About the area
The Goulburn basin covers a large area in northern Victoria. It extends from the Great Dividing Range near Woods Point in the south-east to the Murray River near Echuca in the north-west.
Climate in the basin varies, with the high country experiencing cool winters and persistent snow and regions in the north-west generally experiencing a lower annual rainfall.
Higher stream flows within the basin occur during July-September; lower streamflow occurs during warmer months (January-March).
Agriculture in the basin is diverse, ranging from hardwood timber production in the south-east to dairying and fruit production in the north. Sheep and cropping are important in dryland and irrigated areas.
More information on water management and accounting is detailed in Water
2022-23 overview
Available water
Catchment inflow was higher than the previous year.
Licensed diversion restrictions
There were fewer restrictions on licensed diversions than the previous year.
Seasonal determinations
Goulburn system reached 100% allocation for high and low-reliability water shares – an increase on the previous year.
Water use
Less water was diverted for consumptive and environmental purposes than the previous year.
When compared to the previous year, in 2022-23:
- more rainfall was received, catchment inflow was much higher and storage levels peaked and declined at higher levels
- there were fewer restrictions on licensed diversions from unregulated streams
- high-reliability entitlements reached 100% allocation a month earlier
- low-reliability entitlements received an allocation for the first time since the creation of the current entitlement products in 2007
- less water was diverted from the basin for consumptive and environmental purposes.
Climate
2022 Flooding
In October 2022, a series of low-pressure systems or surface troughs travelled over south-east Australia, bringing heavy rainfall and storms. The cumulative impact of these on catchments and waterways led to widespread flooding in several basins. Major flooding of the Goulburn River led to inundation in towns including Seymour, Murchison, Shepparton and McCoys Bridge.
Rainfall
In 2022-23, rainfall across most of the Goulburn basin was very much above the long-term average, and in the upper reaches of the Goulburn, Big and Howqua rivers, rainfall was the highest recorded in the reference period (1975 to 2023).
Figure 1 displays the rainfall received in 2022-23 compared to the long-term average (1975-2023).
Figure 1: Rainfall deciles, Goulburn basin
Sourced from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology
River basin water balance
This section describes the known and estimated inflows, outflows and change of storage volumes in the basin.
In 2022-23, of the total inflows, 72% flowed out at the outlets of the Goulburn basin:
- as outflow to the Murray River
- as outflow to the Murray River via Broken Creek
- to the Campaspe River via the Western Waranga Channel.
Water balance table
The table below shows the total volumes of water available and supplied from water resources in the Goulburn basin in 2022-23.
Table 1: Water balance, Goulburn basin
Major on-stream storages
Major - greater than 1,000 ML - on-stream storages in the Goulburn basin are included in the water balance. Volumes in off-stream storages are presented for additional information about the resource condition.
Storage levels
Storage levels in the Goulburn basin were 98% on 30 June 2023.
Higher than the previous year
On 30 June 2022 storage levels were 83% full.
Table 2: Storage levels, Goulburn basin
Inflows
Catchment inflow
Catchment inflow represents the volume of water flowing into the waterways of a basin. It is calculated as the sum of the total outflows and change in storage minus the known inflows.
Above average inflows of 4,964,999 ML were received (174% of the long-term average of 2,859,000 ML), more than the previous year (89% of the long-term average). This was reflective of the very much above average rainfall received across the basin.
Above average catchment inflow received
Catchment inflow was 174% of the long-term average annual volume of 2,859,000 ML.
More water received than the previous year
Catchment inflow was higher than the previous year (89% of the long-term average).
Wastewater treatment plants
Water treated at wastewater treatment plants can be used to supplement water available in the basin. Water discharged to waterways from treatment plants is included as an inflow to the water balance.
Information on treatment plants is reported in the water supply local reports for the water corporation responsible for managing the plant.
In this basin, wastewater treatment plants are managed by Goulburn Valley Water.
Outflows
Diversions
In 2022-23, 788,831 ML of water was diverted for consumptive uses - town, domestic and stock, irrigation and commercial supply - and the environment. This was less than the 893,390 ML diverted in the previous year. Although the total volume of water diverted was less, there was an increase of 11,995 ML in the estimation of small catchment dam use volume.
Small catchment dams
Water harvested, used and lost by small catchment dams (farm dams) is included in the water balance.
Table 3: Small catchment dams, Goulburn basin
Entitlements and compliance
Entitlements provide the basis for how water is shared in the basin.
Melbourne Water holds a bulk entitlement to divert surface water from Silver and Wallaby Creeks. This entitlement is one of four which contribute to the Greater Yarra system - Thomson River Pool, which primarily supplies Melbourne and supports regional urban water corporations, including Barwon Water, Greater Western Water (formerly City West Water and Western Water), South Gippsland Water and Westernport Water.
