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Department of Climate Change, Energy, Enviroment and Water

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  1. Home
  2. Water
  3. Water policy and resources
  4. Murray–Darling Basin
  5. Progress on water recovery

Sidebar first - Water

  • Murray–Darling Basin
    • Basin Plan
      • Economic effects of the Commonwealth water recovery programs in the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area
      • Making the Basin Plan
      • Need water reform
      • Socio-economic effects of Commonwealth water recovery in the Murray–Darling Basin
      • Commonwealth water reform investments in the Murray–Darling Basin
    • Northern Murray-Darling Basin
      • Northern Basin Initiatives
      • Northern Basin Toolkit
    • Water recovery in the Murray-Darling Basin
      • How we recover water
        • Efficiency measures
        • Sustainable Diversion Limit (SDL) adjustment mechanism and its implementation
        • Water purchasing
          • Groundwater purchasing
          • Surface water purchasing - limited tender
          • Surface water purchasing - open tender
      • Progress on water recovery
        • Water recovery accounting
    • Murray–Darling Basin policy
      • Independent assessment of the social and economic conditions in the Basin
      • Review of the Water for the Environment Special Account
    • National Partnership Agreement on Implementing Water Reform in the Murray–Darling Basin: milestone assessment reports

Progress on Murray-Darling Basin water recovery

Significant progress has been made towards the Murray-Darling Basin Plan water recovery targets.

Progress towards the ‘Bridging the Gap’ target

The original ‘Bridging the Gap’ water recovery target for surface water was 2,750 GL/y. Following two amendments to the Basin plan in 2018 this target was changed to 2,075 GL/y subject to the implementation of a range of measures to achieve the environmental outcomes with less water.

Breaking down the target

To achieve the ‘Bridging the Gap’ target – It is broken down into a number of smaller targets for different local areas. For example, the Lower Darling area has different targets to the Victorian Murray or the South Australian Murray areas. These different areas are called Sustainable Diversion Limit (SDL) resource units and there are 29 for surface water and 80 for groundwater across the Murray-Darling Basin.

Each SDL resource unit has both a Local target and a Shared target.

  • Local targets are for water recovered in the specific SDL resource units.
  • Shared targets are for water recovered to be contributed towards a shared target within a zone. For example, the Southern Basin NSW Zone consists of the Lower Darling, Murrumbidgee and NSW Murray resource units. It has a Shared target of 458 GL/y.

All local and shared targets in the different units and zones contribute towards the overall ‘Bridging the Gap’ target of 2,075 GL/y.

'Bridging the Gap' surface water recovery

The table below shows a summary of the water recovered towards the ‘Bridging the Gap’ target from each unit and zone as at 31 October 2022.

Total Basin ‘Bridging the Gap’ Target Progress towards target Remaining recovery
2,075.0 GL/y 2,107.4 GL/y 46.0 GL/y

These are indicative figures based on current calculation methods – see Water recovery accounting for details.

Remaining recovery and excess recovery

While it would appear that the total target of 2,075 GL/y has been exceeded – there remains a need to recover 46 GL/y. This is because some SDL resource units have recovered water above their targets – while other units are yet to achieve their target in full.

All units and zones need to achieve their targets in full to complete the overall ‘Bridging the Gap’ target.

Excess recovery has occurred due to updates to calculation methods that showed greater volumes of water recovery than was originally calculated. These calculations will not be finalised until all Water Resource plans are accredited – at which time any confirmed excess recovery will be assessed.

'Bridging the Gap' groundwater recovery

Under ‘Bridging the Gap’ there is also a target for groundwater recovery in two SDL resource units. The table below shows progress towards this target as at 31 October 2022.

‘Bridging the Gap’ Groundwater Target Progress towards target Remaining recovery
38.45 GL/y 35.25 GL/y 3.20 GL/y

These are indicative figures based on current calculation methods – see Water recovery accounting for details.

Progress towards the 450 GL/y for enhanced environmental outcomes

Progress towards the 450 GL/y additional water recovery target is achieved through efficiency measures that have neutral or positive socio-economic impact. The table below shows progress towards this target as at 31 October 2022.

Target Total water recovery registered Total water recovery contracted (including registered volume) Remaining recovery
450.0 GL/y 4.5 GL/y 25.9 GL/y 424.1 GL/y

These are indicative figures based on current calculation methods – see Water recovery accounting for details.

For details on the Off-farm Efficiency Program and currently approved efficiency projects - see Off-farm Efficiency Program

Publications

The department publishes monthly updates to provide details on water recovery progress in each SDL resource unit.

Current recovery as at 31 October 2022

Surface water recovery including the Sustainable Diversion Limit Adjustment Mechanism

The following publications provide details on the progress of water recovery in relation to ‘Bridging the Gap’, including the Sustainable Diversion Limits Adjustment Mechanism (SDLAM).

Download

Document File size
Surface water recovery including the SDLAM PDF 156 KB
Surface water recovery including the SDLAM XLSX 47.3 KB
Water recovery under the Basin Plan PDF 161 KB
Water recovery under the Basin Plan XLSX 43.3 KB

If you have difficulty accessing these files, visit web accessibility for assistance.

Progress of water recovery towards Groundwater SDLs

The following publications provide details on the progress of water recovery in relation to Groundwater Sustainable Diversion Limits (SDLs).

Download

Document File size
Progress of water recovery towards Groundwater SDLs under the Basin Plan PDF 121 KB
Progress of water recovery towards Groundwater SDLs under the Basin Plan XLSX 727 KB

If you have difficulty accessing these files, visit web accessibility for assistance.

Registered surface water recovery under the Basin Plan

The following publications are provided to show the water recovery registered to the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder.

Download

Document File size
Surface water recovery registered to the CEWH PDF 179 KB
Surface water recovery registered to the CEWH XLSX 45.9 KB

If you have difficulty accessing these files, visit web accessibility for assistance.

Links

The following links provide further information on water recovery:

  • Water recovery in the Murray-Darling Basin
  • How we recover water in the Murray-Darling Basin
  • Water recovery accounting
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Last updated: 16 December 2022

© Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water

We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of country throughout Australia and recognise their continuing connection to land, waters and culture. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging.