Water for the Environment - February 2011
The Environmental Water Reserve is the term used to describe the water set aside by law to meet environmental benefits through:
- statutory environmental entitlements (such as a volume of water held in storage)
- conditions on bulk entitlements, licences and permits (such as passing flows below a storage)
- the establishment of limits to diversions (such as permissible consumptive volumes and caps)
During October, a new environmental entitlement was created for the Moorabool River. The entitlement will provide an average of 2,500 megalitres (ML) of water per year (up to 7,500 ML over three years) to support flows in the Moorabool River, one of Victoria’s most flow-stressed rivers.
The table below lists the environmental entitlements and some of the important rules-based environmental water. The volumes provided in the table represent entitlement volumes, but the volume of water that can be taken under these entitlements will vary from year to year depending on seasonal conditions and water availability.
| Entitlement | Reliability | Volume (ML) | Notes | Additional Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BE (River Murray - Flora and Fauna) Conversion Order 1999 | High | 33,364 | a,d | Volume of high-reliability entitlement comprises 26,700 ML for use in Victoria and 5,764 ML for use as part of The Living Murray. |
| Low | 101,850 | a,d | For use as part of The Living Murray. | |
| Bulk Entitlement (River Murray - Snowy Environmental Reserve) Order 2004 | High | 29,794 | a | |
| Environmental Entitlement (Goulburn System - Living Murray) 2007 | High | 39,625 | a | For use as part of The Living Murray. |
| Low | 156,980 | a | For use as part of The Living Murray. | |
| Bulk Entitlement (Goulburn System - Snowy Environmental Reserve) Order 2004 | High | 16,812 | a | |
| Bulk Entitlement (River Murray) Conversion Order 1999 | High | 50,000 | c | The Barmah-Millewa Forest Environmental Water Allocation is an obligation set out in Goulburn-Murray Water's entitlement, and this water is used in accordance with specific rules to provide high flow events to the Barmah wetlands. |
| (Barmah-Millewa Forest Environmental Water Allocation) | Low | 25,000 | c | |
| Silver & Wallaby Creeks Environmental Entitlement 2006 | N/A | * | b | Entitlement includes passing flow rules |
| Environmental Entitlement (Campaspe River - Living Murray) 2007 | High | 126 | a | |
| Low | 5,048 | a | ||
| Bulk Entitlement (Loddon River - Environmental Reserve) Order 2005 | High | 2,000 | a, q | Temporary qualification in place during October 2010, to allow passing flows to be transferred to this entitlement. |
| Low | 2,024 | a | ||
| Bulk Entitlement (Loddon System - G-MW) Conversion Order 2005 | N/A | * | b, q | Entitlement includes passing flow rules, but temporary qualification in place during October 2010. |
| Bulk Entitlement (Wimmera and Glenelg Rivers - Flora and Fauna) Conversion Order 2004 | Regulated | 40,560 | a,d | |
| Un-regulated | 34,739 | a,d | ||
| Yarra Environmental Entitlement 2006 | High | 17,000 | a | Entitlement includes passing flow rules |
| N/A | * | b | ||
| Bulk Entitlement (Thomson River - Environment) Order 2005 | High | 10,000 | a | |
| N/A | * | b | ||
| Environmental Entitlement (Birch Creek - Bullarook System) 2009 | N/A | * | b | Entitlement includes passing flow rules |
| Environmental Entitlement (Tarago and Bunyip Reservoirs) 2009 | High | 3,000 | a | |
| N/A | * | b | Entitlement includes passing flow rules | |
| Macalister River Environmental Entitlement 2010 | High | 7,111 | a | |
| Low | 3,555 | a | ||
| Moorabool River Environmental Entitlement 2010 | N/A | 2,500 | f | Volume represents the average annual entitlement volume, based on a three-year entitlement of up to 7,500 ML. |
| Latrobe River Entitlement | N/A | * | Entitlement allows watering of the Lower Latrobe wetlands. |
Notes to table
a. Volumetric entitlement as recorded in the Victorian Water Register, the volume of water that can be taken under these entitlements will vary from year to year depending on seasonal conditions and water availability.
b. In addition to volumetric entitlements, the Environmental Water Reserve includes passing flow obligations.
c. Not recorded as a volumetric entitlement in the Victorian Water Register, but is part of obligations under G-MW's bulk entitlement.
d. Not including 34,300 ML of unregulated flows, since this is not recorded as a volumetric entitlement in the Victorian Water Register
e. Entitlements for Wimmera-Mallee system not expressed in terms of "high" and "low" reliability
f. This is a new environmental entitlement created in October 2010.
q. Temporary qualifications instruments available on the Victorian Water Register
Find Out More
- About the Environmental Water Reserve
- Water in the Environment
- Details of the Commonwealth water recovery program to date (The Commonwealth Government holds additional water shares in Victoria)
- Water for Rivers - (a joint Government enterprise) also holds additional environmental water
- The Living Murray - a joint Government initiative to return environmental water to the River Murray