Murray–Darling Basin
33.3 Groundwater access entitlement for allocated extractions

Supporting information

The volumetric value for the line item for the 2012–13 year was 2,289,537 ML. The line item includes groundwater entitlements or other arrangements 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 a sustainable diversion limit area basis.

    

Groundwater access entitlement for allocation extraction in the MDB region as applicable in the 2012–13 year
Groundwater resource plan area

Groundwater sustainable diversion limit area 

 State 

 Volume (ML) for the 2012–13 year 

Code

Name

Non-urban

Urban

Supplementary

Total
GW18 New South Wales Border Rivers Alluvium GS32 and GS33 NSW Border Rivers Alluvium and NSW Border Rivers Tributary Alluvium NSW

17,435

45

0

17,480
GW17 New England Fractured Rock and Northern Basalts GS18 Inverell Basalt NSW

3,076

3

0

3,079
GS22 Liverpool Ranges Basalt NSW

422

0

0

422
GS37 New England Fold Belt NSW

7,962

559

0

8,521
GS49 Warrumbungle Basalt NSW

71

0

0

71
GW16 Eastern Porous Rock GS17 Gunnedah–Oxley Basin MDB  NSW

17,434

420

0

17,854
GS41 Sydney Basin MDB NSW

2,496

0

0

2,496
GW15 Gwydir Alluvium GS24 Lower Gwydir Alluvium NSW

28,858

3,572

13,930

46,360
GS43 Upper Gwydir Alluvium NSW

1,190

60

0

1,250
GW14 Namoi Alluvium GS29 Lower Namoi Alluvium NSW

81,596

4,407

20,874

106,877
GS30 Manilla Alluvium NSW

3,525

60

0

3,585
GS40 Peel Valley Alluvium NSW

62,438

734

0

63,172
GS47 Upper Namoi Alluvium NSW

109,632

6,280

37,783

153,695
GS48 Upper Namoi Tributary Alluvium NSW

3,754

225

0

3,979
GW13 New South Wales Great Artesian Basin Shallow GS34 to GS 36 New South Wales Great Artesian Basin: Surat Shallow, Warrego Shallow and Central Shallow NSW

5,694

50

0

5,744
GW12 Macquarie–Castlereagh Alluvium GS11 Bell Valley Alluvium NSW

4,538

70

0

4,608
GS14 Castlereagh Alluvium NSW

583

0

0

583
GS15 Collaburragundry–Talbragar Alluvium NSW

5,355

650

0

6,005
GS16 Cudgegong Alluvium NSW

10,685

3,000

0

13,685
GS26 Lower Macquarie Alluvium NSW

65,375

3,090

2,396

70,861
GS45 Upper Macquarie Alluvium NSW

27,695

4,470

0

32,165
GW 11 Lachlan and South Western Fractured Rock GS19 Kanmantoo Fold Belt NSW

1,519

0

0

1,519
GW7 Darling Alluvium  GS42 Upper Darling Alluvium NSW

0

220

0

220
Sub-total Northern Basin

461,333

27,915

74,983

564,231
GW 11 Lachlan and South Western Fractured Rock GS10 Adelaide Fold Belt NSW

2,161

0

0

2,161
GS 20  Lachlan Fold Belt NSW

67,500

2,981

0

70,481
GS39 Orange Basalt NSW

9,552

79

0

9,631
GS51 Young Granite NSW

6,338

16

0

6,354
GW7 Darling Alluvium  GS23 Lower Darling Alluvium NSW

928

0

0

928
GW10 Lachlan Alluvium GS12 Belubula Alluvium NSW

8,250

0

0

8,250
GS25 Lower Lachlan Alluvium NSW

105,678

2,924

21,238

129,840
GS44 Upper Lachlan Alluvium NSW

169,553

6,976

0

176,529
GW9 Murrumbidgee Alluvium GS21 Lake George Alluvium NSW

746

472

0

1,218
GS28 Lower Murrumbidgee Alluvium (deep: Calivil formation and Renmark Group) NSW