Entitlements (except some waterworks districts entitlements) to water in the regulated system of the Goulburn basin provide for the right to carry over unused allocation to the next season. In the Goulburn basin, holders of these entitlements can carry over unused water up to 100% of their entitlement volume. Water held above entitlement volume is subject to a risk of spill: 1,054,000 ML was written off due to spill events in 2022-23.
The VEWH holds Bulk Entitlement (Goulburn System - Snowy Environmental Reserve) Order 2004 in trust for the Snowy River. Allocation to the entitlement is traded from the VEWH’s account to the Snowy Scheme so it can be subsequently released from the Snowy Scheme to support the health of the Snowy and Murray rivers. Information about this entitlement can be found in Managed environmental
Consumptive diversions under bulk entitlements are assessed against the Murray-Darling Basin annual cap target for the Goulburn-Broken-Loddon valley. Details of this assessment are published annually in the MDBA’s cap register and annual water take report.
Since 2019-20, the consumptive diversions are also assessed against the annual permitted takes under the Murray-Darling Basin Plan Sustainable Diversion Limit (SDL) compliance reporting, which are annually published in the MDBA’s SDL accounts register of take and the Inspector-General of Water Compliance’s SDL compliance statement.
Entitlement volumes
Rights to water in the Goulburn basin are shown in Table 4.
Entitlement volumes represent a maximum volume of water that can be taken in a one-year period. The volume available in a particular year is dependent on the rules for allocating water set out in the entitlement and the seasonal conditions in that year, which can vary. The rules for allocating water under an entitlement differ between entitlements and systems. This affects the ability and likelihood of water being taken in a particular year.
Table 4: Annual entitlement volumes at 30 June, Goulburn basin
Available water and take under entitlements
Total water available under entitlements represents the volume of water that was available to be taken by entitlement holders in 2022-23. The volume includes carryover from the previous year, seasonal allocations and net trade into the basin.
Water available under entitlements
Low-reliability water shares received an allocation in 2022-23 – the first time since 2007.
Water taken under entitlements
There was 1,017,489 ML taken under entitlements in 2022-23, less than the previous year (1,381,602 ML).
Seasonal allocations
- High-reliability entitlement allocations opened at 66% and reached 100% in September 2022 (1 month earlier than the previous year).
- Low-reliability entitlements reached 100% in December 2022. This is the first time low-reliability water shares in the Goulburn system have received an allocation since 2007.
Restrictions on licensed diversions from unregulated rivers
- Diversions were banned from Faithfulls Creek from January-March 2023 and from Sunday Creek from January-May 2023.
- All other streams were unrestricted for the year.
- During the previous year, there was a peak of 4 stream bans during the summer.
Available water and take table
This table shows the volume of available water and the volume taken under entitlements in 2022-23.
More information on available water and take has been detailed in How do we account for surface
In 2022-23, less water was taken under entitlements than the previous year.
Table 5: Available water and take under entitlements, Goulburn basin
Compliance
Compliance against water entitlements is reported for this basin in 3 areas:
- entitlement issued: that the volume of entitlements issued in a basin does not exceed formal caps, and has not increased without appropriate approvals
- water taken: that the volume of water taken during the year does not exceed the volume considered to be available for consumptive and/or in-stream use during that year
- bulk entitlement provisions: that holders of entitlements do not breach any provisions that are documented in their bulk entitlement orders.
Total entitlement volume
There was an allowed increase in the total entitlement volume from the previous year (an overall increase of 35,904 ML). See note below.
Total volume diverted
The total volume diverted under entitlements (1,017,489 ML) was within the volume available for the year (1,991,757 ML).
Individual bulk entitlements
No individual bulk entitlement holder took more than the annual volume made available to them.
Exceptions to compliance
Individual bulk entitlement holders complied with all provisions in their entitlements. However, Goulburn Valley Water reported experiencing some metering issues with the Woods Point diversion point meter.
Note to increase in entitlement volume:
- Water share volume increased by 2,332 ML (high-reliability) and 872 ML (low-reliability), issued for the Irrigator Share Distribution, and decreased by 15 ML (high-reliability) and 1 ML (low-reliability) following surrender/cancellation of water shares.
- The supply by agreement volume increased by 26 ML due to reissue to correct an error in the previous year when the record was cancelled in the Victorian Water Register.
- New bulk entitlements (BEs) were issued in 2022-23 to Yarra Valley Water, South East Water and Greater Western Water to reflect Melbourne Retailers’ share of the water savings achieved from the Connections Project. This was a total increase of 32,877 ML.
