About the area
The Ovens groundwater catchment is in northern Victoria. It extends from the Great Dividing Range in the south to the Murray River in the north.
The groundwater catchment contains the Barnawartha groundwater management area (GMA), Lower Ovens GMA, and Upper Ovens River 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 Upper Ovens River Water Supply Protection Area Water Management Plan manages surface water and groundwater (at all depths) in the unconsolidated sedimentary aquifer as a highly connected system with surface water.
Groundwater resources within the catchment supply licensed entitlements and domestic and stock use, and can provide urban supply to Barnawartha, Springhurst, Wangaratta, Bright, and Chiltern.
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
A similar amount of water was used for consumptive purposes to the previous year.
Climate
Rainfall
Less rainfall was received in the Ovens groundwater catchment in 2024-25 than the previous year, being below the long-term average across most of the catchment. Rainfall was average around Milawa and near the Tea Tree Range State Forest.
Figure 1 displays the rainfall received in 2024-25 compared to the long-term average (1975-2025).
Figure 1: Rainfall deciles, Ovens 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 Barnawartha GMA was rising towards the end of the year. Trends for the Lower Ovens GMA and Upper Ovens River WSPA towards the end of the year were stable and declining, respectively.
Table 1: Groundwater level trends, Ovens 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 Ovens 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 Ovens groundwater catchment was 11,624 ML, similar to the 10,834 ML used in the previous year.
Entitlement volumes
Rights to water in the Ovens groundwater catchment are shown below.
Table 2: Groundwater entitlements at 30 June, Ovens 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, 11,624 ML of water was extracted for consumptive purposes, which was similar to the 10,834 ML extracted in the previous year. Of this volume, 8,689 ML was for non-urban (irrigation) use, 209 ML was for urban use, and 2,726 ML was estimated to be for domestic and stock use.
Table 3: Groundwater availability and take, Ovens groundwater catchment
Management responsibilities
Management of water in the Ovens groundwater catchment is undertaken by Goulburn-Murray Water.
| Authority | Management responsibilities |
|---|---|
| Goulburn-Murray Water |
|
