Murray-Darling Basin
33.3 Groundwater access entitlement for allocation extraction

The volumetric value for the line item for the 2010–11 year was 1,406,832 ML. The line item includes groundwater entitlement or other arrangement that may produce a groundwater liability within the Murray–Darling Basin (MDB) region.  The following table presents breakdown information for the line item value on sustainable diversion limit (SDL) area basis.

 

Groundwater access entitlement for allocation extraction in the MDB region as applicable in the 2010–11 year

Groundwater resource plan area	SDL area		State	Volume (ML)
	Code	Name
				Non-urban	Urban	Supplementary	Total
GW16 Gwydir Alluvium	GS29	Lower Gwydir Alluvium	NSW	28,858	3,572	13,930	46,360
GW15 Namoi Alluvium	GS34	Lower Namoi Alluvium	NSW	81,594	4,407	20,874	106,875
	GS45	Peel Valley Alluvium	NSW	9,946	104	n/a	10,050
	GS51	Upper Namoi Alluvium	NSW	109,612	6,280	37,783	153,675
GW12 Macquarie–Castlereagh Alluvium	GS31	Lower Macquarie Alluvium	NSW	65,458	3,090	2,396	70,944
Sub-total Northern Basin				295,468	17,453	74,983	387,904
GW10 Lachlan Alluvium	GS30	Lower Lachlan Alluvium	NSW	105,678	2,322	21,238	129,238
GW9 Murrumbidgee Alluvium	GS33	Lower Murrumbidgee Alluvium (deep: Calivil Formation and Renmark Group)	NSW	268,104	2,230	41,196	311,530
	GS33	Lower Murrumbidgee Alluvium (shallow: Shepparton Formation)	NSW	5,201	na	na	5,201
GW8 Murray Alluvium	GS32	Lower Murray Alluvium (Deep: Renmark Group and Calivil Formation)	NSW	83,493	79	48,454	132,026
GW2 Goulburn–Murray	GS08	Goulburn–Murray	Vic	383,453	na	na	383,453
GW3 Wimmera–Mallee (groundwater)	GS09	Wimmera–Mallee	Vic	29,497	na	na	29,497
GW5 Eastern Mount Lofty Ranges	GS01	Angas Bremer (Murray Group Limestone)	SA	6,500	na	na	6,500
		Marne Saunders (Fractured Rock)	SA	2,000	na	na	2,000
		Marne Saunders (Murray Group Limestone)	SA	1,600	na	na	1,600
	GS04	Marne Saunders (Renmark Group)	SA	500	na	na	500
GW4 SA Murray	GS03	Mallee (Murray Group Limestone)	SA	5,138	na	na	5,138
		Mallee (Renmark Group)	SA	6,862	na	na	6,862
		Peake – Roby – Sherlock (confined)	SA	2,168	na	na	2,168
	GS05	Peake – Roby – Sherlock (unconfined)	SA	3,215	na	na	3,215
Sub-total Southern Basin				903,409	4,631	110,888	1,018,928
Total for the region				1,198,877	22,084	185,871	1,406,832

na = not applicable

 

The table provides information about New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia.  Other jurisdictions for which information about groundwater entitlement not able to be separately classified are:

• Australian Capital Territory – no groundwater management units from the Australian Capital Territory are being reported in this account

• Queensland – no information available to be reported.

Other supporting information:

• The South Australian – Victorian Border Groundwaters Agreement (Government of South Australia 2005) is supported by legislation in both States. It provides for equitable sharing in the border zone, which extends from the coast to the Murray and is a 40 km wide zone centred on the border. The states agree on setting permissible consumptive volumes (PCVs) and other requirements within this zone. Various alluviums selected for reporting are either within or partly within this border zone. These are the Murrayville Water Supply Protection Area (WSPA), Kaniva Tertiary Confined Sand Aquifer (TCSA) and Telopia Downs WSPA in Victoria, and Mallee Prescribed Wells Area and Tintinara–Coonalpyn prescribed wells area in South Australia. These are State groundwater management units and licensed entitlements and extractions are included within the state groundwater management unit – not within the border zone. Therefore, separate reporting on the border zone is not needed and would be double-counting.

• The Tintinara–Coonalpyn prescribed wells area is not included as part of this region. It is not considered to be part of the MDB resources and is excluded by Water Act regulations from the MDB.

