About the area
The Portland Groundwater Management Area (GMA) covers a deep confined sand aquifer with silts and clays, extending from the township of Portland, then north to the Wannon River and east to Tower Hill near Warrnambool.
This GMA fully underlies the Condah WSPA and partially underlies the South West Limestone GMA.
The water authority responsible for managing groundwater in the Portland GMA is Southern Rural Water.
The Portland GMA Local Management Plan applies to groundwater resources for all formations 200 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, Portland GMA
Groundwater restrictions
There were no restrictions on licensed use in the Portland GMA in 2022-23.
Entitlements and use
Groundwater entitlements have been issued for licensed (non-urban) use and urban supply to Heywood, Port Fairy and Portland in the Portland GMA. Groundwater is also available for domestic and stock use.
Entitlement volumes
Table 2: Groundwater entitlements at 30 June, Portland 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, Portland 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 (7,794 ML) in the Portland GMA did not exceed the PCV (7,795 ML).
Total volume extracted under licences was within the available volume
The total volume extracted under licences (2,350 ML) was within the volume available for the year (7,794 ML).
Table 4: PCV vs total entitlement volumes, Portland GMA
Management responsibilities
Management of water in the Portland GMA is undertaken by Southern Rural Water.
| Authority | Management responsibilities |
|---|---|
| Southern Rural Water |
|
