About the area
The Mid Goulburn Groundwater Management Area (GMA) is located in the Goulburn River Catchment in Northern Victoria and is part of the Murray-Darling Basin. The GMA extends from the foothills of the Great Dividing Range north of Seymour, to Wunghnu in the north.
Rural centres within the boundary include Shepparton, Nagambie, Murchison, Tatura and Mooroopna.
The water authority responsible for managing groundwater in the Mid Goulburn GMA is Goulburn-Murray Water.
The Mid Goulburn GMA Local Management Plan applies to all groundwater resources up to 200 m below the natural surface, or 50 m below the base of the Deep Lead, whichever is the greater, except where it is overlain by the Shepparton Irrigation Region GMA north of Murchison. In these areas, the Mid Goulburn GMA commences at 25 m below the surface.
More information on the GMA can be found on the Goulburn-Murray website.
Groundwater level trends
Table 1: Groundwater level trends, Mid Goulburn GMA
Groundwater restrictions
There were no restrictions on licensed use in the Mid Goulburn GMA in 2022-23.
Entitlements and use
Groundwater is available for licensed (non-urban) supply and for domestic and stock use.
Entitlement volumes
Table 2: Groundwater entitlements at 30 June, Mid Goulburn GMA
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 GMA, 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, Mid Goulburn GMA
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
Volume in catchments did not exceed PCVs
The volume of entitlements (12,465 ML) in the Broken GMA did not exceed the PCV (12,470 ML).
Total volume extracted under licences was within the available volume
The total volume extracted under licences (1,735 ML) was within the volume available for the year (14,948 ML).
Table 4: PCV vs total entitlement volumes, Mid Goulburn GMA
Management responsibilities
Management of water in the Mid Goulburn GMA is undertaken by Goulburn-Murray Water.
| Authority | Management responsibilities |
|---|---|
| Goulburn-Murray Water |
|
