Hydrographs from over 2000 state observation bores were reviewed in order to group bores which have a similar water level trend and are screened in the same aquifer. The groupings of observation bores are referred to as 'suites' and are classified according to the Upper, Middle, Lower and Basement aquifers aligning with the Victorian Aquifer Framework. By applying a statistical technical, a normalised hydrograph was developed for each suite using the observed water levels from all bores within the suite. This hydrograph is representative of the groundwater trend within the suite. A spatial boundary has been created for each suite which encompasses all bores within the suite. The boundaries were manually constructed and cover the extent of the mapped aquifers.

This layer contains the yearly Natural Resource Management standard outputs reported by CMAs. The raw submissions have gone through a statewide consolidation process which QAs selected common attributes.

The groundwater resource along the South Australian-Victorian border is shared between the states. In recognition of the need to cooperatively manage these resources, the two states entered into the Border Groundwaters Agreement in 1985. This agreement establishes a Designated Area, extending 20 km on either side of the border, and from the coast to the Murray River.

The Water Act, 1989, requires that anyone wishing to extract groundwater must apply for a groundwater licence. Groundwater licences are issued to protect the rights of licence holders, ensure that water is shared amongst users and to ensure that environmental requirements are protected. This dataset comprises publicly available data derived from the Victorian Water Register.

Points representing the centroids of wetlands taken from a PC database managed by the Flora and Fauna Branch.

Regions by which water quality and quantity is monitored.

This layer is part of a set that defines the beneficial use of Victoria's groundwater resources. According to the Victorian Environmental Protection Authority (EPA), a beneficial use is a use to the environment, or a segment of the environment which is conductive to public benefit, welfare, safety, health or aesthetic enjoyment and which requires protection from the effects of waste discharges, emissions or deposits. A beneficial use may be an existing or potential use. A resource may have more than one beneficial use. The State's groundwater resources have a number of beneficial uses. These uses primarily depend on groundwater quality and aquifer yield and can be assigned to broad water quality classes.

This dataset representst Victoria’s Groundwater Management Areas (GMAs) Where groundwater has been intensively developed in Victoria, or has the potential to be developed, Groundwater Management Areas (GMAs) are established and the Permissible Consumptive Volume (PCV) is progressively set. Monitoring of the groundwater resource in these areas is undertaken by the Department of Sustainability and Environment through the State Groundwater Monitoring Network. Water levels and the amount of water allocated to groundwater users in the areas are closely monitored.

This layer provides the boundaries of the River Basins of Victoria, and is part of a system devised by the Australian Water Resources Council (AWRC). The basins within Victoria are contained within two drainage divisions; the Murray Darling Division and the South East Coast Division.

Priority Rivers was created from two primary input datasets: (1) Victorian Priority Rivers 2008 (DEPI); (2) Significant Rivers (Melbourne Water Corporation (MWC)). The Priority Rivers 2008 dataset indicates high priority rivers across Victoria and relates to a combination of environmental, social and economic values. This information was derived from the Regional River Health Strategies that were developed by the various Catchment Management Authorities (CMAs). The RRHSs use a tool called RiVERS to assess waterways, of which the Index of Stream Condition (ISC) is a significant information source. Given that the ISC was developed for rural rivers and creeks, it is not relevant to MWCs urban waterways and hence MWCs jurisdiction was not included in the Priority Rivers 2008 dataset. Instead, MWC utilises a tool called the Index of River Condition (IRC), which was modified to account for the urban rivers and creeks in their operating area. For this reason a second dataset called ‘Significant Rivers’ was used for the MWC area to indicate the presence of high priority waterways.