Bureau?s latest report an important reference for the Victorian western and border district
29/10/2013
The Bureau of Meteorology’s recently released Assessment of Australia’s water resources has valuable information for people of the western Victoria and South Australian border districts.
Bureau of Meteorology Acting Assistant Director Water Information Services, Dr Grace Mitchell, described the Australian Water Resources Assessment 2012 as “a high-quality, nationally consistent insight into the nation’s water resources, and an essential tool for better water resources management.”
The assessment identifies trends and variability in the nation’s climate and water resources for the twelve months from July 2011 to June 2012. It also highlights patterns in the water situation at the national and regional scales, through time periods from months to decades.
Dr Mitchell said the Assessment also provides a wealth of information on rainfall trends, landscape water flows, surface water and groundwater, water for cities and towns, water for national and internationally recognised wetlands, and water for agriculture.
Some of the Assessment’s highlights relevant to Mount Gambier, Hamilton, Warrnambool and surrounds include:
• 2011-12 was a distinctly dry year, with large areas of below average rainfall and very much below average rainfall in the Hopkins River basin.
• Summer stream flows were average or below average from November 2011-April 2012.
• Inflows to the Western District Lakes were below average, particularly in the wet season.
• High salinity was recorded in the Glenelg, Wannon, Dundas, and Hopkins rivers.
• Total annual irrigation water use for the South East natural resource management region of South Australia for 2010-11 was 265 gigalitres, a decrease of 80 gigalitres on 2009-10 water use (data not yet available for 2011-12).
• 2010-11 produced the highest, and 2011-12 the third highest, rainfall totals for the South East Coast (Victoria) region over the past 32 years.
Mount Gambier, Hamilton, Warrnambool and surrounds are a part of the South East Coast (Victoria) region, one of 13 regions for which a detailed water resources assessment is provided. This broad water region stretches from South Australia to south-eastern New South Wales, taking in all of Victoria south of the Great Dividing Range. It includes major cities and towns such as Geelong, Melbourne and Traralgon.
The Australian Water Resources Assessment 2012 is the second report of this kind, following release of the first assessment in 2010. Go to 2012 Assessment report for the South East Coast (Victoria) Region.
