Australian Natural Resources Atlas

Natural Resource Topics

Water resources - Overview - Victoria


Location Map of VICNo photo caption available

Victoria

Victoria water resources - at a glance

On average Victoria uses 5788 GL of water per year, which is 24% of Australia's total use. Of the total water use, 5166 GL of water is used from surface water sources and 5469 GL of surface water is allocated to consumptive use.

622 GL of water is used from groundwater sources. The sustainable yield of groundwater for Victoria is 3717 GL per year which is 13% of Australia's total.

28 of the 32 Surface Water Management Areas and 19 of the 79 groundwater management units are assessed as being highly or overdeveloped.

Map of Victoria's surface water management areas

Select a surface water management area on the map to find out more about that area.

Map of Victoria's surface water management areas

Map of Victoria's groundwater provinces

Select a groundwater province on the map to find out more about that area.

Map of Victoria's Groundwater Provinces

Overview

Water is fundamental to Victoria's future. It is critical to Victoria's economic performance, and it is vital to the health of every community, not only because of the economic activity it generates, but also because of its environmental, aesthetic and recreational values. It is a necessary input to Victoria's primary industries, and underpins economic growth in rural and regional Victoria. After manufacturing, agribusiness is Victoria's largest export earner. Dairying is the most prominent agricultural activity in the State, with mixed farming, orchards, vegetables and grapes being the other main irrigated farming activities. Currently around 30% ($1.8 billion) of Victoria's gross value of production ($6.1 billion) is produced in the northern irrigation regions, and there are plans to increase farm income from irrigated agriculture by $650 million per annum by the year 2010.

At the same time, the limits to the water that can be sustainably harvested have been reached already in many river systems, and will be very soon in many others. Current average annual water use in Victoria is around 5788 GL/a, with 89% of needs being met by surface water resources (5166 GL/a) and 11% by groundwater (622 GL/a). A further 814 GL of surface water is used to meet commitments to New South Wales on the Murray system, bringing total surface water diversions to 5980 GL/a. This level of usage represents around 87% of the estimated sustainable yield for surface water, 85% for groundwater within designated Groundwater Management Units and only 25% of the total groundwater resource in Victoria (< 5000 mg/L TDS). By 2050 it is expected that use of surface water will have risen by 7% relative to current levels to around 6422 GL/a, and groundwater use is expected to rise by 29% to 804 GL/a. This level of use (at 2050) represents around 94% of the sustainable yield for surface water. Additional demands for surface water will be met through water trading and through efficiency gains in water supply delivery and use.

Detailed information about the history of development and the management of water resources over the past 150 years in Victoria can be found in DWR (1989, 1992), DCE (1991), and Powell (1989, 1998). The most significant period of development of resources for both rural and urban water use was during the three decades from 1960, with around 6,900 GL of storage capacity being added during this period. This represents almost half of the current storage capacity (of around 15,500 GL) throughout the State, and about 80% of this storage capacity was built for irrigation purposes.

By the 1980s, the development of surface water resources throughout the State could be described as being in a 'mature' phase. Infrastructure development over the past 150 years had harnessed around half of the State's ultimately available water resources, and relatively sophisticated supply systems had been developed in many instances, with interconnected storages existing within many basins and connections also existing between some basins. In the same decade, there was a growing acceptance that the rate of development of the resource that had occurred over the past two to three decades was not sustainable. It was estimated that if development were to continue at the same rate, all available resources would be developed within 35 years. In addition, it was recognised that the focus on development of the resource had resulted in many of rivers and streams being degraded by altered flow regimes. Conflict over water, particularly during sustained droughts, was also seen to be a significant emerging issue. It was therefore clear that there was a need for more efficient use and management of existing resources.

Accordingly, a wide-ranging program of institutional and legislative reform was implemented in the late 1980s to ensure that water is managed effectively and used efficiently and that appropriate protection is given to environmental values. As a result of this change in focus from the continued development of new resources to the efficient management and use of existing resources, there has been no major storage development since the completion of Thomson and Blue Rock dams in the 1980s. The program of reform initiated in the late 1980s has continued in the context of the national water reform agenda adopted by the Council of Australian Governments in 1994, which was subsequently included in the National Competition Principles Agreement in 1995. Victoria is now well placed to meet national requirements.

Groundwater is the minor partner in the supply of the State's water, being mainly used by rural towns to supplement their surface water supply sources (especially in times of drought) and for irrigation. It also provides the sole source of water supplies for many remote farms. With increased pressure on surface water resources, groundwater has seen increasing use, requiring more intensive management, which again is consistent with the national water reform agenda.

The programs and policies that have been implemented as part of the water reform agenda are providing a sound foundation for the sustainable and efficient management and use of resources. Over the last decade Victoria's water management framework has led to a significant movement of water into higher-valued uses, and to major advances in the way droughts are handled. Moreover, it has introduced strong incentives for efficiencies in water distribution and use, which are driving major upgrading of on-farm and water authority practices. The environment is now recognised as having a valid right to water. In some over-allocated systems like the Wimmera, water that has been saved through more efficient delivery systems has already been returned to the environment, and further action along these lines is being actively pursued.

There is nevertheless still a considerable task ahead, and a range of difficult issues to be worked through. This will necessarily involve extensive consultation with all stakeholders, as informed public debate (in particular in relation to setting the boundaries between water for agriculture and for the environment) is critical for gaining acceptance of a way forward. The challenge now is to manage a finite and scarce resource in an environmentally responsible and equitable way. This will involve pursuing further opportunities for water savings and reuse, facilitating the transparent re-allocation of water to more productive use through water markets, ensuring the efficient delivery of services, and restoring the health of rivers and catchments.

Surface Water Reporting Units

For this Audit, the basins as designated by the Australian Water Resources Council (AWRC) have been adopted in Victoria as the basic reporting unit. There are 30 AWRC basins in Victoria, of which 11 are located north of the divide and form part of the Murray Darling Basin. Two of the AWRC basins (the Thomson and Upper Murray) have been further subdivided for reporting purposes, to distinguish between the relatively developed and undeveloped river systems within the basins. All reporting units are referred to as Surface Water Management Areas (SWMAs). A total of 32 have been defined for Victoria.

Groundwater Reporting Units

Groundwater abstraction, allocation and use information has been reported at three levels - Groundwater Management Units (GMUs), Unincorporated Areas (UAs) and Province. For the purposes of the Audit GMUs have been assumed to be identical to the Groundwater Management Areas (GMAs) identified throughout the State, which are areas where groundwater development has already occurred or where there is potential for groundwater development. To date 63 GMUs have been identified which cover 90% of the total groundwater allocations in the State. Groundwater Provinces are based on a combination of the principle hydrogeological basins and geological zones within Victoria. The Unincorporated Areas comprise the areas between the GMUs and the Province boundaries. Sixty-three GMUs have been reported on, along with 18 UAs.

For further information contact Victorian Department of Sustainability and Environment at www.dse.vic.gov.au.

Further Information

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