Victorian Water Accounts 2009–2010 A statement of Victorian water resources Published by the Victorian Government Department of Sustainability and Environment Melbourne, October 2011 © The State of Victoria Department of Sustainability and Environment 2011 This publication is copyright. No part may be reproduced by any process except in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968. Authorised by the Victorian Government, 8 Nicholson Street, East Melbourne. Printed by Finsbury Green Printed on 100% recycled paper. ISSN 1837-591X (print) ISSN 1837-5928 (online) For more information contact the Department of Sustainability and Environment’s Customer Service Centre 136186. Disclaimer This publication may be of assistance to you but the State of Victoria and its employees do not guarantee that the publication is without flaw of any kind or is wholly appropriate for your particular purposes and therefore disclaims all liability for any error, loss or other consequence which may arise from you relying on any information in this publication. Data presented in this report has been compiled from a number of sources and varies in reliability. However, where possible checks on the accuracy of the data have been undertaken and the data compilation process is auditable. Acknowledgements Data compilation: Sinclair Knight Merz Edited by Andrew Macrae Victorian Water Accounts 2009–2010 Page i Alphabetical listing of Victoria’s river basins Basin Chapter Avoca 13 Barwon 28 Broken 9 Bunyip 23 Campaspe 11 Corangamite 29 East Gippsland 16 Glenelg 33 Goulburn 10 Hopkins 31 Kiewa 7 Latrobe 21 Loddon 12 Mallee 14 Maribyrnong 25 Millicent Coast 34 Mitchell 19 Moorabool 27 Murray 6 Otway Coast 30 Ovens 8 Portland Coast 32 Snowy 17 South Gippsland 22 Tambo 18 Thomson 20 Werribee 26 Wimmera 15 Yarra 24 Page ii Victorian Water Accounts 2009–2010 Contents 1 Water availability 3 1.1 Rainfall 3 1.2 Streamflow 7 1.3 Storages 19 1.4 Groundwater 22 1.5 Conclusion 25 2 Management of scarce water resources 27 2.1 Living with less water 27 2.2 Role of government in responding to less water availability 27 2.3 Victoria’s regional sustainable water strategies 27 2.4 Urban water restrictions 27 2.5 Seasonal allocation of water in irrigation districts 29 2.6 Restrictions on diversions from unregulated streams 30 2.7 Seasonal allocations of groundwater in water supply protection areas 31 2.8 Emergency water supply network 31 2.9 Water carting 32 2.10 Augmenting water supply systems 33 2.11 Qualification of rights 34 2.12 Conclusion 35 3 Water for consumptive use 36 3.1 Victoria’s water allocation framework 36 3.2 Consumptive entitlements 37 3.3 Water availability and use 37 3.4 Urban water conservation measures 41 3.5 Surface water entitlement and use 43 3.6 Groundwater entitlement and use 46 3.7 Water trade and movement 47 3.8 Recycled water 51 3.9 Conclusions 53 4 Water for the environment 54 4.1 The environment’s share of water 54 4.2 Entitlements for the environment 54 4.3 Drought conditions and environmental water 57 4.4 Compliance with passing-flow requirements 58 4.5 Total flow at basin outlet 58 4.6 Streamflow management plans 59 4.7 Donations 61 4.8 Trade in environmental water 61 4.9 Conclusion 61 5 Overview of methodology 64 5.1 Introduction 64 5.2 Data sources 64 5.3 Comparison with 2008–09 64 5.4 Methodology, key assumptions and limitations of data 65 5.5 Seasonal allocations and restrictions on water use, diversions and extractions 67 5.6 Surface-water balance 67 5.7 Small catchment dams 68 5.8 Water entitlement transfers 68 5.9 Volume diverted 68 5.10 Drought contingency measures 68 Victorian Water Accounts 2009–2010 Page iii 5.11 Water for the environment 68 5.12 Comparison of the water accounts with other data sources 69 6 Murray basin (Victoria) 70 6.1 Murray basin summary 70 6.2 Responsibilities for management of water resources 70 6.3 Rainfall, flows and storage in 2009–10 71 6.4 Total water resources in the basin 72 6.5 Location of water resources 73 6.6 Surface water resources 74 6.7 Groundwater resources 77 6.8 Drought contingency measures 79 6.9 Qualification of rights 79 6.10 Seasonal allocations and restrictions on water use, diversions and extractions 80 6.11 Recycled water 81 6.12 Water for the environment 81 7 Kiewa basin 83 7.1 Kiewa basin summary 83 7.2 Responsibilities for management of water resources 83 7.3 Rainfall, flows and storages in 2009–10 83 7.4 Total water resources in the basin 84 7.5 Location of water resources 85 7.6 Surface water resources 86 7.7 Groundwater resources 87 7.8 Drought contingency measures 88 7.9 Seasonal allocations and restrictions on water use, diversions and extractions 88 7.10 Recycled water 89 7.11 Water for the environment 90 8 Ovens basin 91 8.1 Ovens basin summary 91 8.2 