Brisbane River, Brisbane, October 2004
Image by Robert Molloy, sourced from SKM

Capital city water use

Capital city water use is the subject of much attention, and efforts by governments to reduce per capita water use are generally successful. Water balances for capital cities have been compiled as part of AWR 2005 to address NWI Clauses 90 to 92, which aim to facilitate urban water reform. These water balances are undertaken in a similar manner to the individual water management area water balances. The variability in water supply and use for Australian capital cities is influenced by total water availability.

The table below shows a comparison between the amount of water recorded as a diversion or extraction and the total water supplied by the various water authorities. Total urban diversions and extractions were 2566 gigalitres in 2004–05, but water authorities recorded the supply of 1905 gigalitres for the same period. This discrepancy could be due to a large amount of self-extracted water taken from boreholes and streams that is not recorded by the water authorities. For most cities mentioned in this table there is reasonable correlation, but Perth and Sydney show a greater difference between the diversions plus extractions data and the total water supplied. In Perth’s case, this is most likely to be due to higher groundwater extractions from private groundwater bores. In the case of Sydney, the discrepancy is related to the differences in the reporting areas: the area supplied by Sydney Water is less than the whole catchments used in the AWR 2005 water balances.

Nett inflows, water supply and water use in the capital cities in 2004-05

Notes

• Data sourced from AWR2005 water balances, WSAA facts, and water authorities
• The geographic areas reported from these data sources do not coincide, resulting in some minor differences between the datasets
• Total urban water supplied for Melbourne Consolidated does not include Bulk Water Exports
• Inflows = Captured rainfall (SW) + Groundwater recharge (GW) + Transfers in (SW) + Transfers in (GW) [SW is surface water, GW is groundwater]
• Total Urban Water Supplied = residential water consumption + commercial and municipal and industrial water consumption + other water supplied + municipal irrigation water supplied + bulk water exports.
• Water Supplied per Total Connected Properties = residential water consumption + commercial and municipal and industrial water consumption + other water supplied / total water connected properties.

Please note that there are differences in some of the datasets from these two data sources, as the geographic areas reported do not coincide.

The Water Account, Australia 2004–05 has reported for 2004–05 that water consumption by households was 2108 gigalitres. This accounted for 11 per cent of water consumption in Australia, and was an 8 per cent decrease on the 2000–01 figure of 2278 gigalitres.

Western Australia had the highest average household water consumption per capita at 180 kilolitres per capita (kL/capita), followed by the Northern Territory (153 kL/capita) and Tasmania (143 kL/capita). Victoria had the lowest average per capita household water consumption (81 kL/capita). Of note is the ACT, which experienced the largest percentage decrease in household water consumption of 15 per cent, from 115kL/capita to 95 kL/capita.

In the capital cities, 2004–05 per capita water use was highest in Darwin at just under 348 kL/capita. Sydney had the lowest per capita water use at 124 kL/capita.

Per capita household water consumption by jurisdiction in Australia, 2000–01 and 2004–05

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