About the area
The Loddon groundwater catchment is in northern Victoria. It covers an area between Creswick and Swan Hill.
The groundwater catchment includes the Mid Loddon groundwater management area (GMA), Loddon Highlands water supply protection area (WSPA), and Central Victorian Mineral Springs GMA. The area not covered by these is reported as outside management units.
The Loddon Highlands WSPA extends into the Hopkins-Corangamite groundwater catchment. The Central Victorian Mineral Springs GMA extends into the Campaspe and West Port Phillip Bay groundwater catchments.
Groundwater resources within the catchment supply licensed entitlements, domestic and stock use, and urban use to Daylesford, Avoca, Clunes, Forest Hill, Learmonth, Lexton, Maryborough, and Waubra.
The 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 8 towns in the catchment.
Water use
More water was used for consumptive purposes than the previous year.
Climate
Rainfall
Less rainfall was received in the Loddon groundwater catchment in 2023-24 than the previous year, ranging from above to very much below the long-term average across the catchment. Rainfall was:
- above average in the catchment from Inglewood and northwards
- average across the central regions of the catchment, encompassing Dunolly, Castlemaine and Bendigo
- below average in southern parts of the catchment around Maryborough and Dayleford
- very much below average in the far south of the catchment around Lexton and Creswick.
Figure 1 displays the rainfall received in 2023-24 compared to the long-term average (1975-2024).
Figure 1: Rainfall deciles, Loddon 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, the groundwater level trend for the Mid Loddon GMA was stable towards the end of the year. Trends for the Central Victorian Mineral Springs GMA and Loddon Highlands WSPA were rising towards the end of the year.
Table 1: Groundwater level trends, Loddon groundwater catchment
Response to water availability
Groundwater restrictions
There were no restrictions on licensed groundwater use in 2023-24, the same as previous year.
Entitlements and use
Groundwater licence and use volumes in the Loddon 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 Loddon groundwater catchment was 28,802 ML, more than the 19,290 ML used in the previous year.
Entitlement volumes
Rights to water in the Loddon groundwater catchment are shown below.
Table 2: Groundwater entitlements at 30 June, Loddon 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, 28,802 ML of water was extracted for consumptive purposes, which was more than the 19,290 ML extracted in the previous year. Of this volume, 25,926 ML was for non-urban (irrigation) use, 964 ML was for urban use, and 1,912 ML was estimated to be for domestic and stock use.
Table 3: Groundwater availability and take, Loddon groundwater catchment
Management responsibilities
Management of water in the Loddon groundwater catchment is undertaken by Goulburn-Murray Water.
| Authority | Management responsibilities |
|---|---|
| Goulburn-Murray Water |
|
