Statistics: the only science that enables different experts using the same figures to draw different conclusions (Evan Esar, 1899-1995)

The following statistics have been compiled from the Water account Australia 2004–05 (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2006).

• Water resources—Australia
• Water use by sector—Queensland
• Irrigation methods in Queensland (2004–05)
• Gross value of irrigated agricultural production in Queensland  

Water resources—Australia

Resource	Volume (gigalitres)
Rainfall	2,789,424
Run-off	242,779
Water extracted from environment	79,784
Water returned to environment	62,445
Distributed water supplied to environment	1,005
Water reuse	425
Water consumption	18,767

• Ninety-one per cent of rainfall in Australia is lost to evaporation, infiltration etc.
• Of the total volume of water extracted from the environment, 78% was returned to the environment as regulated discharge. Ninety-seven per cent of this regulated discharge was in-stream use, primarily by the electricity and gas supply industry.
• The water consumption total of 18,767 GL was a reduction of 14% from the amount consumed in 2000-01.  Water consumption represented just under 8% of run-off for 2004-05.

Water use by sector—Queensland

The agricultural sector has always been the major consumer of water in Australia. In 2004–05, it was responsible for 65% of national water consumption, while in Queensland this figure was 67%. The following table shows the percentage of water consumption for which Queensland's major sectors were responsible during this period.

Sector	Consumption (%)
Agriculture	67
Household	11
Manufacturing	4
Mining	2
Other	16

Within the agricultural sector, water usage for the 2004–05 year was recorded as:

Commodity	Water use (megalitres)
Sugar	1,116,000
Cotton	857,000
Fruit	116,000
Grapes	8,000
Vegetables	103,000
Dairy	69,000
Other	647,000
Total	2,916,000

The area irrigated by the different agricultural sectors in 2004-05 was:

Commodity	Area irrigated (hectares)
Sugar	209,000
Cotton	124,000
Fruit	31,000
Grapes	4,000
Vegetables	31,000
Dairy	16,000
Other	122,000
Total	542,000

Irrigation methods in Queensland (2004–05)

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) also presented data on irrigation methods used in Queensland in 2004-05. Surface irrigation systems were the most widely used, followed by sprinkler systems.

• Surface irrigation systems were used on 50% of the total area irrigated; sprinkler systems on 44%, and drip/trickle systems on 7%. (This adds up to more than 100% due to rounding of figures)
• Of the sprinkler systems in use, hose irrigators were the preferred choice (22% of all methods used).  Other systems used included large mobile machines (9%), portable irrigators (5%), and microsprays (4%).
• Five per cent of all irrigators were using above ground drip/trickle systems, while 2% were using subsurface drip irrigation.

Gross value of irrigated agricultural production in Queensland (2004-05)

The ABS has provided the following figures as a guide to the income generated from irrigated agriculture in Queensland. 

Note that water is only one input to agricultural production from irrigated land, and it is currently impossible to establish the value of the different components; however the figures below attribute the gross value of production from irrigated land to irrigated agricultural production.

Note also that the ABS warns against using this value for determining the highest value water use, as other factors that need to be accounted for include the cost of inputs other than water, and regional climate impacts on crop water requirements. 

The ABS made several assumptions in calculating these figures, and used different calculation methods for some.  View the ABS website to find out more about how the figures were derived.

Industry	Gross value of irrigated production ($m)
Sugar	471
Cotton	395
Fruit	494
Grapes	16
Vegetables	561
Dairy	108
Nurseries, cut flowers and turf	173
Livestock, pasture, grains and other	129
Total	2349