About the area
The Upper Murray groundwater catchment is in north-eastern Victoria. It extends from the Victorian Alps to the Murray River.
The groundwater catchment contains the Upper Murray and Kiewa groundwater management areas (GMAs).
Groundwater resources within the catchment supply licensed entitlements, domestic and stock use, and urban use to Dinner Plain.
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.
Water use
More water was used for consumptive purposes than the previous year.
Climate
Rainfall
Less rainfall was received in the Upper Murray groundwater catchment in 2023-24 than the previous year, being below the long-term average across most of the catchment. Rainfall was:
- average in the south of the catchment around Omeo
- below average in central regions of the catchment including Tangambalanga and Falls Creek
- very much below average in the north of the catchment around Tallangatta and Corryong.
Figure 1 displays the rainfall received in 2023-24 compared to the long-term average (1975-2024).
Figure 1: Rainfall deciles, Upper Murray 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 for the Kiewa and Upper Murray GMAs were stable and rising, respectively, towards the end of the year.
Table 1: Groundwater level trends, Upper Murray 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 Upper Murray 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 Upper Murray groundwater catchment was 1,821 ML, more than the 1,585 ML used in the previous year.
Entitlement volumes
Rights to water in the Upper Murray groundwater catchment are shown below.
Table 2: Groundwater entitlements at 30 June, Upper Murray 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, 1,821 ML of water was extracted for consumptive purposes, which was more than the 1,585 ML extracted in the previous year. Of this volume, 952 ML was for non-urban (irrigation) use, 71 ML was for urban use, and 798 ML was estimated to be for domestic and stock use.
Table 3: Groundwater availability and take, Upper Murray groundwater catchment
Management responsibilities
Management of water in the Upper Murray groundwater catchment is undertaken by Goulburn-Murray Water.
| Authority | Management responsibilities |
|---|---|
| Goulburn-Murray Water |
|
