Balancing Consumptive and Environmental Water Use –An Australian Perspective - Water and Agriculture: Sustainability, Markets and Policies - page 175

Figure 1. Water consumption in Australia 2000-01
Source: ABS, 2004.
Agricultural water use is largely influenced by climatic conditions. Drought and other
climatic events influence agricultural output and water demand more so than other
industries. Long-term rainfall anomalies have been present since 1996 in a number of
areas, resulting in persistent dry conditions. 2002-2003 saw the peak of a severe drought,
which affected almost all of Australia from March 2002 onwards (ABS, 2005).
The area of irrigated agricultural land has increased by 22 per cent between 1996-97
and 2000-2001, to 2.5 million hectares (ABS, 2004). During 2003-04, 43,774 Australian
agricultural establishments applied 10,404 GL of irrigation water to 2.4 million hectares
of crops and pastures, an average application rate of 4.4 megalitres per irrigated hectare
(ABS, 2005b). Consumption varies between crops and between states and territories.
New South Wales (including the Australian Capital Territory) was the largest user of
water for agriculture, accounting for 44 per cent of Australian agricultural water use.
To further understand the water requirements and management practices in the
agricultural sector, the ABS conducted a study on agricultural water use and management
in Australia in 2002-2003. The Water Survey - Agriculture 2002-03 was developed in
response to strong demand for nationally consistent information on water use, particularly
from government agencies responsible for the environment, natural resources, agriculture
and related industries.
The survey found that the majority of the water used by the agriculture industry in
Australia was self-extracted (9,132 GL, 55 per cent), followed by mains water (7,105 GL,
43 per cent), and then reuse water (423 GL, 3 per cent). Self-extracted water is defined as
water extracted directly from the environment for use, and includes water from rivers,
lakes, farm dams, groundwater and other water bodies. Mains water is water supplied to a
user often through a non-natural network (piped or open channel), and where an
economic transaction has occurred for the exchange of this water. Reuse water for this
paper refers to wastewater that may have been treated to some extent and then used again
without first being discharged to the environment. It includes only the reuse water that is
supplied to a customer by a water provider.