About the area
The Orbost Groundwater Management Area (GMA) covers a shallow sand and gravel aquifer to the east of Orbost and centred on the Snowy River.
The water authority responsible for managing groundwater in the Orbost GMA is Southern Rural Water.
The Orbost GMA Local Management Plan applies to groundwater resources for all formations between 20 m to 45 m below the surface.
More information on groundwater management can be found on the Southern Rural website.
Groundwater level trends
Table 1: Groundwater level trends, Orbost GMA
Groundwater restrictions
There were no restrictions on licensed use in the Orbost 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, Orbost 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, 1.5 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, Orbost 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
Entitlement volume did not exceed the PCV
The volume of entitlements (1,217 ML) in the Orbost GMA did not exceed the PCV (1,217 ML).
Total volume extracted under licences was within the available volume
The total volume extracted under licences (168 ML) was within the volume available for the year (1,217 ML).
Table 4: PCV vs total entitlement volumes, Orbost GMA
Management responsibilities
Management of water in the Orbost GMA is undertaken by Southern Rural Water.
Authority | Management responsibilities |
---|---|
Southern Rural Water |
|