Project HawkEye is a biodiversity monitoring project created to study the impact of fire and planned burning on biodiversity. One deliverable for the HawkEye project is the establishment of a monitoring sites database to store information about monitoring sites (not the actual data that is collected). This spatial layer is one of the outputs from the project designed to provide a single point of reference for this information.

This layer represents the spatial extent of fires recorded since 1903 to 2012 primarily on public land. The layer includes wildfire and DSE prescribed burn information. The layer is derived from fire100_{YEAR} dataset, and is a composite of individual fire100_{YEAR} layers from 1900 season to current forming a single dataset. This data set includes fire history records up to 2012 fire season. From 2013 the dataset design has been upgraded and the new data set is called FIRE_HISTORY.

Polygons showing the extent and types of wetlands in Victoria based on photography taken during the 1970's and 80's. Wetlands are classified into primary categories based on water regimes and subdivided into sub areas based on vegetation or hydologic attributes. The polygon boundaries were derived from digitizing marked up aerial photography interpretation.

Potential Groundwater Dependent Ecosystems (GDE) are ecosystems identified within the landscape as likely to be at least partly dependent on groundwater. State-wide screening analysis was performed to identify locations of potential terrestrial GDEs, including wetland areas. The GDE mapping was developed utilising satellite remote sensing data, geological data and groundwater monitoring data in a GIS overlay model. Validation of the model through field assessment has not been performed. The method has been applied for all of Victoria and is the first step in identifying potential groundwater dependent ecosystems that may be threatened by activities such as drainage and groundwater pumping. The dataset specifically covers the Wimmera Catchment Management Authority (CMA) area. The method used in this research is based upon the characteristics of a potential GDE containing area as one that: 1. Has access to groundwater. By definition a GDE must have access to groundwater. For GDE occurrences associated with wetlands and river systems the water table will be at surface with a zone of capillary extension. In the case of terrestrial GDE's (outside of wetlands and river systems), these are dependent on the interaction between depth to water table and the rooting depth of the vegetation community. 2. Has summer (dry period) use of water. Due to the physics of root water uptake, GDEs will use groundwater when other sources are no longer available; this is generally in summer for the Victorian climate. The ability to use groundwater during dry periods creates a contrasting growth pattern with surrounding landscapes where growth has ceased. 3. Has consistent growth patterns, vegetation that uses water all year round will have perennial growth patterns. 4. Has growth patterns similar to verified GDEs. The current mapping does not indicate the degree of groundwater dependence, only locations in the landscape of potential groundwater dependent ecosystems. This dataset does not directly support interpretation of the amount of dependence or the amount of groundwater used by the regions highlighted within the maps. Further analysis and more detailed field based data collection are required to support this. The core data used in the modelling is largely circa 1995 to 2005. It is expected that the methodology used will over estimate the extent of terrestrial GDEs. There will be locations that appear from EvapoTranspiration (ET) data to fulfil the definition of a GDE (as defined by the mapping model) that may not be using groundwater. Two prominent examples are: 1. Riparian zones along sections of rivers and creeks that have deep water tables where the stream feeds the groundwater system and the riparian vegetation is able to access this water flow, as well as any bank storage contained in the valley alluvials. 2. Forested regions that are accessing large unsaturated regolith water stores. The terrestrial GDE layer polygons are classified based on the expected depth to groundwater (ie shallow <5 m or deep >5 m). Additional landscape attributes are also assigned to each mappnig polygon. In 2011-2012 a species tolerance model was developed by Arthur Rylah Institute, collaborating with DPI, to model landscapes with ability to support GDEs and to provide a relative measure of sensitivity of those ecosystems to changes in groundwater availability and quality. Rev 1 of the GDE mapping incorporates species tolerance model attributes for each potential GDE polygon and attributes for interpreted depth to groundwater. Separate datasets and associated metadata records have been created for GDE species tolerance.

This layer contains points showing the location of water monitoring points, groundwater bores, index of stream condition and marine monitoring sites. The data is sourced from the Victorian Water Resources Data Warehouse http://www.dse.vic.gov.au/waterdata.

All Groundwater Use Density is a density distribution surface of groundwater use in ML/km2 for Victoria. This includes the rate of groundwater use from: (1) metered licensed entitlement bores; and estimated groundwater use from: (2) unmetered licensed entitlement bores, and; (3) stock and domestic bores. Metered groundwater use information was sourced from Southern Rural Water, Goulburn Murray Water and Grampians-Wimmera-Mallee Water. The years of metered use range from 2008/2009 to 2009/2010 across the rural water authorities. Stock and domestic bore locations were derived from the Victorian Groundwater Management System (GMS). Unmetered licensed entitlement bore information was sourced from the Victorian Water Register.

This raster dataset consists of annual Evapotranspiration (ET) for the period 2007 to 2008. The data has been derived using the Surface Energy Balance Algorithm for Land (SEBAL). SEBAL is a computer application developed by WaterWatch which uses complex radiation and energy balace algortithms to generate evapotranspiration or actual water use from satellite imagery. 30m resolution data was produced from Landsat and MODIS satellite imagery and 250m resolution data produced from MODIS only. In addition, 250m resolution land-use data was used from the Bureau of Rural Sciences.

This dataset is a raster layer depicting the thickness of the Golden Beach Formation, Otway Basin. A number of processes were applied to the Top and Base to derive the Thickness of Golden Beach Formation. The dataset was compiled by GHD to inform the report 'Potential Influences of Geological Structures on Groundwater Flow Systems' for DEPI's Secure Allocation Future Entitlements (SAFE) Project.

The Sustainable Diversion Limit (SDL) project focused on developing a means to rapidly estimate the winterfill diversion potential of unregulated and typically ungauged streams. The SDL project divided Victoria into 1,584 catchments, 1,419 of which were not gauged. For the 165 gauged catchments baseflow separation occurred enabling interpretation of streamflow and baseflow specifically for that catchment. For the 1,419 ungauged catchments, each was assigned an indicator gauge as part of the SDL project based on a method that considered hydrological similarity. The hydrological indicators selected to define the streamflow regime in gauged catchments were; base flow index, mean annual flow and median summer flow. The characteristics that were correlated to these hydrological indicators in ungauged catchments were: soil permeability, vegetation cover, stream frequency and annual rainfall. Information generated through the SDL project assisted in the interrogation of the relative magnitude of annual and seasonal baseflows to groundwater use, on an SDL catchment scale.

This dataset is a raster layer depicting the thickness of the Latrobe Group, Otway Basin. A number of processes were applied to the Top and Base to derive the Thickness of the Latrobe Group. The dataset was compiled by GHD to inform the report 'Potential Influences of Geological Structures on Groundwater Flow Systems' for DEPI's Secure Allocation Future Entitlements (SAFE) Project.