Responsibilities for management of water resources 91 8.3 Rainfall, flows and storages in 2009–10 91 8.4 Total water resources in the basin 92 8.5 Location of water resources 93 8.6 Surface water resources 94 8.7 Groundwater resources 96 8.8 Drought contingency measures 98 8.9 Seasonal allocations and restrictions on water use, diversions and extractions 98 8.10 Recycled water 99 8.11 Water for the environment 100 9 Broken basin 102 9.1 Broken basin summary 102 9.2 Responsibilities for management of water resources 102 9.3 Rainfall, flows and storages in 2009–10 102 9.4 Total water resources in the basin 103 9.5 Location of water resources 104 9.6 Surface water resources 105 9.7 Groundwater resources 107 9.8 Drought contingency measures 108 9.9 Qualification of rights 108 9.10 Seasonal allocations and restrictions on water use, diversions and extractions 109 9.11 Recycled water 110 9.12 Water for the environment 110 10 Goulburn basin 112 10.1 Goulburn basin summary 112 Page iv Victorian Water Accounts 2009–2010 10.2 Responsibilities for management of water resources 112 10.3 Rainfall, flows and storages in 2009–10 113 10.4 Total water resources in the basin 113 10.5 Location of water resources 114 10.6 Surface water resources 115 10.7 Groundwater resources 119 10.8 Drought contingency measures 121 10.9 Qualification of rights 121 10.10 Seasonal allocations and restrictions on water use, diversions and extractions 122 10.11 Recycled water 123 10.12 Water for the environment 124 11 Campaspe basin 127 11.1 Campaspe basin summary 127 11.2 Responsibilities for management of water resources 127 11.3 Rainfall, flows and storages in 2009–10 127 11.4 Total water resources in the basin 128 11.5 Location of water resources 129 11.6 Surface water resources 130 11.7 Groundwater resources 132 11.8 Drought contingency measures 134 11.9 Qualification of rights 134 11.10 Recycled water 136 11.11 Water for the environment 137 12 Loddon basin 139 12.1 Loddon basin summary 139 12.2 Responsibilities for management of water resources 139 12.3 Rainfall, flows and storages in 2009–10 140 12.4 Total water resources in the basin 141 12.5 Location of water resources 142 12.6 Surface water resources 143 12.7 Groundwater resources 145 12.8 Drought contingency measures 147 12.9 Qualifications of rights 147 12.10 Seasonal allocations and restrictions on water use, diversions and extractions 150 12.11 Recycled water 152 12.12 Water for the environment 152 13 Avoca basin 155 13.1 Avoca basin summary 155 13.2 Responsibilities for management of water resources 155 13.3 Rainfall, flows and storages in 2009–10 155 13.4 Total water resources in the basin 156 13.5 Location of water resources 157 13.6 Surface water resources 158 13.7 Groundwater resources 159 13.8 Drought contingency measures 159 13.9 Seasonal allocations and restrictions on water use, diversions and extractions 159 13.10 Recycled water 160 13.11 Water for the environment 160 14 Mallee basin 161 14.1 Mallee basin summary 161 14.2 Responsibilities for management of water resources 161 14.3 Rainfall, flows and storages in 2009–10 161 14.4 Total water resources in the basin 161 14.5 Location of water resources 162 Victorian Water Accounts 2009–2010 Page v 14.6 Surface water resources 163 14.7 Groundwater resources 163 14.8 Drought contingency measures 164 14.9 Recycled water 164 14.10 Water for the environment 164 15 Wimmera basin 165 15.1 Wimmera basin summary 165 15.2 Responsibilities for management of water resources 165 15.3 Rainfall, flows and storages in 2009–10 166 15.4 Location of water resources 167 15.5 Total water resources in the basin 168 15.6 Surface water resources 168 15.7 Groundwater resources 170 15.8 Drought contingency measures 172 15.9 Seasonal allocations and restrictions on water use, diversions and extractions 172 15.10 Recycled water 172 15.11 Water for the environment 173 16 East Gippsland basin 175 16.1 East Gippsland basin summary 175 16.2 Responsibilities for management of water resources 175 16.3 Rainfall and flows in 2009–10 175 16.4 Location of water resources 176 16.5 Total water resources in the basin 177 16.6 Surface water resources 177 16.7 Groundwater resources 178 16.8 Drought contingency measures 178 16.9 Seasonal allocations and restrictions on water use, diversions and extractions 179 16.10 Recycled water 179 16.11 Water for the environment 179 17 Snowy basin 180 17.1 Snowy basin summary 180 17.2 Responsibilities for management of water resources 180 17.3 Rainfall, flows and storage levels in 2009–10 180 17.4 Total water resources in the basin 181 17.5 Location of water resources 182 17.6 Surface water resources 183 17.7 Groundwater resources 184 17.8 Drought contingency measures 185 17.9 Seasonal allocations and restrictions on water use, diversions