About the area
The Goulburn-Broken groundwater catchment is in northern Victoria. It includes 2 distinct geological regions: the highlands of bedrock with sedimentary valleys in the south and the plains with layers of sedimentary aquifers in the north.
The groundwater catchment contains the Mid Goulburn groundwater management area (GMA), Shepparton Irrigation Region GMA, Strathbogie GMA, Upper Goulburn GMA, Broken GMA, Eildon GMA, West Goulburn GMA, and Katunga water supply protection area (WSPA). The area not covered by these is reported as outside management units.
The Shepparton Irrigation Region GMA and West Goulburn GMA extend into the Campaspe groundwater catchment.
Groundwater resources within the catchment supply licensed entitlements, domestic and stock use, and urban use in Goorambat, Katunga, and Strathmerton.
The groundwater catchment is part of the Murray-Darling Basin, and groundwater management arrangements are subject to the requirements of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan.
More information on water management and accounting is detailed in Water explained.
2023-24 overview
Urban supply
Groundwater supplied to 1 town in the catchment.
Restrictions on use
Katunga WSPA was restricted to 70% of licensed volume, the same as the previous year.
Water use
More water was used for consumptive purposes than the previous year.
Climate
Rainfall
Less rainfall was received in the Goulburn-Broken groundwater catchment in 2023-24 than the previous year, being close to the long-term average across most of the catchment. Rainfall was:
- above average in the north and centre of the catchment around Kyabram and Seymour, respectively
- average across most of the catchment, encompassing Shepparton to Broadford and Mansfield
- below average in the south of the catchment around Taggerty and Marysville.
Figure 1 displays the rainfall received in 2023-24 compared to the long-term average (1975-2024).
Figure 1: Rainfall deciles, Goulburn-Broken 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. These trends are shown in Table 1 below.
Groundwater resources are being actively managed. For more detail on management responses, go to on the Goulburn-Murray Water website.
In 2023-24, groundwater level trends in 4 GMUs were rising towards the end of the year. Trends in 3 GMUs were stable towards the end of the year.
Although there are no observation bores currently monitoring groundwater levels in the Eildon GMA, historical records indicate that groundwater levels in both aquifers of this GMA are generally within 5 m of the ground surface and fluctuate in response to rainfall. Goulburn-Murray Water reported in the 2024 Eildon GMA Annual Newsletter that rainfall in 2023-24 was above average.
Table 1: Groundwater level trends, Goulburn-Broken groundwater catchment
Response to water availability
Groundwater restrictions
In 2023-24, licensed use in Katunga WSPA was restricted to 70% of the entitlement volume for the whole year, the same as the previous year.
Allocations in all other GMUs in the catchment were not restricted.
Entitlements and use
Groundwater licence and use volumes in the Goulburn-Broken groundwater catchment are shown below. Domestic and stock use does not require a licence, so in the Groundwater availability and take table (Table 3), 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 the Statewide groundwater summary.
Water used
Use in the Goulburn-Broken groundwater catchment was 54,826 ML, more than the 30,255 ML used in the previous year.
Entitlement volumes
Rights to water in the Goulburn-Broken groundwater catchment are shown below.
Table 2: Groundwater entitlements at 30 June, Goulburn-Broken groundwater catchment
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 catchment, the assumed usage is 2 ML usage per bore per year.
More information on groundwater use and availability has been detailed in How we account for
In 2023-24, 54,826 ML of water was extracted for consumptive purposes, which was more than the 30,255 ML extracted in the previous year. Of this volume, 48,175 ML was for non-urban (irrigation) use, 47 ML was for urban use, and 6,604 ML was estimated to be for domestic and stock use.
Table 3: Groundwater availability and take, Goulburn-Broken groundwater catchment
Management responsibilities
Management of water in the Goulburn-Broken groundwater catchment is undertaken by Goulburn-Murray Water.
| Authority | Management responsibilities |
|---|---|
| Goulburn-Murray Water |
|