- More information on the Irrigator share distribution can be found in Entitlements and
Water for the environment
Environmental watering sites
Environmental watering sites in the Goulburn basin that depend on water for the environment include:
- wetlands of national significance, significant areas of intact riparian and floodplains vegetation and endangered flora and fauna species, including trout cod and Murray cod
- the lower Goulburn River floodplain (downstream of Goulburn Weir), which is listed as a wetland of national significance and is a native fish habitat and floodplain national park
- Reedy Swamp, a regionally significant wetland that is part of the Lower Goulburn National Park, which contains drought refuge and significant habitat for colonial nesting birds
- water from the Goulburn basin that also flows into the Murray, Campaspe and Loddon basins, helping to maintain internationally significant environmental assets (such as Gunbower Forest and the Hattah Lakes in the Murray basin).
Environmental water reserve
In 2022-23, water sourced from the Goulburn basin for the environment comprised:
- the Environmental Entitlement (Goulburn System - Living Murray) 2007, which includes 39,625 ML of high-reliability and 156,980 ML of low-reliability entitlements held by the VEWH
- the Goulburn River Environmental Entitlement 2010, which includes 26,426 ML of high-reliability and 5,792 ML of low-reliability entitlements held by the VEWH
- the Environmental Entitlement (Goulburn System - NVIRP Stage 1) 2012, which includes allocated mitigation water for the purposes of watering specific environmental sites that have been identified through the Goulburn-Murray Water Connections Project environmental approvals processes
- the Bulk Entitlement (Goulburn System - Snowy Environment Reserve) Order 2005, which includes 30,252 ML of high-reliability and 8,156 ML of low-reliability entitlements
- up to 7,490 ML of water each year, as part of the Bulk Entitlement (Loddon River - Environmental Water Reserve) Order 2005
- 334,605 ML of high-reliability water shares and 61,032 ML of low-reliability water shares held for the environment
- water set aside for the environment through the operation of passing flow conditions:
- on consumptive bulk entitlements (regulated and unregulated systems) held by Goulburn Valley Water and Goulburn-Murray Water
- on licensed diversions
- the Silver and Wallaby Creeks Environmental Entitlement 2006, which provides passing flow rules on Silver and Wallaby creeks
- all other water in the basin not allocated for consumptive uses: this water also provides social, recreational and cultural benefits.
Environmental water use
A total of 250,755 ML of environmental water was sourced from the Goulburn basin in 2022-23. Of this, 510 ML was diverted off-stream (440 ML of this water was delivered in-stream in the Campaspe River). The remaining 250,245 ML was delivered in-stream in the Goulburn River and Lower Broken Creek.
Management responsibilities
Management of water in the Goulburn basin is undertaken by various parties
| Authority | Management responsibilities |
|---|---|
| Goulburn-Murray Water |
|
| Goulburn Valley Water |
|
| Coliban Water |
|
| Melbourne Water |
|
| GWMWater |
|
| Goulburn Broken Catchment Management Authority |
|
| Water supply system | 2021-22 (ML) | 2022-23 (ML) |
|---|---|---|
| Alexandra | 611 | 527 |
| Bonnie Doon | 71 | 55 |
| Boort | 187 | 174 |
| Broadford system | 570 | 530 |
| Colbinabbin | 31 | 24 |
| Corop | 12 | 10 |
| Dingee | 11 | 5 |
| Dookie | 65 | 75 |
| Euroa system | 706 | 723 |
| Girgarre | 45 | 50 |
| Jarklin | 1 | 2 |
| Katandra West | 50 | 42 |
| Kilmore system | 1,320 | 1,240 |
| Kyabram | 1,407 | 1,208 |
| Lockington | 82 | 71 |
| Longwood | 56 | 61 |
| Macorna | 6 | 3 |
| Mansfield | 735 | 651 |
| Marysville & Buxton | 115 | 344 |
| Mitiamo | 20 | 11 |
| Mooroopna (council use) | 149 | 80 |
| Murchison | 177 | 163 |
| Mysia | 1 | 5 |
| Nagambie system | 486 | 468 |
| Pyalong | 54 | 71 |
| Pyramid Hill | 114 | 104 |
| Quambatook | 75 | 91 |
| Rochester | 523 | 281 |
| Rushworth | 257 | 235 |
| Serpentine | 46 | 45 |
| Seymour system | 1,433 | 1,405 |
| Shepparton system | 12,937 | 11,860 |
| Stanhope | 108 | 100 |
| Tatura | 2,088 | 1,830 |
| Tongala | 544 | 534 |
| Upper Delatite system | 118 | 107 |
| Woods Point | 10 | 9 |
| Yea system | 261 | 257 |
| Water supply system | 2021-22 (ML) | 2022-23 (ML) |
|---|---|---|
| Central Goulburn Irrigation Area | 275,631 | 227,785 |
| Loddon Valley Irrigation Area | 174,683 | 122,977 |
| Rochester Irrigation Area | 154,624 | 114,970 |
| Shepparton Irrigation Area | 144,493 | 134,006 |
