inland water

109 Pages·2017·5.34 MB·English

Inland water
Inland water
Dr Robert M Argent, Bureau of Meteorology
Acknowledgement of Country
The author acknowledges the traditional owners of Country throughout Australia,
and their continuing connection to land, sea and community;
and pays respect to them and their cultures,
and to their Elders both past and present.
Publication information
© Commonwealth of Australia 2017
Australia state of the environment 2016: inland water is licensed by the Commonwealth of Australia for use under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
International licence with the exception of the Coat of Arms of the Commonwealth of Australia, the logo of the agency responsible for publishing the report
and some content supplied by third parties. For licence conditions see creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0.
The Commonwealth of Australia has made all reasonable efforts to identify and attribute content supplied by third parties that is not licensed for use under
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International.
Citation
Argent RM (2017). Australia state of the environment 2016: inland water, independent report to the Australian Government Minister for the Environment and
Energy, Australian Government Department of the Environment and Energy, Canberra, doi:10.4226/94/58b656cfc28d1.
Disclaimer
The views and opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect those of the Australian Government,
the Minister for the Environment and Energy, or contributors.
Although reasonable efforts have been made to ensure that the contents of this publication are factually correct, the Commonwealth does not accept
responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of the contents, and shall not be liable for any loss or damage that may be occasioned directly or indirectly
through the use of, or reliance on, the contents of this publication.
This report may contain images, names of or references to deceased Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people.
Credits
Cover photo: Derby (waste water) wetlands, Kimberley region, Westen Australia, by Julie Fletcher
Editing, design and production: Biotext, Canberra
Contents
• Executive summary iv • Effectiveness of inland water
management 59
Key findings vi
Water management in Australia 59
• Approach 1
Recent national assessments of
management performance 61
• Introduction 3
Reviews of state and regional
Australia’s water resources 3
management 61
Australia’s water use 6
• Resilience of inland water
Inland water: 2011–16 in context 6
environments 69
• Pressures affecting inland water
• Risks to inland water environments 72
environments 9
Climate change 72
Recent climate 10
Water abstraction and interception 75
Water resource development 14
Land and water use and management 75
Changing land use and management 18
Pests and invasive species 19 • Outlook for inland water
environments 79
• State and trends of inland water
environments 28 • Acronyms and abbreviations 81
Water flows and levels 29
• Glossary 82
Groundwater resources 38
• Acknowledgements 85
Water quality 45
Ecological processes and species • References 86
populations 51
• Index 94
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Executive summary
Australia’s inland waters, both above and below the since 2011, supporting ongoing assessment. The state
ground, are of considerable ecological significance. of surface water and groundwater varied considerably
Their significance arises from both their intrinsic during the past 5 years, largely in response to climate,
ecological values and the contribution they make in with national surface-water storage levels dropping from
providing water to our communities and industries, and above 80 per cent to below 50 per cent. Groundwater
connecting our land, atmosphere, coastal and marine condition is mostly graded as poor, reflecting historical
environments. This theme looks at both the ‘unregulated’ groundwater use, significant numbers of bores and low
parts of the aquatic environment (upstream of major knowledge of the impacts on groundwater-dependent
control structures), which are less affected by water ecosystems. Water quality assessments varied; for
management infrastructure, and the managed areas, example, results for the Lake Eyre Basin were generally
where water policy and directed management actions consistent with previous reporting, the period sampled
are in play. Similar to the 2011 state of the environment and the hydrological conditions, whereas some
assessment, this theme considers the pressures of improving trends were noted for the Murray–Darling
climate, development, management and pests, and Basin. The state and trends of ecological processes and
the resulting state and trends of surface waters, water key species populations ranged from very poor, with
quality, ecological processes and species populations. deteriorating trends across the Murray–Darling Basin, to
The state and trends of groundwater are also assessed poor to good, with stable trends for the south-east and
for the first time. Water management is considered south-west, to good for much of the rest of the country.
