About the area
- The Ovens groundwater catchment is in northern Victoria. It extends from the Great Dividing Range in the south to the Murray River in the north.
- The groundwater catchment contains the Barnawartha Groundwater Management Area (GMA), Lower Ovens GMA, and Upper Ovens River Water Supply Protection Area (WSPA). The area not covered by these groundwater management units (GMUs) is reported as outside management units.
- The Upper Ovens River WSPA Management Plan manages surface water and groundwater (all depths) in the unconsolidated sedimentary aquifer as a highly connected system with surface water.
- Groundwater resources supply licensed entitlements and domestic and stock use, and can provide urban supply to Barnawartha, Springhurst, Wangaratta, Bright, and Chiltern.
- 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.
Water use
Less water was used for consumptive purposes than the previous year.
Climate
Rainfall
In 2021-22, more rainfall was received in the Ovens groundwater catchment than the previous year. Rainfall was:
- above average throughout the catchment except in the south-east where it was average around Mount Beauty and Hotham heights
- very much above average in the central-west below Wangaratta and in the north-east from Rutherglen to Beechworth.
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 Ovens groundwater catchment were consistent with the previous year.
Table 1: Groundwater level trends, Ovens groundwater catchment
Entitlements and use
Groundwater licence and use volumes in the Ovens 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 Ovens groundwater catchment was 7,605 ML, less than 9,824 ML in the previous year.
Entitlement volumes
Rights to water in the Ovens groundwater catchment are shown below.
Table 2: Groundwater entitlements at 30 June, Ovens 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, 7,605 ML of water was extracted for consumptive purposes, which was less than the 9,824 ML extracted in the previous year. Of this volume, 4,883 ML was for non-urban (irrigation) use, 208 ML was for urban use, and 2,514 ML was estimated to be for domestic and stock use.
There were no restrictions on use in the Ovens groundwater catchment in 2021-22.
Table 3: Groundwater availability and use, Ovens groundwater catchment
Management responsibilities
Management of water in the Ovens groundwater catchment is undertaken by Goulburn-Murray Water.
| Authority | Management responsibilities |
|---|---|
| Goulburn-Murray Water |
|
