Campaspe River

Bendigo Victoria

The Campaspe River originates in between Dalesford and Woodend and flows north for some 160 kilometres to join the Murray River at Echuca Moama and gives Echuca it's indigeanous name meaning 'meeting of the waters'. The Campaspe River can be divided into three main sections, each with a different channel structure. The upper section, above Lake Eppalock, rises near Woodend and flows approximately 50km to Lake Eppalock. This section of the river flows in volcanic country with extensive rock substrate and has good pools closer to Lake Eppalock.

The Campaspe Reservoir located upstream of Lake Eppalock and is used to divert water to Woodend and has only limited effect on flow in the upper reaches of the river. The section from Lake Eppalock down to Campaspe Weir at Elmore has good pool/riffle definition with some areas of deep water and predominantly rubble and gravel substrate.

The lowest section down to the Murray River has a uniform channel shape, sand substrate, abundant debris and shallow water. Flow in the river downstream of Lake Eppalock, is totally controlled by weirs, reservoirs and irrigation releases. Flow downstream can vary from 0-10ML/d during the non-irrigation period, (15 May-15 August), to 500-2,200ML/d during the irrigation period. Water is sent downstream from Lake Eppalock to be diverted at Campaspe Weir (45km downstream).

The Campaspe River north from near Trentham in Victoria’s central highlands to Echuca, where it meets the Murray River. Its tributary, the Coliban River, joins it at Lake Eppalock. Its health has been severely affected by the construction of reservoirs, the clearing of native vegetation, and farming and urban development.

The Coliban and Campaspe supply Bendigo's drinking water but the largest demand for water comes form agriculture. The rivers are severely stressed, with no reaches in excellent or even good condition (Index of Stream Condition 2004), and drought and climate change are causing further decline. But the rivers are highly valued by many Bendigoeans who have hope for their future.

The Campaspe River Basin is located in north central Victoria and covers approximately 4,048 square kilometres, which represents 1.8% of Victoria's total area.

The Campaspe River experiences extreme variations in flow from year to year. For example, during the very wet year of 1956/57, a flow of 823,000 ML was recorded at Elmore, while in the drought year of 1944, only 45,700 ML was recorded at the same point. The mean annual flow of the basin is 305,000 ML, which is 1.5 % of the total runoff generated in the State.

The major storages in the Basin include Malmsbury, Lauriston and Upper Coliban reservoirs and Lake Eppalock. Malmsbury, Lauriston and Upper Coliban Reservoirs are in the south-east of the Basin on the Coliban River and have storage capacities of 18,000 ML, 20,000 ML, and 31,500 ML respectively. The Coliban system supplies water for domestic, industrial and commercial use, mainly in the Bendigo urban supply areas as well as to irrigators in the area between Malmsbury and Bendigo.

Lake Eppalock is located on the Campaspe River and has the largest storage capacity at 312,000 ML. It is used primarily for irrigation, with minor supplies to urban and domestic users. The northern plains receive an average annual rainfall between 400 mm and 500 mm. Moving south toward the Great Dividing Range the rainfall increases to a maximum of 1,080 mm at Trentham. Major land uses include agriculture, dairy farming, viticulture and fruit growing under irrigation. Dryland farming produces cereal crops, beef cattle, lambs and wool. Most of the Basin has been cleared for agriculture, however there are significant forested areas remaining in the Axe Creek catchment and on the southern hills.

The town of Echuca, situated near the junction of the Murray and Campaspe Rivers, is the largest urban centre within the basin. Average annual surface water use is 441,980 ML, which includes water diverted from the Murray River and Goulburn River for supply to consumers within the basin. Irrigation represents 95% of the total water use with rural and urban/industrial water use representing 4% and 1%, respectively. (Note: The reported volume of water used represents the total water consumed within the basin. This estimate of water use does not account for the volume of reclaimed or returned water and does not include water that is allocated for use in other management areas). Approximately 76% (334,270 ML) is imported from the Goulburn River for supply to the Rochester-Campaspe Irrigation District and a portion of the Central Goulburn irrigation districts. Diversions from the Murray River represent 4% ( 18,090ML) of the total water consumed in the basin each year, with the remaining consumption (89,610 ML or 20% of total supply) supplied from local surface water resources. An average of 31,400 ML is exported from the Campaspe to the Loddon Basin to supply the city of Bendigo and regional towns.

Listed threatened fish species in the Campaspe include Macquarie Perch, Murray Cod, and Golden Perch. The critically endangered Trout Cod is no longer thought to survive in the river.

For a Map of the Campaspe River see: http://www.envict.org.au/file/CampaspeCatchment.pdf