DEECA

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 WaterExternal Link website.

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 groundwaterExternal Link .

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.

AuthorityManagement responsibilities
Southern Rural Water
  • Managing groundwater resources.
  • Developing and implementing groundwater management plans.
  • Issuing licences for groundwater use and bore construction.
  • Administering water for domestic and stock use.