Welcome to the Bureau of Meteorology’s National Water Account, providing you with an annual picture of water availability across the country.

We cover ten key regions, representing most of Australia’s population and more than 80 per cent of Australia’s water use.

The 2017 account reports data from the 1st of July 2016 to the 30th of June 2017.

During that time, the climate was influenced by a negative Indian Ocean Dipole phase, particularly from September to October, which contributed to high rainfall across southeastern Australia.

The impact of these wetter climatic conditions was most obvious in the Murray–Darling Basin, with spring flooding in many areas.

Storage levels increased for the first time in five years in the Murray-Darling Basin, from 39 per cent full in June 2016, to 69 per cent full at the same time in 2017.

The high winter–spring rainfall also contributed to an increase in storage volumes in the urban centres of Adelaide, Canberra and Melbourne.

Across much of northern Australia, rainfall was also well above average during the wet season, from November to April. This replenished storage volumes in the Ord region.

And in the Daly region, which relies heavily on groundwater, aquifer storage increased for the first time since 2012.

Surface water continued to be the largest source of water across Australia, making up 85 per cent of all water used.

In most of our capital cities, good surface water availability meant less use of alternative sources, such as inter-region transfers.

In Perth, desalinated water use continued to increase, contributing more than 50 per cent to the region's urban water supply. 

Combined with wetter conditions and reduced diversions, moderate recovery of surface water storage volumes was observed in the region.

Across the country, national water use was almost 15 per cent higher than the year before.

This was mainly due to increased use in the Murray–Darling Basin, reflecting the wetter conditions and higher water availability across the region.

Almost three quarters of Australia’s water supply was for commercial and private users, mainly related to agriculture.

Water used for environmental purposes was higher than the previous year, with 14 per cent of total water supplied used to support the health of rivers, wetlands and floodplains.

In summary, looking back at 2016–17, wetter than average conditions brought relief to most of Australia's water storages, with increases in storage levels observed across much of the country.

The increase in water availability meant an increase in surface water use in most regions.

You can find more details on each of the ten regions on our website at bom.gov.au/water/nwa

For the Bureau of Meteorology, I'm Claire McClusky.