On this page:
The Victorian Water and Climate Initiative (VicWaCI) is a research program that aims to better understand our climate and water resources.
VicWaCI also focuses on working with the water sector, and sectors dependent on water resources, to apply this knowledge to water resource management.
Research covered by VicWaCI includes:
- changes in streamflow rates across Victoria, and the reasons for the changes
- different weather types and their influence on rainfall
- rainfall and streamflow projections.
VicWaCI phase 2 (2021-2024) was a partnership between:
- the Victorian Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA)
- the Bureau of Meteorology
- the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO).
Recent findings
The summary report Victoria’s water resources under a changing climate brings together the research findings from phase 2 of VicWaCI (2021-2024).
This provides information on recent trends and likely future changes to Victorian climate and water resources. The insights can help the Victorian water sector to plan and make informed investment and policy decisions.
VicWaCI findings also inform the development of guidelines to assess climate change impacts on water resources. The guidelines provide a foundation for:
- regional sustainable water strategies
- urban water strategies
- informing water resource planning and investment decisions.
The investment that the Victorian water sector has made over many years, in collaboration with a range of partners, has made a significant contribution to the body of scientific knowledge of how climate and the water cycle is changing in south-east Australia.
The improved understanding that has been developed through the program has informed many subsequent summary reports, plans and strategies that respond to the challenges.
Links to earlier research summary reports include:
- VicWaCI Phase 1 summary report (2020): Victoria’s water in a changing climate (PDF, 10.5 MB)
- Victorian Climate Initiative (VicCI) summary (2017): VicCI Synthesis Report (2017)
- South-East Australia Climate Initiative (SEACI) Phase 2 (2012)
Other related resources
- VicWaCI webinar series - Hear from researchers about their latest findings
- Victorian Government climate science website
- Victoria’s Future Climate Tool
- Victorian Government Adaptation Action Plan for the Water Cycle system
- Climate Change in Australia website
- Hydroclimate projections for Victoria at 2040 and 2065 (Potter et al. 2016)
Page last updated: 25/09/25