Water

Surface water resources in the Glenelg-Hopkins Catchment Management Region are divided into three main river basins - the Glenelg, Hopkins and the Portland Coast. Their catchment areas are 1,266,030 ha, 968,217 ha and 245,000 ha respectively. Major lakes include Lake Bolac, Muirhead, Goldsmith, Burrumbeet, Kennedy, Linlithgow, and Keilambete. Major water storages throughout the region include Rocklands, Kanong Wootong, Merino, Langi Ghiran, Tray, Trawalla, and the Yuppeckiar Creek Reservoir. More than 65% of water used in the region is drawn from regional groundwater resources. The Glenelg-Hopkins Catchment Management Region has large reserves of groundwater with varying salinity levels. Good quality groundwater is found in the far west (Pt Campbell Limestone aquifer), south (Dilwyn Formation) and various other depositional environments across the region.

Related Links

In June 2004 the Victorian State Government announced the biggest program of water sector reform and water pricing in the State's history. Our Water Our Future (external link) is an 'action plan' to enable smarter water use and management across the State. It sets out 110 new initiatives for water conservation aimed at every sector of the community. It examines household use, industrial and agricultural use, recreation and tourism, environmental impacts, pricing, population increases and climate change to ensure there is plenty of water to sustain growth over the next 50 years.

A wide range of Victorian Resources data (external link) can be accessed via MapShare (external link) in the form of an interactive map, using information from DSE. This information includes active water quantity sites, active water quality sites, active Waterwatch sites, Index of Stream Condition sites, active EPA sites, and groundwater bores.

The Victorian Water Resources Data Warehouse (external link) is dedicated to disseminating up-to-date information on Victoria's water resources. The site gives access to both raw and summary data on both water quality and quantity throughout Victoria, and is a central repository for published documents produced from this data.

Water information on Statewide VRO website.

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