About the area
The Loddon groundwater catchment is in northern Victoria. It covers an area between Creswick and Swan Hill.
The groundwater catchment includes the Mid Loddon groundwater management area (GMA), Loddon Highlands water supply protection area (WSPA), and Central Victorian Mineral Springs GMA. The area not covered by these is reported as outside management units.
The Loddon Highlands WSPA extends into the Hopkins-Corangamite groundwater catchment. The Central Victorian Mineral Springs GMA extends into the Campaspe and West Port Phillip Bay groundwater catchments.
Groundwater resources within the catchment supply licensed entitlements, domestic and stock use, and urban use to Daylesford, Avoca, Clunes, Forest Hill, Learmonth, Lexton, Maryborough, and Waubra.
The 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.
2022-23 overview
Urban supply
Groundwater supplied to 7 towns in the catchment.
Water use
Less water was used for consumptive purposes than the previous year.
Climate
Rainfall
More rainfall was received in the Loddon groundwater catchment in 2022-23 than the previous year, being very much above the long-term average across the entire catchment.
Figure 1 displays the rainfall received in 2022-23 compared to the long-term average (1975-2023).
Figure 1: Rainfall deciles, Loddon groundwater catchment
Sourced from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology
Groundwater level trends
In the Accounts, groundwater level trends for groundwater management units (GMUs) have been determined by 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; for example, a summer record is compared to the summer record from 5 years earlier to account for seasonality.
Groundwater resources are being actively managed. For more detail on management responses, go to on the Goulburn-Murray Water website.
In 2022-23, the groundwater level trend for the Mid Loddon GMA was declining towards the end of the year. Trends for the Central Victorian Mineral Springs GMA and Loddon Highlands WSPA were rising towards the end of the year.
Table 1: Groundwater level trends, Loddon groundwater catchment
Response to water availability
Groundwater restrictions
There were no restrictions on licensed groundwater use in 2022-23, the same as previous year.
Entitlements and use
Groundwater licence and use volumes in the Loddon groundwater catchment are shown below. Domestic and stock use does not require a licence, so in the Groundwater availability and use table, these rows only report water taken.
The licensed volume used under entitlements must not exceed the volume made available to individual licensed entitlement holders. We report on compliance in the GMU local reports and in Statewide groundwater.
Water used
Use in the Loddon groundwater catchment was 19,296 ML, less than the 22,311 ML used in the previous year.
Entitlement volumes
Rights to water in the Loddon groundwater catchment are shown below.
Table 2: Groundwater entitlements at 30 June, Loddon 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 2022-23. 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, the assumed usage is 2 ML usage per bore per year.
More information on groundwater use and availability has been detailed in How we account for .
In 2022-23, 19,296 ML of water was extracted for consumptive purposes, which was less than the 22,311 ML extracted in the previous year. Of this volume, 16,651 ML was for non-urban (irrigation) use, 719 ML was for urban use, and 1,926 ML was estimated to be for domestic and stock use.
There were no restrictions on use in the Loddon groundwater catchment in 2022-23.
Table 3: Groundwater availability and use, Loddon groundwater catchment
Management responsibilities
Management of water in the Loddon groundwater catchment is undertaken by Goulburn-Murray Water.
| Authority | Management responsibilities |
|---|---|
| Goulburn-Murray Water |
|
