On this page:

Read the current Central and Gippsland Region Sustainable Water Strategy.

Read the strategy

Action status: 7.1 to 7.6

This action helped to formalise the operating arrangements for far East Gippsland’s surface water and groundwater systems, improving the transparency of their management.

The Rivers and creeks management rules and plans drop-down on the Southern Rural Water website has the operating arrangements for the East Gippsland Basin (including the Snowy River Basin). Ministerial guidelines were released for new and to amend existing local management plans.

See action 3.4 for more information about this action.

Action status (5-yearly assessment 2018): Achieved and completed

Delivery period: 2010 to 2016

This action is to revise the caps on the amount of unallocated surface water available for winter-fill (July – October) diversions in the far East Gippsland catchments. The winter-fill sustainable diversion limits (SDLs) were amended to account for reduced volumes of additional available water.

Rural water corporations are managing to the revised SDLs. The PCV Surface Water Order 2010 will be updated to reflect these changes.

The Progress report considered that this action is progressing. The 2010 order applies to (PCV orders): Thomson, Latrobe, Bunyip, Yarra, Maribyrnong, Werribee, Moorabool, Barwon, Otway Coast River Basins.

The department plans to update the 2010 PCV Surface Water Order.

Action status (5-yearly assessment 2018): Partly or not yet achieved

Delivery period: NA

This action contributed to effective and comprehensive water supply and demand planning to ensure the reliability of supply for urban and industrial users.

East Gippsland Water published 9 water supply-demand strategies in 2010 and 2011, one for each of its 9 water supply systems.

WfV now requires Victoria’s urban water corporations to develop urban water strategies, which provide detailed, 50-year forecasts of demand, and supply options.

Urban water strategies are to be based on the government’s climate guidelines, which set out essential data and advice about how to assess the impact of climate change on water supplies.

In 2017, East Gippsland Water revised its water supply-demand strategies as the East Gippsland Water Urban Water Strategy, which is one document for all nine systems.

East Gippsland Water publishes an annual water outlook in December each year, to tell its customers the current status of its systems, how they compare to the long-term trends forecast in the urban water strategy, the climate outlook and the likelihood of water restrictions in each system.

Action status (5-yearly assessment 2018): Achieved and completed

Delivery period: 2010, 2011, 2017

This ongoing action helps to protect and improve the health of far East Gippsland’s high-value rivers through a continued focus on catchment management.

The East Gippsland Waterway Strategy 2014-2022 details planned works and their objectives, and the East Gippsland Regional Catchment Strategy 2013–2019 provides additional detail, setting out priorities for the region for the 6-year period.

Action status (5-yearly assessment 2018): Achieved and ongoing

Delivery period: Ongoing

This ongoing action enhances transparency in environmental water accounts and in reporting for the Snowy River. The Victorian Water Accounts detail allocation volumes and allocation percentages for the Snowy River catchment entitlements.

The VEWH reports annually on the Snowy River entitlements it holds and water made available each year. The Victorian Water Register has a user-friendly layout and search function to examine records of trade and entitlements for all catchments throughout the state.

Action status (5-yearly assessment 2018): Achieved and ongoing

Delivery period: Ongoing

This action is to negotiate an environmental flow regime that benefits the Victorian reaches of the Snowy River, estuary and wetlands. The NSW Office of Environment and Heritage is responsible for planning environmental flow releases in the Snowy River.

This action specified that the VEWH and East Gippsland CMA would inform the now disbanded Snowy Scientific Committee about the effects of environmental flow releases in Victoria.

In 2018, the NSW Minister for Regional Water officially dissolved the scientific committee and appointed the Snowy Advisory Committee (SAC) to provide expert and community input to the design of environmental flows to the Snowy River and Snowy Mountain rivers.

The committee brings together the local knowledge and expertise of people from Snowy River and Snowy Mountains communities and the NSW and Victorian governments.

East Gippsland CMA is represented on the SAC and the VEWH attends SAC meetings as an observer.

The Snowy Advisory Committee have endorsed the annual flow strategy for the Snowy River for 2019/20, noting that the current methodology for determining recommended flow regimes does not adequately address the needs of the lower river reaches and estuary.

The committee has agreed to design a longer-term planning framework to consider flow regimes that will target objectives for the lower river reaches and estuary. East Gippsland CMA continues to evaluate the effects of flow releases on the lower river and estuary, to better understand the riverine system.

Action status (5-yearly assessment 2018): Achieved and ongoing

Delivery period: Ongoing

Page last updated: 08/09/23