Water for the Environment - August 2011
The Environmental Water Reserve is the term used to describe the water set aside under the Water Act 1989 to meet environmental objectives 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)
The Victorian Environmental Water Holder (VEWH) commenced operations on 1 July 2011. VEWH is an independent body responsible for making decisions on the most efficient and effective use of Victoria’s environmental water entitlements. The responsibility for all environmental entitlements was transferred to the VEWH from 1 July 2011.
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 | 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 | For use as part of The Living Murray. | |
| Unregulated | 74,300 | d | Unregulated entitlement comprises 34,300 ML for use as part of The Living Murray and 40,000 ML for use in Victoria. | |
| 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 | |
| Goulburn River Environmental Entitlement 2010 | High | 1,432 | a | Entitlement created from Wimmera-Mallee pipeline savings. |
|
Bulk Entitlement (All River Murray Conversion Orders 1999) (Barmah-Millewa Forest Environmental Water Allocation) |
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. |
| Low | 25,000 | c | ||
| Silver & Wallaby Creeks Environmental Entitlement 2006 | N/A | * | b, e | 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 | 9,490 | a, q | Temporary qualification in place during June 2011, to allow passing flows to be transferred to this entitlement. Qualification expires 30 June 2011. |
| Low | 2,024 | a | ||
| Bulk Entitlement (Loddon System - G-MW) Conversion Order 2005 | N/A | * | b, q, e | Entitlement includes passing flow rules, but temporary qualification in place during June 2011. Qualification expires 30 June 2011. |
| Wimmera and Glenelg Rivers Environmental Entitlement | Regulated | 41,560 | a,d | |
| Yarra Environmental Entitlement 2006 | High | 17,000 | a | Entitlement includes passing flow rules |
| N/A | * | b, e | ||
| Bulk Entitlement (Thomson River - Environment) Order 2005 | High | 10,000 | a | |
| N/A | * | b, e | ||
| Environmental Entitlement (Birch Creek - Bullarook System) 2009 | N/A | * | b, e | Entitlement includes passing flow rules |
| Environmental Entitlement (Tarago and Bunyip Reservoirs) 2009 | High | 3,000 | a | |
| N/A | * | b, e | 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 2010 | N/A | * | Entitlement allows watering of the Lower Latrobe wetlands. | |
| Werribee River Environmental Entitlement 2011 | N/A | * | e, f | 10% of inflows to Lake Merrimu allocated to the environment. |
| Barwon River Environmental Entitlement 2011 | N/A | * | e, f | Entitlement to water in the Barwon River for opportunistic environmental watering of Reedy Lake and Hospital Swamp. |
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. River Murray unregulated flow entitlements may only be accessed under certain conditions and when the Murray-Darling Basin Authority has declared their availability.
e. Entitlements not expressed in terms of "high" and "low" reliability
f. This is a new environmental entitlement created in 2011.
* Not a specified volumetric entitlement.
Find Out More
- About the Environmental Water Reserve
- The Victorian Environmental Water Holder
- 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