About the area
The Goulburn-Broken groundwater catchment is in northern Victoria. It includes 2 distinct geological regions: the highlands of bedrock with sedimentary valleys in the south and the plains with layers of sedimentary aquifers in the north.
The groundwater catchment contains the Mid Goulburn groundwater management area (GMA), Shepparton Irrigation Region GMA, Strathbogie GMA, Upper Goulburn GMA, Broken GMA, Eildon GMA, West Goulburn GMA, and Katunga water supply protection area (WSPA). The geographical area within the catchment containing licensed entitlement that is not covered by these is reported as outside management units.
The Shepparton Irrigation Region GMA and West Goulburn GMA extend into the Campaspe groundwater catchment.
Groundwater resources within the catchment supply licensed entitlements, domestic and stock use, and urban use in Goorambat, Katunga, and Strathmerton.
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.
2024-25 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 Goulburn-Broken groundwater catchment in 2024-25 than the previous year, ranging from below the long-term average to the lowest recorded in the reference period (1975 to 2025) across the catchment. Rainfall was:
- below average in the catchment’s north, south-west and eastern regions
- very much below in a band across the centre of the basin from Shepparton towards Healesville and out towards Rochester and Nagambie
- the lowest recorded in the reference period (1975 to 2025) in the catchment’s western regions around Redcastle-Greytown State Forest, Rushworth and Murchison.
Figure 1 displays the rainfall received in 2024-25 compared to the long-term average (1975-2025).
Figure 1: Rainfall deciles, Goulburn-Broken 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 level trends reporting in the Accounts does not necessarily represent the status of the resource for management purposes. Groundwater resources are actively managed by rural water corporations. For more detail on management responses, go to Groundwater on the Goulburn-Murray Water
In 2024-25, groundwater level trends toward the end of the year were rising in 4 GMUs, and stable in 2 GMUs. The trend for the Upper Goulburn GMA could not be determined towards the end of the year due to data availability, but it was declining in the prior September 2024 quarter.
Although there are no observation bores currently monitoring groundwater levels in the Eildon GMA, historical records indicate that groundwater levels in both aquifers of this GMA are generally within 5 m of the ground surface and fluctuate in response to rainfall. Goulburn-Murray Water reported in the 2025 Eildon GMA Annual Newsletter that rainfall in 2024-25 was below average.
Table 1: Groundwater level trends, Goulburn-Broken groundwater catchment
Response to water availability
Groundwater restrictions
There were no restrictions on licensed groundwater use in 2024-25, whereas licensed use in the Katunga WSPA was restricted to 70% of the entitlement volume during the previous year.
Entitlements and use
Groundwater licence and use volumes in the Goulburn-Broken 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 Goulburn-Broken groundwater catchment was 69,371 ML, more than the 54,826 ML used in the previous year.
Entitlement volumes
Rights to water in the Goulburn-Broken groundwater catchment are shown below.
Table 2: Groundwater entitlements at 30 June, Goulburn-Broken 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, 69,371 ML of water was extracted for consumptive purposes, which was more than the 54,826 ML extracted in the previous year. Of this volume, 62,834 ML was for non-urban (irrigation) use, 51 ML was for urban use, and 6,486 ML was estimated to be for domestic and stock use.
Table 3: Groundwater availability and take, Goulburn-Broken groundwater catchment
Management responsibilities
Management of water in the Goulburn-Broken groundwater catchment is undertaken by Goulburn-Murray Water.
| Authority | Management responsibilities |
|---|---|
| Goulburn-Murray Water |
|
