About the area
The Seaspray groundwater catchment is in Victoria’s south-east.
The Seaspray groundwater catchment contains the Giffard groundwater management area (GMA), Yarram water supply protection area (WSPA), and Stratford GMA. The area not covered by these is reported as outside management units.
The Stratford GMA and the Yarram WSPA extend into the Central Gippsland groundwater catchment.
Groundwater resources within the catchment supply licensed entitlements, domestic and stock use, and urban use to Yarram. Groundwater use in the Seaspray groundwater catchment is mostly for irrigation.
More information on water management and accounting is detailed in Water explained.
2022-23 overview
Urban supply
Groundwater supplied to 1 town in the catchment.
Water use
More water was used for consumptive purposes than the previous year.
Climate
Rainfall
Less rainfall was received in the Seaspray groundwater catchment in 2022-23 than the previous year, being close to the long-term average in most areas. Rainfall was above average along the western border of the catchment.
Figure 1 below displays the rainfall received in 2022-23 compared to the long-term average (1975-2023).
Figure 1: Rainfall deciles, Seaspray 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, groundwater level trends for the Giffard GMA and Yarram WSPA were stable towards the end of the year. Trends for the Rosedale and Stratford GMAs were declining and rising, respectively towards the end of the year.
Table 1: Groundwater level trends, Seaspray groundwater catchment
Entitlements and use
Groundwater licence and use volumes in the Seaspray 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 Seaspray groundwater catchment was 7,305 ML, more than the 5,482 ML used in the previous year.
Entitlement volumes
Rights to water in the Seaspray groundwater catchment are shown below.
Table 2: Groundwater entitlements at 30 June, Seaspray 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, 7,305 ML of water was extracted for consumptive purposes, which was more than the 5,482 ML extracted in the previous year. Of this volume, 6,739 ML was for non-urban (irrigation) use, 18 ML was for urban use, and 548 ML was estimated to be for domestic and stock use.
There were no restrictions on use in the Seaspray groundwater catchment in 2022-23.
Table 3: Groundwater availability and use, Seaspray groundwater catchment
Management responsibilities
Management of water in the Seaspraygroundwater catchment is undertaken by Southern Rural Water.
| Authority | Management responsibilities |
|---|---|
| Southern Rural Water |
|
