The human population in the Gloucester subregion is mainly concentrated in the towns of Gloucester (approximately 2350 according to the 2011 Australian Census; Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), 2011) and Stroud (approximately 697 inhabitants); see Figure 15. In total it is estimated that about 5000 people live in the subregion. This value is estimated by intersecting the subregion boundary with the 2011 Australian Census mesh blocks boundaries and population counts, so is approximate only.
Figure 15 Human population density in the Gloucester subregion
Source data: Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) (2011)
Figure 16 Land use in the Gloucester subregion
Source data: Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES) (2012)
Current land use in the Gloucester subregion is primarily (i.e. ~75% of the subregion) grazed modified pastures (Figure 16). The land use of the remaining quarter of the area varies including urban, plantation forestry, dryland and irrigated cropping, and others (Figure 16).
There are no major dams on rivers in the Gloucester subregion; there are numerous small farm dams located through the area. Water use in the subregion is primarily for agricultural production (i.e. grazing and limited crop irrigation) with minor water use being for aquaculture (i.e. one fish farm). In both cases the water is derived from any mixture of local surface runoff, bore water (i.e. ground water) and extracted river water. Water for the towns of Gloucester and Barrington is extracted from the Barrington River upstream of its confluence with the Gloucester River with the water treatment plant located in the town of Gloucester. The annual average usage by the towns of Gloucester and Barrington (a combined population of ~3100) is 345 ML/year. The annual average usage by the towns of Stroud and Stroud Road (a combined population of 1300) is 140 ML/year, which is taken from Karuah River weir upstream of Stroud and the water treatment plant is located in Stroud. Information about the water offtake volumes and population served was provided by Lisa Andersons (Product Quality Systems, MidCoast Water, 18 December 2013).
