About the area
The Sale Water Supply Protection Area (WSPA) covers a confined sand aquifer with silt, clays and coals centred on Sale, where it partially underlies the Denison GMA and Wa De Lock GMAs, partially overlies the Rosedale GMA, and fully overlies the Stratford GMA.
The water authority responsible for managing groundwater in the Sale WSPA is Southern Rural Water.
The Sale WSPA Local Management Plan applies to groundwater resources for all formations between 25 m to 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, Sale WSPA
Groundwater restrictions
There were no restrictions on licensed use in the Sale WSPA in 2022-23.
Entitlements and use
Groundwater entitlements have been issued for licensed (non-urban) use and urban supply to Sale in the Sale WSPA. Groundwater is also available for domestic and stock use.
Entitlement volumes
Table 2: Groundwater entitlements at 30 June, Sale WSPA
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 WSPA, 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, Sale WSPA
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 (21,203 ML) in the Sale WSPA did not exceed the PCV (21,238 ML).
Total volume extracted under licences was within the available volume
The total volume extracted under licences (9,250 ML) was within the volume available for the year (21,138 ML).
Table 4: PCV vs total entitlement volumes, Sale WSPA
Management responsibilities
Management of water in the Sale WSPA is undertaken by Southern Rural Water.
| Authority | Management responsibilities |
|---|---|
| Southern Rural Water |
|
