About the area
The Moe groundwater catchment is in central Gippsland, east of Melbourne.
The Moe groundwater catchment contains the Moe groundwater management area (GMA). The area not covered by Moe GMA is reported as outside management units.
The Moe GMA straddles this catchment and the Central Gippsland groundwater catchment.
Groundwater resources within the catchment supply licensed entitlements, domestic and stock use, and urban use to Yarragon. Whilst most groundwater licensed in the Moe groundwater catchment is used for irrigation, some is used for dairy-wash purposes.
More information on water management and accounting is detailed in Water explained.
2022-23 overview
Water use
More water was used for consumptive purposes than the previous year.
Climate
Rainfall
More rainfall was received in the Moe groundwater catchment in 2022-23 than the previous year, being very much above the long-term average across most of the catchment. Rainfall was above average in the north-west corner and in the south-east near Lake Narracan.
Figure 1 displays the rainfall received in 2022-23 compared to the long-term average (1975-2023).
Figure 1: Rainfall deciles, Moe 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 Southern Rural Water website.
In 2022-23, the groundwater level trend for the Moe GMA was declining towards the end of the year.
Table 1: Groundwater level trends, Moe groundwater catchment
Entitlements and use
Groundwater licence and use volumes in the Moe 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 Moe Groundwater catchment was 980 ML, more than the 805 ML used in the previous year.
Entitlement volumes
Rights to water in the Moe groundwater catchment are shown below.
Table 2: Groundwater entitlements at 30 June, Moe 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 1.5 ML usage per bore per year.
More information on groundwater use and availability has been detailed in How we account for .
In 2022-23, 980 ML of water was extracted for consumptive purposes, which was more than the 805 ML extracted in the previous year. Of this volume, 779 ML was for non-urban (irrigation) use, and 201 ML was estimated to be for domestic and stock use.
There were no restrictions on use in the Moe groundwater catchment in 2022-23.
Table 3: Groundwater availability and use, Moe groundwater catchment
Management responsibilities
Management of water in the Moegroundwater catchment is undertaken by Southern Rural Water.
| Authority | Management responsibilities |
|---|---|
| Southern Rural Water |
|
