Murray-Darling Basin
18.11 Groundwater allocation extraction

Supporting Information

The volumetric value for the line item for the 2010–11 year was 333,912 ML. The line item represents groundwater allocation diversion (excluding urban water systems) associated with a number of entitlement classes in the Murray–Darling Basin (MDB) region. Information on groundwater allocation diversions for urban water systems is included in line item 18.12 Groundwater allocation diversion – urban water system.

The following two tables provide a summary and breakdown information on groundwater allocation diversion (excluding urban water systems) within the region. 

 

Summary of groundwater allocation extraction (excluding urban water systems) in the MDB region in the 2010–11 year
Groundwater resource plan area

State

 Volume (ML) 
Code

Name
GW23 Warrego – Paroo – Nebine Qld –
GW22 Condamine-Balonne Qld –
GW21 Moonie Qld –
GW20 Qld Border Rivers Qld –
GW19 NSW Border Rivers Alluvium NSW –
GW18 New England Fractured Rock and Northern Basalts NSW –
GW17 Eastern Porous Rock NSW –
GW16 Gwydir Alluvium NSW 30,793
GW15 Namoi Alluvium NSW 82,880
GW14 NSW Alluvium above GAB NSW –
GW13 NSW Sediments above GAB NSW –
GW12 Macquarie–Castlereagh Alluvium NSW 11,359
GW11 Lachlan and South Western Fractured Rock NSW –
GW7 Darling Alluvium  NSW –
Sub-total Northern Basin 125032
GW11 Lachlan and South Western Fractured Rock NSW –
GW7 Darling Alluvium  NSW –
GW10 Lachlan Alluvium NSW 48,448
GW9 Murrumbidgee Alluvium NSW 56,866
GW8 Murray Alluvium NSW 17,060
GW6 Western Porous Rock NSW –
GW2 Goulburn–Murray Vic 55,649
GW3 Wimmera–Mallee (groundwater) Vic 1,380
GW5 Eastern Mount Lofty Ranges SA 3,557
GW4 SA Murray SA 25,585
GW1 ACT (groundwater) ACT 335
Sub-total Southern Basin 208,880
Total for the region 333,912

– = Data not available

 

Details of groundwater allocation extraction (excluding urban water systems) in the MDB region in the 2010–11 year
Groundwater resource plan area

Groundwater sustainable diversion limit area  

State

Entitlement class

 Volume (ML) for the 2010–11 year 

Code

Name
GW16 Gwydir Alluvium GS29 Lower Gwydir Alluvium NSW Aquifer 21,956
Supplementary 8,837
Sub-total 30,793
GW15 Namoi Alluvium GS34 Lower Namoi Alluvium NSW Aquifer 21,299
Supplementary 7,283
Sub-total 28,582
GS45 Peel Valley Alluvium NSW Aquifer 3,265
GS51 Upper Namoi Alluvium NSW Aquifer 35,527
Supplementary 15,506
Sub-total 51,033
GW12 Macquarie–Castlereagh Alluvium GS31 Lower Macquarie Alluvium NSW Aquifer 10,232
Supplementary 1,127
Sub-total 11,359
GW10 Lachlan Alluvium GS30 Lower Lachlan Alluvium NSW Aquifer 35,437
Supplementary 13,011
Sub-total 48,448
GW9 Murrumbidgee Alluvium GS33 Lower Murrumbidgee Alluvium (shallow: Shepparton Formation and deep: Calivil Formation and Renmark Group) NSW Aquifer 40,899
Supplementary 15,967
Stock and domestic 0
Sub-total 56,866
GW8 Murray Alluvium GS32 Lower Murray Alluvium (shallow: Shepparton Formation and deep: Renmark Group and Calivil Formation) NSW Aquifer 4,682
Aquifer – research 0
Supplementary 12,378
Sub-total 17,060
 Sub-total New South Wales 247,406
GW2 Goulburn–Murray GS8 Goulburn–Broken Highlands, Loddon–Campaspe Highlands, Murray Highlands, Ovens Highlands, Ovens–Kiewa Sedimentary Plain, Victorian Riverine Sedimentary Plain (shallow: Shepparton Formation) and Victorian Riverine Sedimentary Plain (deep: Calivil and Renmark Formations) Vic Aquifer 55,649
GW3 Wimmera–Mallee (groundwater) GS9 West Wimmera (Loxton Parilla Sands), West Wimmera (Murray Group Limestone), West Wimmera (Tertiary Confined Sands), Wimmera–Avoca Highlands, Wimmera–Mallee Border Zone (Loxton Parilla Sands), Wimmera–Mallee Border Zone (Murray Group Limestone), Wimmera–Mallee Border Zone (Tertiary Confined Sand Aquifer) and Wimmera–Mallee Sedimentary Plain Vic Aquifer 1,380
 Sub-total Victoria 57,029
GW5 Eastern Mount Lofty Ranges GS1 Angas Bremer (Quaternary Sediments and Murray Group Limestone)   Aquifer 2,487
GS4 Marne Saunders (Fractured Rock, Murray Group Limestone and Renmark Group)   Aquifer 1,070
GW4 SA Murray GS3 Mallee (Pliocene Sands, Murray Group Limestone and Renmark Group)   Aquifer 24,365
GS5 Peake – Roby – Sherlock (unconfined and confined)   Aquifer 1,220
 Sub-total South Australia 29,142
GW1 ACT (groundwater) GS57 ACT (Groundwater)   Aquifer 335
 Sub-total Australian Capital Territory 335
Total 333,912

