Loddon

• The Loddon basin is in northern Victoria and includes the Loddon River, Bullock Creek and Bendigo Creek. The basin is crossed by the Waranga Western Channel, which provides water to users in the Loddon basin from the Goulburn basin (that is, to the Loddon Valley Irrigation Area).
• The southern part of the basin supplies the Bullarook water shares for irrigators along Birch and Bullarook creeks. For the purposes of the Loddon water balance, the Loddon basin excludes the Torrumbarry Irrigation Area (which is supplied mostly from the Murray River) and the Loddon Valley Irrigation Area.
• Annual rainfall is generally low and variable in the region, decreasing from around 900 mm in the headwaters to below 400 mm in the north.
• Mixed grazing of sheep and cattle is common on the steep to undulating land in the south, with some crop production. Also important in the south are fruit, vegetable and forest industries. Crops are a more important form of land use in the north of the basin where wheat, barley, oats and hay are grown under irrigation. Pig and poultry farming are also significant throughout the basin.

 More information on water management and accounting is detailed in Water explained.

When compared to the previous year, in 2021-22:

• more rainfall was received, catchment inflow was higher and storage levels peaked and declined at higher levels
• seasonal allocations were similar to the year before, with both high and low-reliability entitlements reaching 100% allocation a month or two earlier
• there were fewer restrictions on licensed diversions from unregulated streams
• more water was diverted from the basin for consumptive purposes
• less water was diverted for environmental purposes.

Rainfall

Rainfall was above average everywhere in the basin except in the south from Clunes to Daylesford, where it was close to average. In general, rainfall across the basin was higher than the year before.

Wastewater treatment plants

Water treated at wastewater treatment plants can be used to supplement water available in the basin. Water discharged to waterways from treatment plants is included as an inflow to the water balance.

Information on treatment plants is now reported in the Water Supply local reports for the water corporation responsible for managing the plant.

In this basin, wastewater treatment plants are managed by Coliban Water, Central Highland Water, and Lower Murray Water.

Compliance

Compliance against water entitlements is reported for this basin in three areas:

• entitlement issued: the volume of entitlements issued in a basin does not exceed formal caps, and has not increased without appropriate approvals
• water taken: the volume of water taken during the year does not exceed the volume considered to be available for consumptive and/or in-stream use during that year
• bulk entitlement provisions: holders of entitlements do not breach any provisions that are documented in their bulk entitlement orders.

Environmental watering sites

Environmental watering sites and environmental values in the Loddon basin that depend on water for the environment include:

• native fish species including golden perch, silver perch, Murray-Darling rainbowfish, river blackfish and Murray cod
• Serpentine Creek which has a population of regionally significant river blackfish, supports small/medium bodied fish and a small population of platypus
• Birchs Creek which contains native fish, including regionally significant populations of river blackfish and mountain galaxias, as well as flat-headed gudgeon and Australian smelt. Recent monitoring indicates that platypus are present throughout the entire creek
• Water from the Loddon basin also flows into the Murray basin, helping to maintain internationally significant Ramsar-listed environmental assets including the Kerang Wetlands and Third Reedy Lake, which support over 150 flora species and over 50 waterbird species including the endangered freckled duck and little bittern.

Environmental water reserve

In 2021-22, water for the environment sourced from the Loddon basin comprised:

• the Bulk Entitlement (Loddon River – Environmental Water Reserve) Order 2005, which includes 3,480 ML of high-reliability, 2,024 ML of low-reliability and 7,490 ML of provisional-reliability entitlements, passing flows which can be flexibly managed, unregulated flows and river-freshening flows
• The Environmental Entitlement (Birch Creek – Bullarook System) 2009, which includes passing flows and 100 ML of water in Newlyn Reservoir when high-reliability water shares are greater than 20% in the Bullarook system at the start of December
• 3,826 ML of high-reliability water shares and 527 ML of low-reliability water shares held for the environment
• water set aside for the environment through the operation of passing flow conditions:
  • on consumptive bulk entitlements held by Central Highlands Water and Goulburn-Murray Water
  • on licensed diversions
• all other water in the basin not allocated for consumptive uses: this water also provides social, recreational and cultural benefits.

Environmental water use

A total of 19,381 ML of environmental water was used in the Loddon basin in 2021-22: 5,588 ML of this was diverted off-stream (including unregulated flows), and the remaining 13,793 ML was delivered in-stream (including river-freshening flows). 3,523 ML of the diversion was supplied from the Goulburn system to Lake Meran and Lake Boort, so it is reported as a diversion from the Goulburn system water balance. Only 1,777 ML was diverted from the Loddon system.

Management of water in the Loddon basin is undertaken by various parties