Water Natural Resource Accounts
The Hydrological Cycle | Scope of the Water Accounts | Physical Stock Accounts| Physical Flow Accounts | Monetary Stock Accounts| Monetary Flow Accounts | Feedback | Other Related Natural Resource Accounts
The Hydrological Cycle
Freshwater has properties that set it apart from other natural resources. It is constantly moving and transforming into different states over time. Freshwater is continually being renewed but availability fluctuates over time for different regions, depending on the weather, human usage, and other factors.
Water accounting, using the United Nations handbook Integrated Environmental and Economic Accounting (commonly referred to as SEEA), is based on the hydrological cycle which tracks the movement of water through the hydrosphere (the region containing all the water in the oceans, atmosphere and land). In the cycle, water evaporates from oceans and the vapour is carried in air currents. As the vapour cools, it condenses and forms clouds or fog which, with further cooling, may fall on land as precipitation (either rain or snow). This precipitation can then follow a number of pathways. It may be evaporated immediately, be absorbed by plants which then release the water back to the atmosphere through transpiration, or drain into surfacewater and groundwater systems which eventually drain into the sea.
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Scope of the Water Accounts
The water accounts deal with components of the hydrological cycle relating to freshwater supplies in New Zealand. Precipitation and evapotranspiration are two of the main components.
Seawater is seldom abstracted for direct use and is excluded from the accounts by definition. Water quality is also excluded. Opening and closing stocks are excluded because of measurement difficulties but changes in stocks (storage volumes of lakes and glaciers etc) are included. Abstractions and discharges are not specifically identified in the accounts because of data limitations.
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Physical Stock Accounts
These accounts show annual volumes for flows of water in the hydrological system in New Zealand as well as changes in water storage volumes. Accounts are at the regional as well as national level. Volumes are in millions of cubic metres.
The accounts are initially for the June years 1995 to 2001. It is intended that further years be added in 2005, along with quarterly measures for some components.
The following files are in Adobe PDF or Excel format.
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(544 Kb) main report
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(141 Kb)
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(179 Kb)
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(862 Kb) report by the National Institute of Water & Atmospheric Research Ltd (NIWA), funded by the Ministry for the Environment (MfE)
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(173 Kb) report by the Institute of Geological & Nuclear Sciences Ltd (GNS), funded by the Ministry for the Environment (MfE)
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(244 Kb) report by Otago University, commissioned by NIWA
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(255 Kb) report by NIWA, with Otago University
If you can't open the pdf files, click Adobe Acrobat Reader free download.
If you can't open the xls files, click Excel Viewer free download.
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Physical Flow Accounts
These accounts are a long-term development without a set deadline.
The accounts, if and when they are produced, would provide information on exchanges of water (abstractions and discharges) between the environment and the economy. Water abstracted from the environment would be presented in the form of supply and use tables, by industry or sector in the economy. Water returned to the environment would be in the form of discharge tables, by industry. Presently there is insufficient data to produce these accounts. Much water abstraction and usage in New Zealand is not metered and there is little compilation of the volumes that are measured.
Net abstraction (abstraction less discharges) is included in the ‘outflow to sea and net abstraction’ component of the physical stock accounts.
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Monetary Stock Accounts
These accounts are a long-term development without a set deadline.
If and when they are produced, they would probably be based on the physical stock accounts for water, but would be expressed in monetary values rather than physical quantities. Ideally, monetary values for water would be calculated from market prices but in New Zealand there is no market for the trading of water or water rights. Non-market valuation techniques are available but are generally limited to one-off studies rather than ongoing annual or quarterly surveys.
A report reviewing data and methodology is scheduled for release in late 2004.
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Monetary Flow Accounts
These accounts are a long-term development without a set deadline.
If and when they are produced, they would probably be based on physical flow accounts for water (if they existed) but would be expressed in monetary values rather than physical quantities. Monetary flow accounts, as with monetary stock accounts, would ideally be calculated using market prices for water. However there is no market in New Zealand for the trading of water or water rights. Non-market valuation techniques are available but are generally limited to one-off studies rather than ongoing annual or quarterly surveys.
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Feedback
Queries or comments on the water accounts can be made to John Gudgeon by email john.gudgeon@stats.govt.nz or by phone on 03 964 8846.
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Other Related Natural Resource Accounts
For information on hydro electricity generation and hydro electric resource asset valuations see energy natural resource accounts
Natural Resource Accounts
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