Water Supply Protection Areas

A Water Supply Protection Area (WSPA) is an area declared under the Water Act 1989 to protect the groundwater or surface water resources there through the development of a management plan. A total of 25 WSPAs have been declared in Victoria.

Groundwater levels in WSPAs are monitored quarterly via the Department of Sustainability and Environment’s (DSE) State Observation Bore Network. In some cases, WSPAs have additional monitoring done by the Rural Water Corporations (RWCs). Permissible consumptive volumes are set for WSPAs to prevent the resource being depleted or any adverse impacts occurring.

Groundwater Management Areas

A Groundwater Management Area (GMA) is an area where groundwater has been intensively developed or has the potential to be. GMAs have boundaries defined for the purposes of ongoing management. In Victoria there are 38 GMAs.

Groundwater levels in GMAs are monitored quarterly via the DSE State Observation Bore Network. Permissible consumptive volumes are set to prevent the resource being depleted or any adverse impacts occurring.

Unincorporated Areas

An Unincorporated Area (UA) is area where limited development or use of groundwater has occurred. This is usually because the resource is low yielding, or its quality has limited its use, or there is limited information about resource availability. Groundwater levels in UAs are monitored via the State Observation Bore Network.