Information and system gaps/limitations

AWR 2005 has demonstrated a number of gaps in the consistency, extent and availability of information to provide for robust resource management. Such information and system gaps include:

• Inability of some states and territories to provide information in a readily-accessible manner this highlights the difficulty of accessing this information for general resource planning or enquiry by other stakeholders such as Peak Industry and Environment Groups, the Murray Darling Basin Commission or the National Water Commission.
• Some areas (e.g. far north Queensland, central Western Australia and parts of South Australia and Northern Territory) do not appear to be managed from an integrated water resources perspective, owing to low availability of resources or the perception that low levels of development and/or demand equate to low priority.
• Some states and territories (e.g. South Australia) have chosen to define the management of the resources in an integrated manner and to develop their systems in an aspirational way to manage the resources considering surface water and groundwater connectivity. However, lack of internal systems to support true integration of the resource management has created problems with data collation in some cases the systems are not currently constructed to support this ideal.
  
  

  Metering of water use provides essential information for sound water management

  Image by Colin Chartres, sourced from the National Water Commission

• Terminology and descriptions of key parameters or attributes is quite varied. States and territories do use different language to describe key components of water resource management (e.g. allocations /entitlements/use/diversions) and this can produce confusion when reporting and analysing data. The use of NWI sourced descriptions is helpful to some extent.
• Some technical definitions (such as sustainable yield) and the methods for determining these are highly variable across states and territories. In some cases the definition is based on a technical assessment of resource capability and in other cases it is a figure based on current extractions or entitlements. In a similar manner, the description of farm dams or catchment storages needs further refinement and definition.
• The lack of consistent definitions and methodology for assessing level of development and overallocation is considered to be a significant gap/limitation. In some areas there are also inconsistencies between assessed overallocation at a Basin scale compared with component water systems (eg Murray-Darling Basin, Snowy river).
• Knowledge of actual water use and actual levels of resource development (through measurement and metering) is variable across Australia. Efforts are underway by states and territories and also as part of AWR 2005 to address this. However, further improvements in the measurement of environmental and agricultural water use are required to achieve a more accurate total water balance.
• Lack of integration between those parts of each jurisdiction looking after water availability issues (e.g. resource allocation) and those responsible for managing the health of the assets (e.g. river health). In some cases the project team has had to approach different groups in each state and territory to obtain information and this has highlighted the apparent lack of coordination within the jurisdiction.

Australian Water Resources Information System

If cross-border water markets are to be opened up, and water resources are to be managed proactively to the benefit of all water users and the environment, improvements must be made in the way water is measured and, in particular, the rapidity with which water data become available to all users.

It is recognised that developing a water resources data management system that works effectively across state and territory borders would inspire public trust and confidence in our understanding and management of the resource.

• AWR 2005 has developed specifications for the Australian Water Resources Information System (AWRIS), which, when developed, will be used to enable the more rapid compilation and presentation of future Australian water resource assessments.
• AWRIS will also be used to compile aggregated national water accounts using protocols and the national chart of accounts currently under development.
• AWRIS has been designed to be compatible with current developments in the Australian Water Resources Observation Network (led by CSIRO). AWRIS is also designed to utilise standards and protocols for water data exchange that are being developed by the Australian Water Data Infrastructure Project that is being facilitated by the Executive Steering Committee for Water Resources Information.
  

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