from a policy perspective and from the perspective of
Looking to the future, our inland waters are at risk
the observed outcomes of water management actions.
from Australia’s projected changes in climate, including
The discussion of the resilience of aquatic ecosystems
the intensity of extreme rainfall events, time spent in
includes resilience benefits that have been reported in
drought and, in some areas, decreases in cool-season
recent years, and a view to the future includes risks of
rainfall. Proposals for significant national infrastructure
resource development and the effective implementation
development and exploitation of coal-seam gas
of water-related policy.
resources during the coming decades raise risks of
The capricious nature of our nation’s water environment surface-water regime change, surface-water pollution,
was evident during 2011–16. The period provided the increased groundwater extraction, seawater intrusion,
first cooler than average year since 2001, along with and accelerated spread of pest plants and animals.
record warm years. Urban water demand rose, with However, we have a significant body of practice and
an increased focus on finding climate-resilient water knowledge to assist in avoiding the land and water
supplies. Land-cover changes—because of, for example, management mistakes of the past. Australia’s water
fires and land clearing—continued to exert some resources information is becoming increasingly available
pressure on aquatic ecosystems, along with invasive in many forms to support broader understanding and
species such as cane toads and aquatic weeds. Aquatic debate about the future of our water resources and
environments responded to these pressures and post– aquatic environments. Also, inland waters continue to
millennium drought conditions, as well as to the benefits receive reasonable attention in national research and
and detriments arising from the directed management policy agendas, assuring a continuing supply of new
of water resources. Online availability of flow data and ideas and knowledge. The outlook for the National
water resources information has increased enormously Water Initiative, as Australia’s national blueprint for
Australia State of the Environment 2016 iv
water reform, is variable, with water markets and In
environmental water reforms operating well in some la
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areas but having less traction in others. Finally, cultural w
water, and co-management of groundwater and surface a
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water are areas where inland water environments will r
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benefit from whole-of-government attention. E
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Moll Gorge, Kimberley, Western Australia
Photo by Helen McFadden
Australia State of the Environment 2016 v
Key findings
Key finding Explanatory text
There has been a significant A modern, inclusive society requires ready access to environmental information.
increase in the availability of Recently, the Bureau of Meteorology, in its role as the national agency for water
consistent national-scale information, has produced a wide range of data, information and assessment
products about the past, current and likely future state of inland waters.
water data and information
Other national agencies, such as Geoscience Australia and CSIRO, have also
contributed to a significant increase in the information needed to support public
understanding and debate on water resources and the environment.
States and territories have State and territory agencies are key players in the implementation of the National
increased access to water Water Initiative, have major responsibilities with regard to water, and control
data online, but have also much of Australia’s water monitoring infrastructure. Many of these agencies have
moved to online publication of water data in recent years, increasing transparency
decreased value-added
about the current state of resources. However, during the same period, efforts to
services such as assessments
analyse, integrate, assess and report holistically on the state of inland waters have
and reports
generally decreased, with a range of assessment methods and frameworks being
either unused or infrequently applied.
Responsibility for the The National Water Initiative is Australia’s national blueprint for water reform.
National Water Initiative has It is a national agreement that represents a shared appreciation of the need to
been disaggregated, and implement a strategic framework to achieve an efficient and sustainable water
industry. During the past 5 years, impetus for the reform process has decreased,
reform impetus has
and progress has slowed in areas such as development of comprehensive water
decreased
plans, improvements in sustainable water use, standardisation and nationalisation
of water markets, and broader adoption of water accounting. Urban water
performance reporting has become more regularised and accessible, while
national reporting on water markets is less so. Reform in the Murray–Darling Basin
has continued to progress.
Implementation of the The Murray–Darling Basin Plan came into effect in late 2012. This plan sets long-
Murray–Darling Basin Plan is term limits on the amount of water allocated to consumptive use, and specifies
delivering positive outcomes plans and frameworks covering water trading, water quality and environmental
water provisions. Early indications are that environmental watering in the Basin,
along with the effects of natural floods, contributes to ecological benefits for
stream metabolism, macroinvertebrates, vegetation, frogs and fish.
