About the area
- The Goulburn-Broken groundwater catchment is in northern Victoria. It includes two distinct geological regions: the highlands of bedrock with sedimentary valleys in the south and the plains with layers of sedimentary aquifers in the north.
- The groundwater catchment contains the Mid Goulburn Groundwater Management Area (GMA), Shepparton Irrigation Region GMA, Strathbogie GMA, Upper Goulburn GMA, Broken GMA, Eildon GMA, West Goulburn GMA, and Katunga Water Supply Protection Area (WSPA). The area not covered by GMUs is reported as outside management units.
- The Shepparton Irrigation Region GMA and West Goulburn GMA extend into the Campaspe groundwater catchment.
- Groundwater resources supply licensed entitlements, domestic and stock use, and urban use in Goorambat, Katunga, and Strathmerton.
- The groundwater catchment is 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.
Restrictions on use
Katunga WSPA was restricted to 70% of licence volume.
Water use
Less water was used for consumptive purposes than the previous year.
Climate
Rainfall
In 2021-22, more rainfall was received in the Goulburn-Broken groundwater catchment than the previous year. Rainfall was:
- above average in the north and east from around Rushworth to Euroa to Woods Point
- average in the south-west corner
- very much above average in the areas around Benalla and Glenrowan.
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 Goulburn-Murray Water website.
In 2021-22, groundwater level trends in the Goulburn-Broken groundwater catchment were generally stable towards the end of the year for the Shepparton Irrigation Region, Strathbogie, Upper Goulburn and West Goulburn GMAs. Trends were declining towards the end of the year for the Broken and Mid Goulburn GMAs, and rising for the Katunga WSPA.
Although there are no observation bores currently monitoring groundwater levels in the Eildon GMA, historical records indicate that groundwater levels in both aquifers of this GMA are generally within five metres of the ground surface and fluctuate in response to rainfall. Goulburn-Murray Water reported that rainfall in the Eildon GMA in 2021-22 was above average.
Table 1: Groundwater level trends, Goulburn-Broken groundwater catchment
Response to water availability
Groundwater restrictions
In 2021-22, licensed use in Katunga WSPA was restricted to 70% of the entitlement volume for the whole year, the same as the previous year.
Allocations in all other GMUs in the catchment were not restricted.
Entitlements and use
Groundwater licence and use volumes in the Goulburn-Broken 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 Goulburn-Broken groundwater catchment was 62,752 ML, less than 121,938 ML in the previous year.
Entitlement volumes
Rights to water in the Goulburn-Broken groundwater catchment are shown below.
Table 2: Groundwater entitlements at 30 June, Goulburn-Broken 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, 62,752 ML of water was extracted for consumptive purposes, which was less than the 121,938 ML extracted in the previous year. Of this volume, 56,000 ML was for non-urban (irrigation) use, 40 ML was for urban use, and 6,712 ML was estimated to be for domestic and stock use.
Table 3: Groundwater availability and use, Goulburn-Broken groundwater catchment
Management responsibilities
Management of water in the Goulburn-Broken groundwater catchment is undertaken by Goulburn-Murray Water.
| Authority | Management responsibilities |
|---|---|
| Goulburn-Murray Water |
|
