Lower Campaspe Valley WSPA

About the area

The Lower Campaspe Valley Water Supply Protection Area (WSPA) extends from Lake Eppalock in the south to the Murray River in the north.

Rural centres within the WSPA boundary include Axedale, Goornong, Elmore, Lockington, Rochester and Echuca.

The water authority responsible for managing groundwater in the Lower Campaspe WSPA is Goulburn-Murray Water.

The Lower Campaspe Valley WSPA Groundwater Management Plan applies to groundwater resources for all formations below the surface, except where it is overlain by the Campaspe West Salinity Management Plan area and the region north of the Waranga Western Channel. In these areas, the Lower Campaspe Valley WSPA applies to the management of groundwater resources 25 m below the surface.

More information on the WSPA can be found on the Goulburn-Murray Water website.

Groundwater level trends

Table 1: Groundwater level trends, Lower Campaspe Valley WSPA

Groundwater management unit ^{1, 2}		2022-23	2023-24
Water supply protection area
Lower Campaspe Valley		Declining	Rising	Rising	Rising	Rising	Rising	Rising	Rising

Groundwater management unit ^{1, 2}		2022-23	2023-24
Water supply protection area
Lower Campaspe Valley		Declining	Rising	Rising	Rising	Rising	Rising	Rising	Rising

Response to water availability

Groundwater restrictions

75% restriction for the Barnadown management zone in the Lower Campaspe Valley

Licence holders in the Barnadown management zone of the Lower Campaspe Valley WSPA were restricted to 75% of their licensed volume in 2023-24. Other zones in the Lower Campaspe Valley WSPA received 100% allocation.

Entitlements and use

Groundwater entitlements have been issued for licensed (non-urban) use and urban supply to Elmore in the Lower Campaspe Valley WSPA. Groundwater is also available for domestic and stock use.

Entitlement volumes

Table 2: Groundwater entitlements at 30 June, Lower Campaspe Valley WSPA

Use type	2022-23 (ML)	2023-24 (ML)
Licensed use (non-urban)	55,576	55,576
Elmore urban	284	284
Total	55,860	55,860

Use type	2022-23 (ML)	2023-24 (ML)
Licensed use (non-urban)	55,576	55,576
Elmore urban	284	284
Total	55,860	55,860

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 WSPA, 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 groundwater.

Table 3: Groundwater availability and take, Lower Campaspe Valley WSPA

Use type	Available water (ML)	Water taken (ML) ¹
Licensed use (non-urban)	14,138	54,387	0	68,525	20,719
Elmore urban	71	284	0	355	131
Domestic & Stock	-	-	-	-	752
Total 2023-24	14,209	54,671	0	68,880	21,602
Total 2022-23	12,734	42,029	0	54,763	11,706

Use type	Available water (ML)	Water taken (ML) ¹
Licensed use (non-urban)	14,138	54,387	0	68,525	20,719
Elmore urban	71	284	0	355	131
Domestic & Stock	-	-	-	-	752
Total 2023-24	14,209	54,671	0	68,880	21,602
Total 2022-23	12,734	42,029	0	54,763	11,706

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 (55,860 ML) in the Lower Campaspe Valley WSPA did not exceed the PCV (55,875 ML).

Total volume extracted under licences was within the available volume

The total volume extracted under licences (20,850 ML) was within the volume available for the year (68,880 ML).

Table 4: PCV vs total entitlement volumes, Lower Campaspe Valley WSPA

Groundwater management unit		PCV	Licensed entitlement (ML)	Water available under licences (ML)	Water taken under licences (ML)
Lower Campaspe Valley WSPA		55,875	55,860	68,880	20,850

Groundwater management unit		PCV	Licensed entitlement (ML)	Water available under licences (ML)	Water taken under licences (ML)
Lower Campaspe Valley WSPA		55,875	55,860	68,880	20,850

Management responsibilities

Management of water in the Lower Campaspe Valley WSPA is undertaken by Goulburn-Murray Water.

Authority	Management responsibilities
Goulburn-Murray 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

Goulburn-Murray 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

Central Victorian Mineral Springs GMA

Explore the Central Victorian Mineral Springs Groundwater Management Area (GMA).

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West Goulburn GMA

Explore the West Goulburn Groundwater Management Area (GMA).

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Lower Campaspe Valley WSPA

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In this area

About the area

Groundwater level trends

Table 1: Groundwater level trends, Lower Campaspe Valley WSPA

Response to water availability

Groundwater restrictions

75% restriction for the Barnadown management zone in the Lower Campaspe Valley

Entitlements and use

Entitlement volumes

Table 2: Groundwater entitlements at 30 June, Lower Campaspe Valley WSPA

Available water and take

Table 3: Groundwater availability and take, Lower Campaspe Valley WSPA

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, Lower Campaspe Valley WSPA

Management responsibilities

Nearby groundwater management units

Central Victorian Mineral Springs GMA

West Goulburn GMA

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
Water supply protection area
Lower Campaspe Valley	Declining	Rising	Rising	Rising	Rising	Rising	Rising	Rising

Use type	Available water (ML)				Water taken (ML) ¹
Use type	Carryover	Licensed volume allocated	Net trade	Total water available	Water taken (ML) ¹
Licensed use (non-urban)	14,138	54,387	0	68,525	20,719
Elmore urban	71	284	0	355	131
Domestic & Stock	-	-	-	-	752
Total 2023-24	14,209	54,671	0	68,880	21,602
Total 2022-23	12,734	42,029	0	54,763	11,706