About the area
The Avoca groundwater catchment is in north-western Victoria, and its northern boundary is the Murray River.
The groundwater catchment does not contain any groundwater management areas (GMAs) or water supply protection areas (WSPAs): all licence volume is reported as outside management units.
Groundwater resources within the catchment supply licensed entitlements, domestic and stock use, and urban use to Amphitheatre and Redbank.
The Avoca groundwater catchment forms 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.
2024-25 overview
Urban supply
Groundwater supplied to 2 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 Avoca groundwater catchment in 2024-25 than the previous year, ranging from close to the long-term average to very much below average across the catchment. Rainfall was:
- average in the catchment’s north-east around Quambatook
- below average over most of the catchment’s northern half
- very much below average over most of the catchment’s southern half.
Figure 1 displays the rainfall received in 2024-25 compared to the long-term average (1975-2025).
Figure 1: Rainfall deciles, Avoca groundwater catchment
Sourced from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology
Response to water availability
Groundwater restrictions
There were no restrictions on licensed groundwater use in 2024-25, the same as previous year.
Entitlements and use
Groundwater licence and use volumes in the Avoca groundwater catchment are shown below. Domestic and stock use does not require a licence, so in the Groundwater availability and take table (Table 2), 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 Avoca groundwater catchment was 1,263 ML, more than the 649 ML used in the previous year.
Entitlement volumes
Rights to water in the Avoca groundwater catchment are shown below.
Table 1: Groundwater entitlements at 30 June, Avoca 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 2024-25. Total water available under entitlements is calculated as the sum of: opening carryover from the prior year (where available), allocation issued during the reporting year, and the net trade in or out of water, across all entitlements. The level of allocation issued is reduced if there are any restrictions in place.
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 per bore per year.
More information on groundwater use and availability has been detailed in How we account for
In 2024-25, 1,263 ML of water was extracted for consumptive purposes, which was more than the 649 ML extracted in the previous year. Of this volume, 1,198 ML was for non-urban (irrigation) use, 5 ML was for urban use, and 60 ML was estimated to be for domestic and stock use.
Table 2: Groundwater availability and take, Avoca groundwater catchment
Management responsibilities
Management of water in the Avoca groundwater catchment is undertaken by various parties.
| Authority | Management responsibilities |
|---|---|
| Grampians Wimmera Mallee Water |
|
| Lower Murray Water |
|
