DEECA Victorian Water Accounts 2024-25

About the area

The Barnawartha groundwater management area (GMA) is a small region in the lower reaches of the Indigo Creek catchment.

The major rural township within the GMA's boundary is Barnawartha.

The water authority responsible for managing groundwater in the Barnawartha GMA is Goulburn-Murray Water.

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

Groundwater level trends

Table 1: Groundwater level trends, Barnawartha GMA

Groundwater management unit ^{1, 2}		2023-24	2024-25
Barnawartha		Rising	Rising	Rising	Rising	Rising	Declining	Rising	Rising

Groundwater management unit ^{1, 2}		2023-24	2024-25
Barnawartha		Rising	Rising	Rising	Rising	Rising	Declining	Rising	Rising

Response to water availability

Groundwater restrictions

There were no restrictions on licensed use for the Barnawartha GMA in 2024-25.

Entitlements and use

Groundwater entitlements have been issued for licensed (non-urban) use and urban supply to Barnawartha in the Barnawartha GMA. Groundwater is also available for domestic and stock use.

Entitlement volumes

Table 2: Groundwater entitlements at 30 June, Barnawartha GMA

Use type	2023-24 (ML)	2024-25 (ML)
Licensed use (non-urban)	82	82
Barnawartha urban	293	293
Total	375	375

Use type	2023-24 (ML)	2024-25 (ML)
Licensed use (non-urban)	82	82
Barnawartha urban	293	293
Total	375	375

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 GMA, 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 groundwater.

Table 3: Groundwater availability and take, Barnawartha GMA

Use type	Available water (ML)	Water taken (ML)
Licensed use (non-urban)	-	82	0	82	10
Barnawartha urban	-	293	0	293	0
Domestic & Stock	-	-	-	-	70
Total 2024-25	0	375	0	375	80
Total 2023-24	0	375	0	375	75

Use type	Available water (ML)	Water taken (ML)
Licensed use (non-urban)	-	82	0	82	10
Barnawartha urban	-	293	0	293	0
Domestic & Stock	-	-	-	-	70
Total 2024-25	0	375	0	375	80
Total 2023-24	0	375	0	375	75

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 in 2024-25

Entitlement volume did not exceed the PCV

The volume of entitlements (375 ML) in the Barnawartha GMA did not exceed the PCV (2,100 ML).

Total volume extracted under licences was within the available volume

The total volume extracted under licences (10 ML) was within the volume available for the year (375 ML).

Table 4: PCV vs total entitlement volumes, Barnawartha GMA

Groundwater management unit		PCV	Licensed entitlement (ML)	Water available under licences (ML)	Water taken under licences (ML)
Barnawartha GMA		2,100	375	375	10

Groundwater management unit		PCV	Licensed entitlement (ML)	Water available under licences (ML)	Water taken under licences (ML)
Barnawartha GMA		2,100	375	375	10

Management responsibilities

Management of water in the Barnawartha GMA 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 and bore construction. 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 and bore construction.

Administering water for domestic and stock use.

Nearby groundwater management units

Kiewa GMA

Explore the Kiewa Groundwater Management Area (GMA).

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Lower Ovens GMA

Explore the Lower Ovens Groundwater Management Area (GMA).

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Barnawartha GMA

On this page:

In this area

About the area

Groundwater level trends

Table 1: Groundwater level trends, Barnawartha GMA

Response to water availability

Groundwater restrictions

Entitlements and use

Entitlement volumes

Table 2: Groundwater entitlements at 30 June, Barnawartha GMA

Available water and take

Table 3: Groundwater availability and take, Barnawartha GMA

Compliance

Key points on compliance against entitlements in 2024-25

Entitlement volume did not exceed the PCV

Total volume extracted under licences was within the available volume

Table 4: PCV vs total entitlement volumes, Barnawartha GMA

Management responsibilities

Nearby groundwater management units

Kiewa GMA

Lower Ovens GMA

Back to groundwater map

Victorian Water Accounts

Groundwater management unit ^{1, 2}		2023-24				2024-25
Groundwater management unit ^{1, 2}		Sep-23	Dec-23	Mar-24	Jun-24	Sep-24	Dec-24	Mar-25	Jun-25
Barnawartha		Rising	Rising	Rising	Rising	Rising	Declining	Rising	Rising

Use type	Available water (ML)				Water taken (ML)
Use type	Carryover	Licensed volume allocated	Net trade	Total water available	Water taken (ML)
Licensed use (non-urban)	-	82	0	82	10
Barnawartha urban	-	293	0	293	0
Domestic & Stock	-	-	-	-	70
Total 2024-25	0	375	0	375	80
Total 2023-24	0	375	0	375	75