 

Jurisdictional water sharing plans and other data sources for groundwater resources listed under Method.

Murray–Darling Basin Authority.

Extracted/calculated from following jurisdictional water sharing plans and other data sources for groundwater resources.

 Water sharing plans for groundwater resource plan areas:

• Water Allocation Plan for the Angas–Bremer Prescribed Wells Area

• Water Allocation Plan for the Noora Prescribed Wells area

• Water Allocation Plan for the Peake, Roby and Sherlock Prescribed Wells Area

•  Water Sharing Plan for Lower Lachlan Groundwater Source 2003

• Water Sharing Plan for Lower Macquarie Groundwater Sources 2003

• Water Sharing Plan for Lower Murray Groundwater Source

• Water Sharing Plan for Lower Murray Shallow Groundwater Source

• Water Sharing Plan for Lower Murrumbidgee Groundwater Source 2003

• Water Sharing Plan for Murray Unregulated and Alluvial

• Water Sharing Plan for New South Wales Great Artesian Basin Shallow Groundwater

• Water Sharing Plan for New South Wales MDB Fractured Rock Groundwater

• Water Sharing Plan for New South Wales MDB Porous Rock Groundwater

• Water Sharing Plan for Peel Valley Regulated, Unregulated, Alluvium and Fractured Rock

• Water Sharing Plan for the Castlereagh River (below Binnaway) Unregulated and Alluvial

• Water Sharing Plan for the Lower Gwydir Groundwater Source 2003

• Water Sharing Plan for the Lower Murray–Darling Unregulated and Alluvial

• Water Sharing Plan for Upper and Lower Namoi Groundwater Sources 2003.

Other data sources:

• Campaspe Water Supply Protection Area Groundwater Management Plan – Goulburn–Murray Water Resource Plan Area

• Groundwater (Border Agreement Act) 2006 (Victoria) – Wimmera–Mallee (groundwater) Water Resource Plan Area

• Katunga Water Supply Protection Area Groundwater Management Plan – Goulburn–Murray Water Resource Plan Area

• Marne Saunders Prescribed Water Resources Area

• Mid Loddon Groundwater Management Area – Local Management Rules June 2009 – Goulburn–Murray Water Resource Plan Area

• Permissible consumptive volume groundwater order 2011 – Draft Telopea Downs Water Supply Protection Area Groundwater Management Plan – Wimmera–Mallee (groundwater) Water Resource Plan Area

• Permissible consumptive volume groundwater order 2011 – Murrayville Water Supply Protection Area Groundwater Management Plan - Wimmera-Mallee (groundwater) Water Resource Plan Area

• Permissible consumptive volume groundwater order 2011 – Wimmera–Mallee (groundwater) Water Resource Plan Area

• Shepparton Irrigation Region Water Supply Protection Area Groundwater Management Plan – Goulburn–Murray Water Resource Plan Area.

The entitlement volumes reported are the initial volumes of the water sharing plans. The actual volumes of entitlements during the 2010–11 year period may be different from the initial volumes on issue at the time of the water plans' commencement, due to conversions between classes or issue of new entitlements. Note that trade (ownership transfer), water savings projects or buy back of entitlements for environmental purpose do not change the volume entitled within a class but only its ownership.

The uncertainty estimate was not quantified.

 

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:

• Improved data sets were made available after the publication of the 2010 Account. Restatement of the value published in the 2010 Account was made as the difference was material and increased the accuracy of the information provided to the users of the National Water Account.

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

 

Restatement of comparative year information made for the line item 33.3 Groundwater access entitlement for allocation extraction

Description		Northern Basin (ML)	Southern Basin (ML)	Whole region (ML)
Line item names and values reported as at 30 June 2010 in the 2010 Account	R2.2.1 Stock and domestic class	0	324	324
	R2.2.2 Urban class	17,299	4,631	21,930
	R2.2.3.7 Other lumped holders	355,046	970,490	1,325,536
	Total value reported for the 2010 Account	372,345	975,445	1,347,790
Changes in the value reported in the 2010 Account due to availability of improved data sets		5,509	38,097	43,606
Value reported for 30 June 2010 in the 2011 Account		377,854	1,013,542	1,391,396