About the area
The Otway-Torquay groundwater catchment is in south-western Victoria. It runs along the coastline from Barwon Heads down to the Otway National Park.
The Otway-Torquay groundwater catchment contains the Jan Juc groundwater management area (GMA). The area not covered by Jan Juc GMA is reported as outside management units.
Groundwater resources within the catchment supply licensed entitlements, domestic and stock use, and urban use to Greater Geelong.
More information on water management and accounting is detailed in Water explained.
2023-24 overview
Water use
More water was used for consumptive purposes than the previous year.
Climate
Rainfall
Less rainfall was received in the Otway-Torquay groundwater catchment in 2023-24 than the previous year, being the lowest on record in the reference period (1975 to 2024) across most of the catchment. Rainfall was very much below average in the north of the catchment around Anglesea and Torquay.
Figure 1: Rainfall deciles, Otway-Torquay 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 Southern Rural Water website.
In 2023-24, the groundwater level trend for the Jan Juc GMA was declining towards the end of the year.
Table 1: Groundwater level trends, Otway-Torquay 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 Otway-Torquay 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 Otway-Torquay groundwater catchment was 211 ML, more than the 157 ML used in the previous year.
Entitlement volumes
Rights to water in the Otway-Torquay groundwater catchment are shown below.
Water supply to Greater Geelong is supplemented by a groundwater bulk entitlement with a maximum annual extraction of 10,000 ML.
Table 2: Groundwater entitlements at 30 June, Otway-Torquay 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 1.5 ML usage per bore per year.
More information on groundwater use and availability has been detailed in How we account for
In 2023-24, 211 ML of water was extracted for consumptive purposes, which was more than the 157 ML extracted in the previous year. Of this volume, 173 ML was for non-urban (irrigation) use, and 38 ML was estimated to be for domestic and stock use.
Table 3: Groundwater availability and take, Otway-Torquay groundwater catchment
Management responsibilities
Management of water in the Otway-Torquay groundwater catchment is undertaken by various parties.
| Authority | Management responsibilities |
|---|---|
| Southern Rural Water |
|
| Barwon Water |
|
