The National Water Commission has released a report on its work on the development and application of a nationally consistent method for measuring and reporting water stress in Australian catchments.

 

The report:

  • defines ‘water stress’ as ground or surface water regime change from extractions, interception activities and/or artificial impediments, that potentially compromises environmental assets, ecosystem functions or the long-term sustainability of the resource
  • describes a nationally consistent method for measuring water stress as an indicator of potentially overused surface water and groundwater systems
  • highlights catchments and aquifers across Australia with high levels of water stress that may need more detailed investigation to assess potential overuse of water
  • identifies whether systems with a high level of water stress have water management mechanisms in place to reduce the stress, if this is considered unacceptable.

 

The report shows that despite public focus on the Murray-Darling Basin, the causes of water stress are not confined to the impacts of irrigated agriculture. Some rivers and aquifers in and near capital cities and other urban areas are also stressed, as are some rivers used for hydropower generation and some aquifers where water is extracted for mining and oil/gas operations.

Fortunately, most of the systems that are highly stressed already have water plans in place or in development. The majority have clear environmental water goals and some pathways to achieve those goals.

The report reinforces the Commission’s call for transparent monitoring and assessment to increase our understanding of Australia’s water resources.

 

The report, Assessing water stress in Australian catchments and aquifers, can be downloaded here.