The North-West

This action contributed to effective and comprehensive water supply and demand planning to ensure the reliability of supply for urban and industrial users. Coliban Water, Central Highlands Water and GWMWater developed water supply-demand strategies in 2012.

Action 7.2 explains WfV’s current requirements for urban water strategies, and the water corporations revised their water supply-demand strategies as urban water strategies in 2017.

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

Delivery period: 2011, 2012, 2017

This action contributed to protecting the streamflows in the Upper Wimmera River by formalising current rules and setting caps on water use. The environmental values of the unregulated upper Wimmera River were stressed throughout the Millennium Drought, mainly due to flow stress from domestic and stock farm dams.

A management plan for the Wimmera River that protects streamflows by formalising water-sharing rules was approved in March 2018.

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

Delivery period: March 2018

This ongoing action helps to protect waterway health and water quality by ensuring that the catchment is managed appropriately through activities such as fencing, revegetation, weed management and vegetation enhancement.

These complementary works help increase the benefits from delivering water for the environment. CMAs implement integrated catchment management works by implementing their catchment management strategies and regional waterway management strategies.

Integrated catchment management works are funded through the Environmental Contribution, and information about achievements is published annually in CMAs’ annual reports.

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

Delivery period: Ongoing

This ongoing action contributes to protect flows in the Millicent Coast Basin. The Millicent Coast Basin is in the far west of Victoria and extends across the border into South Australia.

The basin has low rainfall and unreliable streamflows. As such, there is a heavy reliance on groundwater. When the WRSWS was developed, many people were concerned that plantation forestry in the upper catchment could reduce water resource availability.

Consequently, GWMWater and Southern Rural Water applied a moratorium on issuing new surface water entitlements in the basin.

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

Delivery period: Ongoing