About the area
- The Upper Murray groundwater catchment is in north-eastern Victoria. It extends from the Victorian Alps to the Murray River.
- The groundwater catchment contains the Upper Murray and Kiewa groundwater management areas (GMAs).
- Groundwater resources supply licensed entitlements, domestic and stock use, and urban use to Dinner Plain.
- 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, rainfall in the Upper Murray groundwater catchment was very much above average in most areas, higher than the previous year. Rainfall was:
- average only in the south-west near Mount Beauty and Falls Creek
- above average in the surrounding areas, including Mitta Mitta
- very much above average in the rest of the catchment from Wodonga, across the north-east, and down to Omeo in the south-east.
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 Upper Murray GMA were consistent with the previous year in the Upper Murray GMA. The Kiewa GMA trends deviated slightly towards the end of the water year.
Table 1: Groundwater level trends, Upper Murray groundwater catchment
Entitlements and use
Groundwater licence and use volumes in the Upper Murray 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 Upper Murray groundwater catchment was 1,438 ML, less than 1,714 ML in the previous year.
Entitlement volumes
Rights to water in the Upper Murray groundwater catchment are shown below.
Table 2: Groundwater entitlements at 30 June, Upper Murray 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, 1,438 ML of water was extracted for consumptive purposes, which was less than the 1,714 ML extracted in the previous year. Of this volume, 547 ML was for non-urban (irrigation) use, 59 ML was for urban use, and 832 ML was estimated to be for domestic and stock use.
There were no restrictions on use in the Upper Murray groundwater catchment in 2021-22.
Table 3: Groundwater availability and use, Upper Murray groundwater catchment
Management responsibilities
Management of water in the Upper Murray groundwater catchment is undertaken by Goulburn-Murray Water.
| Authority | Management responsibilities |
|---|---|
| Goulburn-Murray Water |
|
