National Water Commission

The Goulburn River water management area is located within the Murray-Darling Drainage Division and encompasses an area of 17,350 km². Upstream of Lake Eildon, the area includes the Goulburn, Delatite, Howqua and Big Rivers. The Acheron River, Yea River, King Parrot Creek, Creightons Creek, Seven Creeks and Hughes Creek occur downstream of Lake Eildon. The Broken River flows into the Goulburn River at Shepparton. The Goulburn River discharges to the River Murray east of Echuca.

Goulburn-Murray Water manages the Goulburn water supply system which includes Lakes Eildon and Nagambie, and the Waranga Basin. It is also the licensing authority responsible for managing private groundwater pumping and surface water diversions in the Goulburn basin. Goulburn Valley Water is responsible for urban water supply for towns located within the Goulburn basin. Coliban Water also supplies numerous towns located in the North Central region, as well as the townships of Lockington and Rochester, from water sourced from the Goulburn via the Waranga Western Channel. Rochester is also supplied via the Campaspe system when the Waranga Western Channel is closed for maintenance.

The Goulburn Broken Catchment Management Authority is responsible for waterway management.
This chapter draws extensively on the State Water Report 2004/05 (DSE, 2006).




Figure 1 Goulburn River water management area locality map

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For urban areas in the water management area, Stage 3 water restrictions (of a four stage policy) continued for Broadford, Clonbinane, Waterford Park, Kilmore, Wallan, and Wandong/Heathcote Junction in 2004-05. These restrictions were activated in December 2003. The restrictions were eased to Stage 2 in December 2004, and then lifted in mid-February 2005. In the Sunday Creek system, Stage 1 restrictions were re-imposed in June 2005. In May 2005, voluntary restrictions were announced for Tatura, and remained in place for the following month. Stage 1 restrictions were in place throughout 2004-05 for towns supplied by the Goulburn system managed by Coliban Water (i.e. Boort, Dingee, Lockington, Macorna, Mitiamo, Mysia, Pyramid Hill and Rochester).

In terms of irrigation entitlements, an initial seasonal water allocation of 5% was made in July 2003. This was increased to 100% of entitlement by the end of November 2004 and remained at this level until the end of the irrigation season. The 100% allocation was the same as the final allocation announcement of the previous season. The median long term February allocation in this system is 160% of entitlement; hence irrigators in the Goulburn system again had to make do with less than their usual seasonal allocation.

For unregulated streams, an irrigation ban was in place for licensed diversions from Sunday Creek throughout the 2004-05 season until June 2005 when it was finally lifted. No other bans or restrictions were imposed. This is in contrast to the previous year when 10 unregulated streams were subject to some form of restriction during 2003-04.

Rainfall conditions across the Goulburn Basin for 2004-05 were close to the long term average for most areas (Figure 2). In contrast, annual streamflows were below average across much of the catchment (Figure 4).

A representative hydrograph from the Shepparton WSPA is shown in Figure 5 and for the Kialla GMA in Figure 6. Groundwater levels in the water table aquifer (i.e. Shepparton WSPA) show seasonal fluctuations, with the overall trend relatively stable. Levels in the deeper aquifers also show seasonal fluctuations (likely to be influenced by extraction during the irrigation season), with the overall trend generally declining

Table 1 Summary of Goulburn River water management area contextual information

Figure 2 Annual rainfall for the Goulburn River water management area (modified from BOM, 2006)




Figure 3 Monthly rainfall and evaporation for the Goulburn River water management area (modified from BOM, 2006 & Climate Atlas)




Figure 4 Streamflow hydrograph from the Goulburn River water management area for the Delatite River at Tonga Bridge (gauge 405214)




Figure 5 Representative bore hydrograph from the Goulburn River water management area for Shepparton WSPA (gauge 95170)




Figure 6 Representative bore hydrograph from the Goulburn River water management area for Kialla GMA (gauge 97740)

Summary of the total water resources in the basin

The total volumes of water available and supplied from water resources in the Goulburn river water management area are shown in Table 2.

Table 2 Summary of water balance in the Goulburn River water management area, 2004-05

Figure 7 Water balance summary diagram for the Goulburn River water management area

Outcomes from the water cycle report

The following information becomes apparent from Table 2:

• With rainfall across the catchment close to the long term average, there was an increase in the overall volume of water stored (22%)
• The overall error in the water balance was 9%, largely influenced by unaccounted for groundwater outflows. A large portion of these outflows is likely to be baseflow; however no information on baseflow volumes for the catchment was available.
• Groundwater extraction in several GMUs within the Goulburn River water management area was metered. In the remaining groundwater management units (including unincorporated areas), usage was not metered in 2004-05 and the figures included in the water balance were licensed volumes.
• Water use was predominantly from surface water resources.
• Approximately 3% of surface water inflows are lost through evaporation from storages
• In 2004-05, the environments’ share of surface water inflows in the Goulburn basin was 19%.
• There was a volume in the State Water Report 2004/05 for the combined in-stream infiltration of groundwater, flows to floodplain and evaporation.This volume could not be separated into the relevant components so was incuded in the system losses as one figure. For Goulburn River the volume was 115,200 ML.
• The storage capacity of farm dams in the catchment was estimated to be 71,100 ML (DSE, 2006). Information on start and end of season storage volumes was not available, however it was estimated that 57,200 ML was harvested and 47,500 ML used in the 2004-05 season from small catchment dams.
• The Murray-Darling Basin Cap applies in the Goulburn water management area. It is a limit imposed on the volume of water that can be diverted from rivers for consumptive use. Water for the environment was also provided under passing flow obligations in consumptive Bulk Entitlements for water authorities in the basin. The environment’s share of total flow was 449,700 ML at the basin outlet, which is approximately 18% of the inflows to surface water in the water supply area.
• Evapotranspiration from groundwater and surface water and interaquifer flow are understood to be significant in the Goulburn. This is not reflected in the water balance.
• There are also salinisation issues in the Goulburn River water management area that cannot be reflected in the balance.
• Data could not be obtained for the following items in the water balance:
• Groundwater storage volumes (renewable and non-renewable)
• Soil - unsaturated zone storage volumes
• River channels storage volumes
• Baseflow

Download 2004-05 water cycle report: