BACKGROUND

Environmental-economic accounting is an evolving field of statistics. Since the publication of the first three editions of the Water Account Australia, advances have been made in both the theory and practice of water accounting nationally and overseas. Internationally, the United Nations Statistical Commission (UNSC) adopted the SEEA-Water as an interim international statistical standard in 2007. Australia was a leading contributor to the development of SEEA-Water, which builds on the SEEA 2003 (UN 2003a). The term "interim standard" was applied in acknowledgment that the overarching system, the SEEA, was not yet an international standard, although it is due for adoption in 2012.

In 2010 the UNSC also adopted the International Recommendations for Water Statistics (IRWS). The IRWS further elaborates on the data items, concepts, sources and methods used in the SEEA-Water and in other international reporting formats (e.g. Food and Agriculture Organization). Together the SEEA-Water and the IRWS provide the conceptual framework as well as some of the practical guidance needed to compile water accounts and statistics.

A generalised view of the water system covered by SEEA-Water is found in Fig. 1.7. Water flows within the environment (i.e. rainfall, surface water, ground) and the economy are represented, in addition to the main flows between the environment and the economy. The water resources considered in the inland water resource system are rivers, lakes, artificial reservoirs, snow, ice, groundwater and soil-water. The main natural inputs of water for any one of these resources are precipitation and natural inflows from other inland water resources. The main natural flows that can decrease the stocks of water for any one of these resources are evapotranspiration and outflows to other inland water sources. Human activities decrease and increase the water stocks through abstraction and returns.

The focus of the Water Account Australia is on the interactions between users within the economy and the environment. The economy is the system which abstracts water for consumption and production activities. The infrastructure to mobilise, store, treat, distribute and return water back to the environment forms part of the economy. The rounded box representing the economy shows the main economic agents related to water. Specifically identified are the water supply, sewerage and other industries, as well as households, which are identified only as final consumers.

Each business or household within the economy either abstracts water directly from the environment or receives it from other industries. Direct abstraction is via: inland water resources in the environment; precipitation which is either collected or used directly (e.g.rain-fed agriculture); sea water which can be either used directly (e.g. for cooling purposes) or after desalinisation.

Once water is used, it can either be discharged directly into the environment or supplied to a treatment facility (denoted by the box “Sewerage”), from where it is either supplied to other industries for further use (reused water), or returned back to the environment (to inland water resources and to the sea). During use or transportation, water can be lost through leakages or evaporation.

Water accounts can be prepared for any spatial boundary, whether they be administrative (e.g. nations, States and Territories) or physical (river basins and water catchments).

The SEEA-Water describes a series of tables and accounts covering the:

• physical supply and use of water
• monetary supply and use of water
• emission accounts (the pollution added to water)
• hybrid accounts (which combine physical and monetary supply and use with data from the national accounts)
• physical asset accounts
• water quality

While Australia has been one of the pioneers of water accounting, many countries are now using water accounts. According to the Global Assessment of Water Statistics and Water Accounting (UNSD 2008), the SEEA-Water and water accounting more generally is being practised by 44 countries around the world. The focus of water accounts of countries as well as the level of implementation and sophistication varies enormously. For example, in Europe the focus of water accounts tends to be on water pollution, whereas for drier countries, like Mexico, Turkey and Spain, the focus is on the amount of water available and the use of water for economic purposes.

In Australia, the Intergovernmental Agreement on a National Water Initiative (NWI; COAG 2004) made by Australia's governments has shaped the ongoing water management reform process and the provision of information to support this process. More specifically, the NWI mentioned water resource accounting and called for the annual compilation of water accounts.

As a component of this water reform process, the Australian Government passed the Water Act 2007, which charged the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) with responsibility for compiling and delivering Australia’s water information, including production of the National Water Account.

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