268,104

2,230

41,196

311,530
Lower Murrumbidgee Alluvium (shallow: Shepparton formation) NSW

5,201

0

0

5,201
GS31 Mid Murrumbidgee Alluvium  

57,029

25,212

0

82,241
GW8 Murray Alluvium GS13 Billabong Creek Alluvium  

5,047

1,505

0

6,552
GS27 Lower Murray Alluvium (deep: Renmark Group and Calivil formation) NSW

84,432

79

47,782

132,293
Lower Murray Alluvium (shallow: Shepparton formation) NSW

81,752

87

0

81,839
GS46 Upper Murray Alluvium NSW

41,066

151

0

41,217
GW6 Western Porous Rock GS50 Western Porous Rock NSW

32,272

0

0

32,272
GW2 Goulburn–Murray GS08 Goulburn–Murray Vic.

450,886

n/a

n/a

450,886
GW3 Wimmera–Mallee (groundwater) GS09 Wimmera–Mallee Vic.

91,956

n/a

n/a

91,956
GW5 Eastern Mount Lofty Ranges GS01 Angus Bremer (Murray Group Limestone) SA

6,500

n/a

n/a

6,500
GS04 Marne Saunders (fractured rock) SA

2,000

n/a

n/a

2,000
Marne Saunders (Murray Group Limestone) SA

2,156

n/a

n/a

2,156
Marne Saunders (Renmark Group) SA

500

n/a

n/a

500
GW4 SA Murray Region GS03 Mallee (Noora Prescribed Wells area: Murray Group Limestone) SA

5,138

n/a

n/a

5,138
Mallee (Murray Group Limestone and Renmark Group) SA

61,300

n/a

n/a

61,300
GS05 Peake–Roby–Sherlock (confined) SA

2,168

n/a

n/a

2,168
Peake–Roby–Sherlock (unconfined) SA

3,215

n/a

n/a

3,215
GW1 Australian Capital Territory (groundwater)  GS52 Australian Capital Territory (groundwater)  ACT

951

n/a

n/a

951
Sub-total Southern Basin

1,572,378

42,712

110,216

1,725,306
Total for the region

2,033,711

70,627

185,199

2,289,537

The table provides information about New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia.  Information for Australian Capital Territory and Queensland is not available to be reported.

Other supporting information:

  • Non-urban volume stated in the table for GS27 Lower Murray Alluvium includes entitlements for salinity and water table management.

  • Non-urban volume stated in the table for GS8 Goulburn–Murray includes both non-urban and urban entitlements.

  • 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 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 WSPA and Telopia Downs WSPA, in Victoria, and Mallee prescribed wells area (PWA) and Tintinara–Coonalpyn PWA 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 PWA is not included as part of this region. It is not considered to be part of the MDB resources and is excluded by the Australian Government Water Act 2007 (Cwlth) regulations from the MDB.

 

Quantification approach

Data source

Jurisdictional water allocation plans and other data sources for groundwater resources.

Provided by

Bureau of Meteorology.

Method

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

Water sharing plans for groundwater resource plan areas:

  • Water Allocation Plan for the Angas Bremer PWA
  • Water Allocation Plan for Mallee PWA
  • Water Allocation Plan for the Marne Saunders Prescribed Water Resources Area 
  • Water Allocation Plan for the Noora PWA
  • Water Allocation Plan for the Peake, Roby and Sherlock PWA
  • Upper Ovens River Water Management Plan 2012.

Other data sources:

  • New South Wales Office of Water: water access licence statistics
  • Victorian Water Accounts 2011–12.  

Assumptions, limitations, caveats and approximations

The entitlement volumes reported are the initial volumes of the water allocation plans. The actual volumes of entitlements during the 2012–13 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.

Uncertainty information

The uncertainty estimate was not quantified.