Note: Sustainable diversion limit (SDL) areas not shown in the table may have values relevant to the line item, however, relevant information was not available for the 2011 Account.

 

Additional information

Allocations may be made for urban, stock and domestic or irrigation purposes under a single class of licence in the particular water resource plan area. Where the purpose was not known, and it was a general class of licence, the groundwater allocation announcement has been included under Aquifer class.

Values for the Gwydir Alluvium water resource plan area do not distinguish if they are for GS29 Lower Gwydir Alluvium or GS47 Upper Gwydir Alluvium. The volumes for these are reported as a combined value under GS29 Lower Gwydir Alluvium.

GS29 Lower Namoi Alluvium contains volumes sourced from the Lower Namoi Groundwater Source.

GS45 Peel Valley Alluvium – aquifer reports a combined volume based on water licences for Aquifer and Aquifer (general security) classes.

It was not possible to distinguish between the volumes for GS51 Upper Namoi Alluvium and GS52 Upper Namoi Tributary Alluvium. Volumes reported here under GS51 Upper Namoi  Alluvium are sourced from the following groundwater sources:

  • Upper Namoi zone 1 Borambil creek

  • Upper Namoi zone 2 Cox's Creek (Mullaley to Boggabri)

  • Upper Namoi zone 3 Mooki Valley (Breeza to Gunnedah)

  • Upper Namoi zone 4 Namoi valley (Keepit Dam to Gin's Leap)

  • Upper Namoi zone 5 Namoi Valley (Gin's Leap to Narrabri)

  • Upper Namoi zone 6 Tributaries of the Liverpool Range (South to Pine Road)

  • Upper Namoi zone 7 Yarraman Creek (East of Lake Goran to Mooki River)

  • Upper Namoi zone 8 Mooki Valley (Quirindi – Pine road to Breeza)

  • Upper Namoi zone 9 Cox's Creek (upstream Mullaley)

  • Upper Namoi zone 10 Warrah Creek

  • Upper Namoi zone 11 Maules Creek

  • Upper Namoi zone 12 Kelvin Valley.

Water sharing plans were yet to commence or data were unavailable for the groundwater SDL areas listed in the following table.

