Transitional sustainable diversion limits water take reports

From 2012 to 2019, the Murray–Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) and the Basin states trialled the methods underpinning the compliance and sustainable diversion limits to ensure a smooth transition occurs between Cap reporting and SDL reporting.

The Transition Period Water Take Report 2018–19 reports the consumptive take of water from the Murray–Darling Basin under both the Cap compliance reporting and the trial sustainable diversion limit accounts. It also reports on environmental water held, available and used in 2018–19.

It is important to note for the 2018–19 water year Cap compliance is the only Basin-scale compliance framework. The transition sustainable diversion limit water accounting and compliance are a proof of concept during 2018–19 and have no compliance consequences. They are a benchmark against which the MDBA has monitored and will continue to improve sustainable diversion limit water accounting and reporting.

The trial sustainable diversion limit water accounts set out in the 2018–19 report have been prepared using the best available information from draft or accredited water resource plans where possible, for example revised accounting adjustments for environmental water. This approach has been retrospectively applied over the period 2012–2019. These retrospective changes will produce a number of differences compared to the 2017–18 report, which are explained in the 2018–19 report.

From 1 July 2019, the sustainable diversion limit water accounting and compliance arrangements are enforceable. The MDBA has published the first set of formal sustainable diversion limit accounts for 2019–20.

More information

• Trends in use report
• Cap reporting

State narrative reports

When Basin states submit their transitional sustainable diversion limit water accounting data to the MDBA each year, they also provide narrative reports setting out the particular water availability and reporting conditions experienced in that state in the relevant year. There may be differences between the volumes in the state narrative reports and those in the transitional sustainable diversion limit accounts. Such differences are likely the result of the significant change from Cap to sustainable diversion limit water take accounting and the extensive collaboration between the MDBA and each Basin state to ensure the transitional sustainable diversion limit accounts are prepared consistent with the Basin Plan.