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 (ABS, 2006) and Water Use on Australian Farms 2006-07 (ABS, 2008).

 

• Water resources—Australia
• Water use by sector—Queensland
• Water Use by Commodity-Queensland
• Water Use by Irrigated Area-Queensland
• Irrigation methods in Queensland
• 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

Source: Water Account Australia 2004-05

 

• Almost 91% of rainfall in Australia either evaporates to the atmosphere or soaks into the ground to become groundwater or is used by plants.
• 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.

Source: Water Account Australia 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

Source: Water Account Australia 2004-05

 

Water use by commodity—Queensland

Commodity	Water use (megalitres)
Sugar	931,000
Cotton	194,000
Fruit	133,000
Grapes	6,000
Vegetables	87,000
Dairy	64,000
Other	425,000
Total	1,840,000

Source: Water Use on Australian Farms 2006-07

 

Water use by irrigated area—Queensland

Commodity	Area irrigated (hectares)
Sugar	196,000
Cotton	35,000
Fruit	37,000
Grapes	1,000
Vegetables	31,000
Dairy	15,000
Other	143,000
Total	458,000

Source: Water Use on Australian Farms 2006-07

 

Irrigation methods in Queensland - Source: Water Use on Australian Farms 2006-07

• Surface irrigation systems were used on 42% of the total area irrigated; sprinkler systems on 45%, and drip/trickle systems on 8%
• Of the sprinkler systems in use, 53% were hose irrigators, 20% were large mobile machines and microsprays 12%
• Fourteen per cent of all irrigators were using above ground drip/trickle systems, while 4% 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

Source: Water Account Australia 2004-05