 

Groundwater SDL areas for which data were not available for the line item
State

SDL area code

Groundwater SDL area 
Qld GS63 Sediments above the Great Artesian Basin: Warrego – Paroo – Nebine
Qld GS66 St George Alluvium: Warrego – Paroo – Nebine
Qld GS69 Warrego Alluvium
Qld GS57 Condamine Fractured Rock
Qld GS61 Sediments above the Great Artesian Basin: Condamine–Balonne
Qld GS64 St George Alluvium: Condamine–Balonne (shallow and deep)
Qld GS68 Upper Condamine Basalts
Qld GS67 Upper Condamine Alluvium (Central Condamine Alluvium and Tributaries)
Qld GS62 Sediments above the Great Artesian Basin: Moonie
Qld GS65 St George Alluvium: Moonie
Qld GS58 Qld Border Rivers Alluvium
Qld GS59 Qld Border Rivers Fractured Rock
Qld GS60 Sediments above the Great Artesian Basin: Border Rivers
NSW GS38 NSW Border Rivers Alluvium
NSW GS39 NSW Border Rivers Tributary Alluvium
NSW GS17 Eastern Porous Rock: Macquarie–Castlereagh
NSW GS18 Eastern Porous Rock: Namoi–Gwydir
NSW GS47 Upper Gwydir Alluvium
NSW GS35 Manilla Alluvium
NSW GS37 NSW Alluvium above the Great Artesian Basin
NSW GS40 NSW Sediments above the Great Artesian Basin
NSW GS52 Upper Namoi Tributary Alluvium
NSW GS11 Bell Valley Alluvium
NSW GS15 Collaburragundry–Talbragar Alluvium
NSW GS16 Cudgegong Alluvium
NSW GS49 Upper Macquarie Alluvium
NSW GS21 Lachlan Fold Belt: Lachlan
NSW GS12 Belubula Alluvium
NSW GS48 Upper Lachlan Alluvium
NSW GS26 Lake George Alluvium
NSW GS36 Mid-Murrumbidgee Alluvium
NSW GS13 Billabong Creek Alluvium
NSW GS71 Oaklands Basin
NSW GS46 Upper Darling Alluvium
NSW GS28 Lower Darling Alluvium
SA GS2 Eastern Mount Lofty Ranges
SA GS6 SA Murray
SA GS7 SA Murray Salt Interception Schemes

Quantification Approach

Data Source

(1) New South Wales: NSW Office of Water's Water Access Licence Statistics, (2) South Australian Department for Water: Water Information and Licence Management Administration (WILMA) database, and (3).water audit monitoring (WAM) data received from Australian Capital Territory (13 January 2012) and Victoria (31 January 2012). WAM data are stored in the Murray–Darling Basin Authority HYDRO database.

Provided by

Murray–Darling Basin Authority.

Method

Metered extractions were as compiled by the states.

Assumptions, Limitations, Caveats and Approximations

The New South Wales Government does not guarantee that data are current nor does it guarantee that the data or the data capturing processes are free from corruption or error. Data provided are preliminary and NSW Office of Water's quality assurance procedures may be incomplete. The NSW Office of Water cannot warrant and does not represent that the material that appears on its website or any linked websites is complete, current, reliable and/or free from error.

Uncertainty Information

The uncertainty estimate was not quantified.

Comparative year

This line item corresponds to line items listed in the following table and reported in the 2010 Account. In the 2011 Account, the following change was made that caused the 2009–10 year value to be restated:

  • Presentation and classification of the line items has changed since the 2010 Account; line items have been regrouped.

The changes and their respective values are detailed in the following table.

 

Restatement of comparative year information made for the line item 18.11 Groundwater allocation extraction
Description

Northern Basin (ML)

Southern Basin (ML)

Whole region (ML)
Line item names and values reported as at the 2009–10 year in the 2010 Account 16.5.1 Groundwater allocation extraction – stock and domestic water access entitlement 0 108 108
16.5.3.7 Groundwater allocation extraction – other lumped holders 228,780 588,315 817,095
Total value reported for the 2010 Account 228,780 588,423 817,203
Changes in the value reported in the 2010 Account due to regrouping of line items  0 6 6
Value reported for the 2009–10 year in the 2011 Account  228,780 588,429 817,209

 

Regrouping of line items was due to the reclassification of Aquifer – research entitlement class in the Lower Murray Alluvium SDL area from urban to non-urban category of entitlements.