DEECA Victorian Water Accounts 2023-24

About the area

The Cardigan Groundwater Management Area (GMA) covers a basalt aquifer encompassing Ballarat and extending west past Lake Burrumbeet.

The water authority responsible for managing groundwater in the Cardigan GMA is Southern Rural Water.

The Cardigan GMA Local Management Plan applies to groundwater resources for all formations below the surface.

More information on groundwater management can be found on the Southern Rural Water website.

Groundwater level trends

Table 1: Groundwater level trends, Cardigan GMA

Groundwater management unit ^{1, 2}		2022-23	2023-24
Groundwater management area
Cardigan		Rising	Rising	Rising	Rising	Rising	Rising	Rising	Rising

Groundwater management unit ^{1, 2}		2022-23	2023-24
Groundwater management area
Cardigan		Rising	Rising	Rising	Rising	Rising	Rising	Rising	Rising

Response to water availability

Groundwater restrictions

There were no restrictions on licensed use in the Cardigan GMA in 2023-24.

Entitlements and use

Groundwater entitlements have been issued for licensed (non-urban) use and urban supply to Ballarat in the Cardigan GMA. Groundwater is also available for domestic and stock use.

Entitlement volumes

Table 2: Groundwater entitlements at 30 June, Cardigan GMA

Use type	2022-23 (ML)	2023-24 (ML)
Licensed use (non-urban)	889	889
Ballarat urban ¹	3,000	3,000
Total	3,889	3,889

Use type	2022-23 (ML)	2023-24 (ML)
Licensed use (non-urban)	889	889
Ballarat urban ¹	3,000	3,000
Total	3,889	3,889

Available water and take

The table below shows the total water available and taken under entitlements, and estimated domestic and stock use in 2023-24. 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, 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 groundwater.

Table 3: Groundwater availability and take, Cardigan GMA

Use type	Available water (ML)	Water taken (ML)
Licensed use (non-urban)	0	889	0	889	231
Ballarat urban	0	3,000	0	3,000	642
Domestic & Stock	-	-	-	-	98
Total 2023-24	0	3,889	0	3,889	971
Total 2022-23	0	3,885	0	3,885	807

Use type	Available water (ML)	Water taken (ML)
Licensed use (non-urban)	0	889	0	889	231
Ballarat urban	0	3,000	0	3,000	642
Domestic & Stock	-	-	-	-	98
Total 2023-24	0	3,889	0	3,889	971
Total 2022-23	0	3,885	0	3,885	807

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 (3,889 ML) in the Cardigan GMA did not exceed the PCV (3,967 ML).

Total volume extracted under licences was within the available volume

The total volume extracted under licences (872 ML) was within the volume available for the year (3,889 ML).

Table 4: PCV vs total entitlement volumes, Cardigan GMA

Groundwater management unit		PCV	Licensed entitlement (ML)	Water available under licences (ML)	Water taken under licences (ML)
Cardigan GMA		3,967	3,889	3,889	872

Groundwater management unit		PCV	Licensed entitlement (ML)	Water available under licences (ML)	Water taken under licences (ML)
Cardigan GMA		3,967	3,889	3,889	872

Management responsibilities

Management of water in the Cardigan GMA is undertaken by Southern Rural Water.

Authority	Management responsibilities
Southern Rural Water	Managing groundwater resources. Developing and implementing groundwater management plans. Issuing licences for groundwater use, bore construction, and surface water diversions. Administering water for domestic and stock use.

Authority

Management responsibilities

Southern Rural Water

Managing groundwater resources.

Developing and implementing groundwater management plans.

Issuing licences for groundwater use, bore construction, and surface water diversions.

Administering water for domestic and stock use.

Nearby groundwater management units

Bungaree GMA

Explore the Bungaree Groundwater Management Area (GMA).

Explore

Loddon Highlands WSPA

Explore the Loddon Highlands Water Supply Protection Area (WSPA).

Explore

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Cardigan GMA

On this page:

In this area

About the area

Groundwater level trends

Table 1: Groundwater level trends, Cardigan GMA

Response to water availability

Groundwater restrictions

Entitlements and use

Entitlement volumes

Table 2: Groundwater entitlements at 30 June, Cardigan GMA

Available water and take

Table 3: Groundwater availability and take, Cardigan GMA

Compliance

Key points on compliance against entitlements

Entitlement volume did not exceed the PCV

Total volume extracted under licences was within the available volume

Table 4: PCV vs total entitlement volumes, Cardigan GMA

Management responsibilities

Nearby groundwater management units

Bungaree GMA

Loddon Highlands WSPA

Back to groundwater map

Victorian Water Accounts

Groundwater management unit ^{1, 2}	2022-23				2023-24
Groundwater management unit ^{1, 2}	Sep-22	Dec-22	Mar-23	Jun-23	Sep-23	Dec-23	Mar-24	Jun-24
Groundwater management area
Cardigan	Rising	Rising	Rising	Rising	Rising	Rising	Rising	Rising

Use type	Available water (ML)				Water taken (ML)
Use type	Carryover	Licensed volume allocated	Net trade	Total water available	Water taken (ML)
Licensed use (non-urban)	0	889	0	889	231
Ballarat urban	0	3,000	0	3,000	642
Domestic & Stock	-	-	-	-	98
Total 2023-24	0	3,889	0	3,889	971
Total 2022-23	0	3,885	0	3,885	807