The best way to manage and maintain stock water is to have reliable information about your property’s water supplies. This means knowing where the water is, how much is available and whether it is ‘fit for purpose’. A water stocktake will provide this vital information.

Farm water comes from a number of different sources. These may be natural sources such as rivers and channels, or they may be constructed in the form of dams, ground tanks, wells or bores. Whatever the sources, the suitability of water you have now and the water you need for the future depend on its quantity, quality and reliability.

This Primefact contains information on how to assess your water resources:

• Water stocktake: quantity
• What size are your existing dams?
• Water stocktake: quality
• Water stocktake: reliability - meeting the water demand
• Water salinity
• Algal identification (including blue-green algae)