Water - Glossary
Aquifer
A geological formation, group of formations, or part of a formation that stores and/or allows movement of groundwater.
Biodiversity
Variety of life forms including the different plants, animals and microorganisms, the genes they contain, and the ecosystems they form. Biodiversity is usually considered at three levels: genetic, species and ecosystem.
Catchment
An area that drains all the precipitation that falls on it to a single point.
Conjunctive use
Management of water as an integrated groundwater and surface water resource. Surface water and groundwater systems are often interconnected and cannot be managed separately.
Custodian
A custodian of a fundamental dataset (or a component of that dataset) is an agency recognised by Australia New Zealand Land Information Council as having the responsibility to ensure that the dataset is collected and maintained according to specifications and priorities determined by consultation with the user community. These are made available to the community under conditions and in a format that conform with standards and policies established for the ASDI.
To achieve the purposes behind custodianship, agencies designated as custodians will:
Data collection, maintenance and revision
- Consult with the national sponsor and the community to determine data needs and priorities prior to developing or defining collection or maintenance programs and standards for spatial information in their custody
- Avoid duplication of capture, by ensuring, in conjunction with the national sponsor, that data to be captured is not already held in the format required
Standards development
- Develop with the national sponsor and users, appropriate standards for the management and use of the fundamental datasets in their care.
- Ensure that the fundamental datasets under their custodianship conform to appropriate national, international or agreed standards.
- Propose standards to ANZLIC for the management of the spatial information for which they have custody.
Quality
- Provide full and frank quality statements regarding source, reliability, accuracy, completeness and currency.
- Maintain the quality of the fundamental datasets assigned to them.
Access
- Ensure the spatial information under their custodianship is both accessible and readily available.
- Ensure appropriate storage, maintenance, security and archival procedures for their spatial information.
- Safeguard Government interest in the use of its information through licensing agreements or letters of understanding to protect privacy and confidentiality and interpretation of the information.
- Act as the authoritative source for the information in their care.
- Encourage the proper use of spatial information to discourage duplication through ignorance.
- Nominate a single point of contact for inquiries about the fundamental datasets under their care.
Metadata
- Provide statements describing the data in their care to the jurisdiction and national nodes of the national land information directory system. The metadata must comply with ANZLIC guidelines.
Privacy
- The custodian must provide a level of appropriate security to protect the privacy of any personal data.
Negotiations
- Custodians shall not negotiate unilaterally with any party either on an exclusive basis or for the exclusive use of fundamental datasets. Agreements should wherever possible be negotiated according to these Guidelines; that is, to benefit the community as a whole, not any individual custodian.
Developed yield
Average annual volume of surface water that can be diverted for use with existing infrastructure. Developed yield represents the portion of the divertible yield that is currently available for use.
Development category
Classification used to define the status of diversion and allocation of Australia?s water resources in relation to sustainable water management.
Diversion
Surface water diverted for use from the resources of a surface water river basin for supply to both within-basin and external basin consumers.
Divertible yield
Average annual volume of surface water that can be diverted utilising both existing infrastructure and potential infrastructure under ultimate level of development taking no account of environmental water requirements.
Drainage division
The drainage divisions are a series of non-overlapping polygons covering the whole of the Australian continent and some other areas such as Protected Territories. A drainage division may include areas that have no recorded surface run-off. The system of drainage divisions and river basins were defined by the former Australian Water Resources Council and more recently revised under the auspices of the Agriculture and Resource Management Council of Australia and New Zealand.
Ecosystems
Community of organisms that may include humans, interacting with one another. Incorporating the physical, chemical and biological processes inherent in that interaction and the environment in which they live.
Environmental water provisions
Water allocated to support the ecological functioning of aquatic and other dependent habitats based on environmental, social and economic considerations, including existing user rights.
Environmental water requirements
Descriptions of the flow regimes (e.g. volume, timing, seasonality, duration) needed to sustain the ecological values of aquatic ecosystems including their processes and biological diversity.
Gigalitre (GL)
1000 megalitres.
Groundwater
Water stored underground in rock fractures and pores.
Groundwater dependent ecosystems
Ecosystems that are dependent on groundwater for their existence and health.
Groundwater management unit
A hydraulically connected groundwater system that is defined and recognised by State and Territory agencies. This definition allows for management of the groundwater resource at an appropriate scale at which resource issues and intensity of use can be incorporated into local groundwater management practices.
Groundwater province
An area having a broad uniformity of hydrogeological and geological conditions identified as either predominantly sedimentary or fractured rock as defined by the former Australian Water Resources Council.
Groundwater yield
See ?sustainable yield?.
In-stream use
Water in the river and streams for the maintenance of aquatic ecosystems and for aesthetic and recreational purposes.
Mains supply
The water supply component consisting of units engaged in storage, purification or distribution of water by pipeline or carrier. Also includes the operation of irrigation systems.
Megalitre (ML)
1 000 000 litres.
MDBC Cap
The Murray-Darling Basin Commission Cap refers to the limit that has been placed on the volume of water that can be diverted from the surface water resources of the Murray-Darling Basin, in accordance with the Murray-Darling Basin Ministerial Council decision in June 1995. The Cap volume is limited to the amount of water that would have been extracted under 1993/94 levels of development and management rules.
Mean annual flow
The average annual streamflow passing a specified point on a stream.
Mean annual run-off
The streamflow generated as a result of direct precipitation on the area of interest.
National sponsor
A national sponsor is an agency having a special interest in ensuring that a particular set of fundamental data is widely available in all its forms to the community. It will be a part of the Australian Spatial Data Infrastructure, and will have a structure and resources to enable it to:
- consult with and coordinate the activities of the custodians of the various datasets to ensure that the data are collected, maintained and delivered to standards, specifications and user priorities that are consistent with the overall model for a national spatial data infrastructure
- cooperate with Australia New Zealand Land Information Council and other national sponsors in order to ensure that the national spatial data infrastructure is assembled, maintained and delivered in a nationally consistent way
- consult with the community of users to: disseminate information about the data, foster efficient use of the data, coordinate data collection to minimise duplication of effort, provide leadership in developing standards for content, quality and transfer.
pH
A measure of the concentration of free hydrogen ions and reported over a logarithmic scale of 1 to 14.
River basin
Catchment areas of major rivers draining to the sea; named after these rivers. The 245 river basins as defined by the former Australian Water Resources Council. These form sub-basins of the Drainage Divisions.
Self-extracted
Water extracted or diverted directly by the water user through privately owned infrastructure.
Surface water management area
Areas defined by the State and Territory water management agencies for the purposes of reporting on surface water resources. The boundaries of the reporting units commonly coincide with the Australian Water Resources Council river basins. In a number of cases the reporting units represent subdivisions of these river basins.
Sustainable flow regime
The limit on potentially divertible surface water that is allowed to be diverted from a resource after taking account of environmental values and making provision for environmental water needs.
Sustainable yield (surface water)
See ?sustainable flow regime?.
Sustainable yield (groundwater)
Level of extraction measured over a specified planning timeframe that should not be exceeded to protect the higher value social, environmental and economic uses associated with the aquifer
Unincorporated area
A groundwater resource that is defined geographically by a groundwater province and excludes any designated groundwater management units within the groundwater province. Within the unincorporated area, low level input is required to provide effective management of the groundwater resource due to low levels of current or potential use or development.
Water allocation
Allocation refers to the volume of water allocated for use either within or external to a surface water management area by way of licensing arrangements and formal entitlements to water.
Water use
Volume of water used within a surface water management area irrespective of the source of the water resource.
Table of Contents for the Australian Water Resources Assessment 2000
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