Ovens catchment
Legend
Ramsar site
DIWA site
| Security | Registered entitlements (ML) | Long Term Average Annual Yield (ML) |
|---|---|---|
| High | 70 | 67 |
| 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 Ovens catchment
Water availability and portfolio management
The Ovens 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 Ovens 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 watering in the catchment in 2011-12
Environmental watering in the Ovens River system.
Environmental watering in the catchment in previous years
During 2009-10 a total of 50 megalitres was released from the Lake William Hovell storage on the King River. This water flowed down the lower King River and into the Ovens River, where it supplemented base flows and promoted in-stream benefits.
For further information about Commonwealth environmental watering in the Ovens and the outcomes achieved, please refer to the Commonwealth environmental water Outcomes Reports and Annual Reports
Catchment profile
Where is it?
The Ovens catchment is located in north-eastern Victoria and centres on the Ovens River. The total catchment area is 7,867 km2. The river originates near Mount Feathertop and Mount Hotham in the Great Dividing Range and flows northwards to meet the Murray at Lake Mulwala. Several major tributaries join the Ovens River including the King River and the Buffalo River.
What makes this place so special?
The Ovens River is largely unregulated, meaning it is unique among the rivers within the southern Murray-Darling Basin because it still has a relatively natural flow regime.
The river is ecologically significant because it:
- supports large sections of river red gum forests and woodlands along its floodplain and so provides habitat for fauna dependent upon this vegetation
- supports a significant riparian vegetation that provides an important habitat corridor for fauna
- provides in-stream habitat for threatened native fish species including the Murray cod.
The Ovens River is listed under the Directory of Important Wetlands as a nationally significant wetland.
What does the latest science say about the ecological health of the catchment?
The Murray-Darling Basin Commission Sustainable Rivers Audit (SRA) rated the overall health of river ecosystems in the Murray-Darling Basin. The SRA reports the overall ecosystem health of the Ovens catchment as poor.
The CSIRO Sustainable Yields Report on the Ovens catchment indicated the current level of surface water use was very low at 1.4 per cent. Under best estimate 2030 climate conditions there would be a 13 per cent decrease in water availability and end of system flows.
Note that the boundaries of this catchment as defined by the Sustainable Rivers Audit and the Sustainable Yields report differ slightly to the boundaries used here.