Loddon catchment
Legend
Ramsar site
DIWA site
| Security | Registered entitlements (ML) | Long Term Average Annual Yield (ML) |
|---|---|---|
| High | 2,775 | 2,636 |
| Low | 527 | 142 |
| Total | 3,302 | 2,778 |
| Security | Registered entitlements (ML) | Long Term Average Annual Yield (ML) |
|---|---|---|
| High | 574,799 | 540,805 |
| General/Low | 507,238 | 364,776 |
| Conveyance | 7,656 | 7,273 |
| Supplementary | 20,876 | 2,956 |
| Total | 1,110,569 | 915,811 |
*Water allocations in southern-connected Basin catchments can, with some restrictions, be traded to other catchments in the southern-connected Basin. This gives the Commonwealth the capacity to move water between catchments of the southern-connected Basin to get the best outcomes for the environment.
Commonwealth environmental water in the Loddon catchment
Water availability and portfolio management
The Loddon catchment is part of the northern Victorian rivers system which includes the Goulburn, Broken, Campaspe, Loddon and Ovens rivers and Broken Creek.
Portfolio management statements for the northern Victorian rivers provide information on the Commonwealth Environmental Water Office's approach to the management of Commonwealth environmental water holdings in the catchment. The portfolio management statement identifies the type and amount of entitlements held, the forecast of water available and the proposed approach to trading, carryover and use of the water.
Options for Commonwealth environmental water use
Annual water use options 2012-13: Northern Victorian rivers catchment identifies potential Commonwealth environmental watering actions for 2012-13, including for the Loddon catchment.
Annual water use options 2012-13: Northern Victorian catchment - Fact sheet summarises the approach and some of the options for using Commonwealth environmental water, as well as identifies how anyone may provide suggestions for use of environmental water.
Environmental water delivery
Environmental Water Delivery: Loddon River collates current knowledge of the operational and administrative arrangements for the delivery of environmental water to the Loddon River. The document provides an overview of the environmental assets and potential environmental water use options. This work has been undertaken to support the efficient and effective use of environmental water and to engage communities on how this may best be achieved. This aims to encourage community discussion and feedback on the use of environmental water, to identify future opportunities and recognise operational risks and constraints. Comments on the document are encouraged and can be provided to: ewater@environment.gov.au
Environmental watering in the catchment in 2012-13
Environmental watering in the catchment in 2011-12
Environmental watering in the catchment in previous years
The Loddon catchment received 0.4 gigalitres of Commonwealth environmental water during 2010-11. The watering action sought to provide longitudinal connectivity for native fish; maintain aquatic habitat for macroinvertebrates; and maintain permanent connecting flow for water quality, principally salinity and dissolved oxygen.
For further information about Commonwealth environmental watering in the Loddon catchment and the outcomes achieved, please refer to the Commonwealth environmental water Outcomes Reports and Annual Reports.
Catchment profile
Where is it?
The Loddon catchment, situated in northern Victoria, stretches from the relatively well-watered highlands around Daylesford, through gently rolling country to the north and west, to the dry expanses of the northern Victorian plains. The total area of the catchment is 13,321 km2.
The major watercourse is the Loddon River which rises on the northern slopes of the Great Dividing Range and flows northward through Central Victoria before joining the Murray River.
The region supports extensive agricultural production. The upper catchment is predominately intensive horticulture, with mixed farming (including dairy farming) and cereal cropping in the mid and lower areas of the catchment. Apiculture (bee keeping), forestry and gold mining also occur in the region.
Major townships include Bendigo, Swan Hill, Kerang, Castlemaine and Maryborough.
What makes this place so special?
Plains Wanderer
Photo: Goulburn Broken CMA
The Boort District Wetlands are located within the Loddon catchment and provide important refugia for species in a heavily modified catchment. These wetlands include Lake Boort, Little Lake Boort, Lake Yando, Lake Leaghur, Lake Meran and Little Lake Meran. They represent an assortment of wetland types including shallow and deep freshwater marshes. One of these deepwater marshes, the Woolshed Swamp, is recognised as nationally important under the Directory of Important Wetlands in Australia.
The Loddon catchment is ecologically significant because it:
- includes a diverse range of endangered flora and fauna, including river swamp wallaby grass, Macquarie perch, plains wanderer and the golden sun moth
- supports habitat for a number of waterbirds listed under migratory agreements, including the white-bellied sea eagle
- provides breeding habitat for fish species such as the Murray cod
- supports important vegetation including remnant river red gum.
There are also a range of parks within the catchment which are recognised as being of regional or national importance, such as Terrick Terrick , Greater Bendigo and Kooyoora State Parks.
What does the latest science say about the ecological health of the catchment?
The Murray-Darling Basin Commission Sustainable Rivers Audit (SRA) 2008 rated the overall health of river ecosystems in the Murray-Darling Basin. The SRA reports the overall ecosystem health of the Loddon catchment as very poor.
The CSIRO Sustainable Yields project produced a report on the Loddon-Avoca region that provides details on current and future water availability. This report details information for both the Loddon and Avoca River regions. Therefore this report can only be used to obtain an indication of water availability for the Loddon catchment, as it is described above.
The CSIRO report on the Loddon-Avoca region indicated that water resource development has reduced the frequency and magnitude of small winter floods that benefit riparian and floodplain ecosystems along the lower Loddon River. The average period between small winter floods has increased from around 10 months to 18 months and the average annual flooding volume of small winter floods has halved.