Australia State of the Environment 2016 vi
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Key finding Explanatory text nla
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Consideration of Groundwater management gained significant attention and impetus during 2011– w
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groundwater resources and 16, and focus on groundwater-dependent ecosystems has increased. A national t
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ecosystems has increased suite of collated and standardised groundwater data is available, building on the r |
long-term efforts of states and territories. The Bioregional Assessment Programme E
and is better informed x
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has increased baseline information and groundwater understanding for the c
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6 bioregions, with spin-off advantages likely to arise from general improvements t
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in groundwater data quality and accessibility. e
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Water use has increased, Water volumes extracted from the environment to support the Australian economy
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mitigated by variability in have grown recently, mitigated somewhat by variations in annual rainfall and ry
availability the availability of water from storage. Moderate growth in urban water use was
seen across most capital cities, reflecting the combined effects of population and
per-person consumption. Agriculture continued to be the single largest water-
consuming industry.
Water quality has largely Water quality assessment for this report relied largely on water quality analysis
stabilised, with some signs and reporting by state, territory and other agencies, unlike the 2011 assessment.
of improvement, and risks Local or regional report card assessments offered insight into water quality in
some areas of the country. Water quality trends were found to be either stable
exist from fragmented
or unclear across the country, with some areas improving. Water ecosystem
management efforts
condition was rated largely as poor. In managing water quality, risks have arisen
as resources allocated to ongoing broadscale monitoring, analysis and reporting
have diminished.
Aquatic pest plants and Understanding of the management context of pest plants and animals with
animals remain an issue regard to inland waters is very high across the country, with good awareness of
threats and risks. Policy and planning operate well, and limited resources produce
effective outcomes, with priority pest species being managed at local scales.
Threats, however, continue to emerge and develop.
Australia State of the Environment 2016 vii
Approach
The approach used for this theme follows that outlined The assessment for effectiveness of management
in the Approach report, with some changes required focuses more on water resource development than in
by the nature of inland waters, and the availability of 2011, where effects of inland water management were
associated data and information. Various challenges assessed as part of both flows and levels, and with
were found in applying the general approach, around regard to management effectiveness. This more clearly
both the timeframe of the assessment and the individual separates the ‘state’ of water, as directly influenced
assessment components. For some components, it is by the ‘pressures’, from the state of water affected by
clearly possible to assess changes in the past 5 years, management activities.
whereas, for other components, changes to data,
The approaches used for resilience and risks are largely
information and understanding in the past 5 years mean
comparable with those used in 2011. Consideration of
that we may have a different understanding of that
resilience has been somewhat extended to consider the
component now. Overall, however, the approach used
evidence that may exist on, and the characteristics that
here compares well with that used in the 2011 State of
may be evident in, the resilient behaviour of aquatic
the Environment (SoE) report.
ecosystems, because these ecosystems have responded
The 4 high-level pressures from 2011 (climate, to the highs and lows of recent years and decades.
development, land use and management, and pests and
invasive species) are all considered here. In all of these,
there have been changes in both the pressure and the
information available in the past 5 years.
A new section on groundwater has been added to state
and trends reporting, reflecting the dramatic change
in national availability of consistent groundwater
data and information since 2011, as well as increased
national focus on groundwater in aquatic ecological
systems. Assessment of the state and trends of water
levels and flows also benefits greatly from increased
access to national, collated information sources.
Water quality, conversely, suffers from a lack of a large
and comprehensive national analysis, such as that
undertaken as a one-off for 2011. The state and condition
of aquatic ecology use a somewhat comparable approach
to 2011, albeit, again, without being able to draw on a
one-off SoE-focused analysis.
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Joffre Falls, Karijini, Western Australia
Photo by Helen McFadden
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