 existing) Based in all States, concentrated in VIC and ACT New IT infrastructure Legislative backing –Water Act 2007 –Water Regulations 2008

Our activities. 1.Set standards for water data. 2.Collect primary information from water data holders and build a national repository. 3.Provide a range of value-added water information products and services for the nation. 4.Assist water data holding agencies to modernise their observing systems. 5.Invest in water information R&D.

Our water information product suite.

Provider data Streamflow Groundwater Water quality Water use Entitlements and Trades Storage Diversions Various spatial data layers AWRIS Water Data Geofabric Hydro DB Climate DB Information products Information products REPORTING SERVICES FORECASTING SERVICES Browser, RSS, XML Dynamic NATIONAL WATER RESOURCE ASSESSMENT NATIONAL WATER ACCOUNT Rolling annual reports Static

The water data ingest process. Oct 08Feb 09Apr 09Jul primary categories of data (~60 variables) 8 categories of person (~260 persons in total) Entire historical archive provided at first Updated thereafter daily, weekly, monthly or yearly Considerable augmentation by BoM required

The Australian Hydrological Geospatial Fabric (aka ‘the geofabric’) A spatial representation of most of Australia’s hydrofeatures and their connectivity Rivers, Lakes, Wetlands, Reservoirs Catchment, aquifer and management area boundaries Water monitoring points Diversions, off-takes, return points Arranged in a network topology

The National Water Account. Questions: System status (Stocks and flows) For any reporting unit (system)…. How did the stocks of water change? How much was allocated and delivered? How much water was traded? What was the consumptive/environment split? How much was lost? How did entitlement security change?

The National Water Account. Questions: Information trustworthiness For a report prepared by any entity … How can we be sure the information is correct and comparable to other reports? What uncertainties are inherent in the report? What contextual issues are relevant? –climate –demand –management (restrictions, allocations)

Water Accounting Definition of Terms. Water Assets Water or rights or other claims to water, which the reporting entity holds or has management responsibilities for and from which stakeholders derive future benefits, e.g. stores in dams or rivers if the reporting entity is a catchment; allocation if the reporting entity is a water user Water Liabilities A present obligation of the water reporting entity, the discharge of which is expected to result in a decrease in their water assets, e.g. announced allocation if the reporting entity is a catchment

Contents of the National Water Account. Contextual Statement Statement of Changes in Water Assets and Water Liabilities Statement of Water Assets and Liabilities Statement of Physical Flows Disclosure Notes Accountability Statement Assurance Statement

Possible Reporting Entities. Nation State Catchment Supply Scheme Priority Areas Planning Areas

Scaling the National Water Account. National Water Account Sub-national Water Accounts Sub-sub-national Water Accounts Cascading down Consolidated up

Governance and Coordination. Publication of National Water Accounting Standards National Water Account Committee Bureau of Meteorology Water Accounting Standards Board Water Use Estimation Advisory Group Publication of National Water Account Preparation of sub- national accounts Advice Governance Actions

Challenges and opportunities. Getting the job done! Links to other accounts –water in the economy –environmental accounts Data standards for interoperability Data mining techniques Data survey methods

Rob Vertessy (Division Head) Peter Gigliotti (IT Development) Tony Boston (Data Management) Louise Minty (Water Accounting and Assessment) Bruce Stewart (Hydrologic Forecasting) Contacts for the Bureau’s Water Division.