About the area
The Loddon groundwater catchment is in northern Victoria. It covers an area between Creswick and Swan Hill.
The groundwater catchment includes the Mid Loddon groundwater management area (GMA), Loddon Highlands water supply protection area (WSPA), and Central Victorian Mineral Springs GMA. The geographical area within the catchment containing licensed entitlement that is not covered by these is reported as outside management units.
The Loddon Highlands WSPA extends into the Hopkins-Corangamite groundwater catchment. The Central Victorian Mineral Springs GMA extends into the Campaspe and West Port Phillip Bay groundwater catchments.
Groundwater resources within the catchment supply licensed entitlements, domestic and stock use, and urban use to Daylesford, Avoca, Clunes, Forest Hill, Learmonth, Lexton, Maryborough, and Waubra.
The 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 8 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 Loddon 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 far north
- below average in the catchment’s south-east around Daylesford, and in its north
- very much below average across most of the catchment’s south and centre.
Figure 1 displays the rainfall received in 2024-25 compared to the long-term average (1975-2025).
Figure 1: Rainfall deciles, Loddon 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, the groundwater level trend for the Loddon Highlands WSPA was rising towards the end of the year. Trends for the Central Victorian Mineral Springs and Mid Loddon GMAs towards the end of the year were stable and declining, respectively.
Table 1: Groundwater level trends, Loddon groundwater catchment
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 Loddon 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 Loddon groundwater catchment was 38,637 ML, more than the 28,802 ML used in the previous year.
Entitlement volumes
Rights to water in the Loddon groundwater catchment are shown below.
Table 2: Groundwater entitlements at 30 June, Loddon 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, 38,637 ML of water was extracted for consumptive purposes, which was more than the 28,802 ML extracted in the previous year. Of this volume, 35,792 ML was for non-urban (irrigation) use, 891 ML was for urban use, and 1,954 ML was estimated to be for domestic and stock use.
Table 3: Groundwater availability and take, Loddon groundwater catchment
Management responsibilities
Management of water in the Loddon groundwater catchment is undertaken by Goulburn-Murray Water.
| Authority | Management responsibilities |
|---|---|
| Goulburn-Murray Water |
|
