Melbourne
33.1 Other statutory groundwater rights

The volume of groundwater extractions – other statutory rights could not be quantified in a way that is complete, neutral and free from material error.

Other statutory groundwater rights represent stock and domestic extraction from unincorporated areas outside of groundwater management units. Unincorporated areas have not been evaluated from a groundwater resource perspective and bores in these areas are not metered.

Statutory rights to water are those that are not formally issued but exist under Victoria's Water Act 1989 (the Water Act) for domestic and stock purposes by virtue of an individual's private ownership of, or access to, land. The Water Act allows individuals to take water for domestic and stock purposes from a range of surface water and groundwater sources without a licence. These domestic and stock rights are defined under Section 8 of the Water Act and are not formally issued.

There were 9,394 stock and domestic bores in unincorporated areas in the southern half of Victoria during the 2011–12 year, with a total of 14,091 ML estimated for stock and domestic use. The Melbourne region contains only a small number of these bores and the volume of extraction is not thought to be significant.

Stock and domestic entitlements within groundwater management units are included under 33.3 Groundwater access entitlement for allocation extraction.