About the area
- The Glenelg groundwater catchment is in the state’s far south-west. The Victorian–South Australian border forms the catchment’s western boundary.
- The Glenelg groundwater catchment contains the Glenelg Water Supply Protection Area (WSPA), South West Limestone Groundwater Management Area (GMA), and Portland GMA.
- Groundwater resources supply licensed entitlements, domestic and stock use, and urban use in Casterton, Dartmoor and Merino. Groundwater resources also supply Hamilton, Tarrington and Dunkeld, although these towns are outside the groundwater catchment.
- The area that extends 20 km east from the border forms part of the Designated Area for the purposes of the 1985 Border Groundwaters Agreement between Victoria and South Australia.
- Management responsibilities within the Designated Area are shared between Southern Rural Water and the Government of South Australia.
More information on water management and accounting is detailed in Water explained.
2021-22 overview
Urban supply
Groundwater supplied 2 towns in the catchment.
Water use
More water was used for consumptive purposes than the previous year.
Climate
Rainfall
Rainfall in the Glenelg groundwater catchment was average across the entire catchment, slightly higher than the previous year.
Groundwater level trends
In the accounts, groundwater level trends for groundwater management units (GMUs) have been determined based on monitoring data from key bores in the State Observation Bore Network. Trend determinations are made quarterly by comparing each reading to a previous reading in the same season 5 years prior. That is, a summer record is compared to the summer record from 5 years before to account for seasonality.
Groundwater resources are being actively managed. For more detail on the management responses go to the groundwater on the Southern Rural Water website.
In 2021-22, groundwater level trends in the Glenelg groundwater catchment were similar to the previous year.
Table 1: Groundwater level trends, Glenelg groundwater catchment
Entitlements and use
Groundwater licence and use volumes in the Glenelg 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 Glenelg groundwater catchment was 12,013 ML, more than 10,822 ML in the previous year.
Entitlement volumes
Rights to water in the Glenelg groundwater catchment are shown below.
Table 2: Groundwater entitlements at 30 June, Glenelg 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 1.5 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, 12,013 ML of water was extracted for consumptive purposes, which was more than the 10,822 ML extracted in the previous year. Of this volume, 10,985 ML was for non-urban (irrigation) use, 406 ML was for urban use, and 622 ML was estimated to be for domestic and stock use.
There were no restrictions on use in the Glenelg groundwater catchment in 2021-22.
Table 3: Groundwater availability and use, Glenelg groundwater catchment
Management responsibilities
Management of water in the Glenelg groundwater catchment is undertaken by various parties.
| Authority | Management responsibilities |
|---|---|
| Southern Rural Water |
|
| Government of South Australia |
|
