About the area
- The Avoca groundwater catchment is in north-western Victoria, and its northern boundary is the Murray River.
- The groundwater catchment does not contain any groundwater management areas (GMAs) or water supply protection areas (WSPAs): all licence volume is reported as outside management units.
- Groundwater resources supply licensed entitlements, domestic and stock use, and urban use to Amphitheatre and Redbank.
- The Avoca groundwater catchment forms part of the Murray-Darling Basin, and groundwater management arrangements are subject to the requirements of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan.
More information on water management and accounting is detailed in Water explained.
2021-22 overview
Urban supply
Groundwater supplied 1 town in the catchment.
Water use
More water was used for consumptive purposes than the previous year.
Climate
Rainfall
More rainfall was received in the Avoca groundwater catchment in 2021-22 than the previous year. Rainfall was:
- average in a pocket north of Lake Tyrrell, and in small pockets west of Kerang and west of Avoca
- above average everywhere else in the catchment.
Entitlements and use
Groundwater licence and use volumes in the Avoca groundwater catchment are shown below. Some groundwater licences incorporate domestic and stock use, and in these cases the use is reported in the licensed volume.
The licenced volume used under entitlements must not exceed the volume made available to individual licensed entitlement holders. We report on compliance in the GMU local report and the Statewide groundwater .
Water used
Use in the Avoca groundwater catchment was 959 ML, more than 859 ML in the previous year.
Entitlement volumes
Rights to water in the Avoca groundwater catchment are shown below.
Table 1: Groundwater entitlements at 30 June, Avoca groundwater catchment
Available water and use
The table below shows the total water available and used under entitlements, and estimated domestic and stock use in 2021-22. Total water available under entitlements is the sum of: opening carryover, allocation issued and the net trade in or out of water.
Estimated domestic and stock use is calculated based on an assumed usage per registered bore per year. In this catchment 2 ML usage per bore per year is assumed.
More information on groundwater use and availability has been detailed in the How do we account for section.
In 2021-22, 959 ML of water was extracted for consumptive purposes, which was more than the 859 ML extracted in the previous year. Of this volume, 894 ML was for non-urban (irrigation) use, 5 ML was for urban use, and 60 ML was estimated to be for domestic and stock use.
There were no restrictions on use in the Avoca groundwater catchment in 2021-22.
Table 2: Groundwater availability and use, Avoca groundwater catchment
Management responsibilities
Management of water in the Avoca groundwater catchment is undertaken by various parties.
| Authority | Management responsibilities |
|---|---|
| GWMWater |
|
| Lower Murray Water |
|
