About the area
- The Otway-Torquay groundwater catchment is in south-western Victoria. It runs along the coastline from Barwon Heads down to the Otway National Park.
- The Otway-Torquay groundwater catchment contains the Jan Juc Groundwater Management Area (GMA). The area not covered by Jan Juc GMA is reported as outside management units.
- Groundwater resources supply licensed entitlements, domestic and stock use, and urban use to Greater Geelong.
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
Rainfall in the Otway-Torquay groundwater catchment was average in most of the catchment, lower than the previous year. Rainfall was above average in the Otway National Park around Apollo Bay.
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 Otway-Torquay groundwater catchment declined more than the previous year.
Table 1: Groundwater level trends, Otway-Torquay groundwater catchment
Entitlements and use
Groundwater licence and use volumes in the Otway-Torquay 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 Otway-Torquay groundwater catchment was 2,047 ML, more than 293 ML in the previous year.
Entitlement volumes
Rights to water in the Otway-Torquay groundwater catchment are shown below.
Water supply to Greater Geelong is supplemented with a groundwater bulk entitlement with a maximum annual extraction of 10,000 ML.
Table 2: Groundwater entitlements at 30 June, Otway-Torquay 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, 2,407 ML of water was extracted for consumptive purposes, which was more than the 293 ML extracted in the previous year. Of this volume, 597 ML was for non-urban (irrigation) use, 1,406 ML was for urban use, and 44 ML was estimated to be for domestic and stock use.
There were no restrictions on use in the Otway-Torquay groundwater catchment in 2021-22.
Table 3: Groundwater availability and use, Otway-Torquay groundwater catchment
Management responsibilities
Management of water in the Otway-Torquay groundwater catchment is undertaken by various parties.
| Authority | Management responsibilities |
|---|---|
| Southern Rural Water |
|
| Barwon Water |
|
