About the area
The Lower Campaspe Valley Water Supply Protection Area (WSPA) extends from Lake Eppalock in the south to the Murray River in the north.
Rural centres within the WSPA boundary include Axedale, Goornong, Elmore, Lockington, Rochester and Echuca.
The water authority responsible for managing groundwater in the Lower Campaspe WSPA is Goulburn-Murray Water.
The Lower Campaspe Valley WSPA Groundwater Management Plan applies to groundwater resources for all formations below the surface, except where it is overlain by the Campaspe West Salinity Management Plan area and the region north of the Waranga Western Channel. In these areas, the Lower Campaspe Valley WSPA applies to the management of groundwater resources 25 m below the surface.
More information on the WSPA can be found on the Goulburn-Murray website.
Groundwater level trends
Table 1: Groundwater level trends, Lower Campaspe Valley WSPA
Groundwater restrictions
75% restriction in the Lower Campaspe Valley
Licence holders in the Lower Campaspe Valley WSPA were restricted to 75% of their licence volume in 2022-23. This is the third time a restriction has been placed on licensed groundwater extraction since the Lower Campaspe Valley WSPA Groundwater Management Plan was implemented.
Entitlements and use
Groundwater entitlements have been issued for licensed (non-urban) use and urban supply to Elmore in the Lower Campaspe Valley WSPA. Groundwater is also available for domestic and stock use.
Entitlement volumes
Table 2: Groundwater entitlements at 30 June, Lower Campaspe Valley WSPA
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 WSPA, 2 ML usage per bore per year is assumed.
More information on groundwater use and availability has been detailed in How we account for .
Table 3: Groundwater availability and use, Lower Campaspe Valley WSPA
Compliance
Compliance against water entitlements is reported for this groundwater management unit (GMU) in 2 areas:
- entitlement issued: that the volume of entitlements issued in the GMU does not exceed relevant permissible consumptive volumes (PCVs) or has not increased without appropriate approvals
- water extracted: that the volume of water taken under entitlements during the year does not exceed the total water available to licence holders.
Key points on compliance against entitlements
Entitlement volume did not exceed the PCV
The volume of entitlements (55,860 ML) in the Lower Campaspe Valley WSPA did not exceed the PCV (55,875 ML).
Total volume extracted under licences was within the available volume
The total volume extracted under licences (10,955 ML) was within the volume available for the year (54,763 ML).
Table 4: PCV vs total entitlement volumes, Lower Campaspe Valley WSPA
Management responsibilities
Management of water in the Lower Campaspe Valley WSPA is undertaken by Goulburn-Murray Water.
| Authority | Management responsibilities |
|---|---|
| Goulburn-Murray Water |
|
