Deuterium and oxygen-18 ratios in rainfall and streamflow in a major drinking water catchment near Sydney, Australia, during drought

Abstract

The Warragamba catchment near Sydney, Australia, is in the midst of a major drought that is threatening water supplies for Australia's largest city. Over a period of 18 months 227 event based rainfall samples were collected at four locations, 74 streamflow samples were collected from the four major inflowing rivers and their tributaries and and 45 reservoir samples were collected at various depths from Warragamba dam. The samples were analysed for δD and δ18O. These data provide a baseline dataset for establishment of a local meteoric water line for the Sydney region and for use in modelling of flow pathways and weather patterns in the Warragamba catchment.