Rivers of the Barwon action update for 2022

• Status: Delivered
• Led by: Corangamite Catchment Management Authority (CCMA)

The Corangamite RCS reflects Eastern Maar and Wadawurrung knowledge, aspirations and right to self-determination.

Approved in late 2022 by the Minister for Water, the Corangamite RCS includes recognition of the Rivers of the Barwon / Barre Warre Yulluk and their lands as a living and integrated natural entity.

It recognises the aspirations of the Eastern Maar and Wadawurrung Traditional Owners as set out in their Healthy Country Plans.

• Status: Delivered
• Led by: Corangamite Catchment Management Authority (CCMA)

The State Government provided funding to the Eastern Maar Aboriginal Corporation and Wadawurrung Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation to resource their participation in the planning and ongoing implementation of the Corangamite RCS.

This funding has helped to reinstate their role as a unique voice for the waterways.

• Status: In progress
• Led by: Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA)

The Bunurong Land Council Aboriginal Corporation, Wadawurrung Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation and Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation are being supported to express their voice of living entities on Country which is guided by self-determination priorities.

Traditional Owners, their values and their knowledge are being embedded in funding arrangements to support self-determination of the meaning and value of ‘voice of the living entity’ and its cultural water assessment priorities.

• Status: Delivered
• Led by: Corangamite Catchment Management Authority (CCMA)

Partnership agreements are in place with Eastern Maar Aboriginal Corporation and Wadawurrung Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation, guided by the self-determined aspirations of both groups.

The advantages of these partnerships can be seen in the work undertaken to date, including:

• Facilitating cultural water opportunities and sharing benefits with environmental water planning and implementation.
• Partnering with Wadawurrung as a key partner in Barwon River Parklands Masterplan / Kitjarra-dja-bul Bullarto langi-ut.
• Facilitating opportunities through On-Country engagement with landholders.
• Providing capacity development opportunities through the Ramsar program implementation and other biodiversity projects.
• Partnering to identify relevant regional land partnership projects.

• Status: Delivered
• Led by: Department of Transport and Planning (DTP)

The region’s planning schemes have been amended via VC201 to introduce new Significant Landscape Overlay schedules to protect landscape value and amenity for the Barwon / Parwan, Leigh / Waywatcurtan, Moorabool / Murrabul and Yarrowee / Yarowee Rivers.

The amendment aims to identify and protect these waterway corridors and better manage increasing development pressure.

The schedules outline strategies to enhance the continuous riparian corridor landscape, retain canopy, and ensure building and earthworks are not visually dominant or affect landscape character.

While landscape controls have been introduced, further investigation is planned to examine the need for additional environmental controls focused on vegetation and biodiversity.

• Status: Delivered
• Led by: Corangamite Catchment Management Authority (CCMA)

Corangamite CMA has analysed and mapped waterway amenity to characterise river reach values. This has been used to inform the development of the Corangamite RCS and Kitjarra-dja-bul Bullarto langi-ut.

The waterway amenity maps are focused on delivering the following part of the 50-year community vision for the Rivers of the Barwon / Barre Warre Yulluk: "Planning for water and river management is integrated and considers both whole-of- catchment and local, place-based needs."

To date, amenity mapping has occurred along key reaches of the Barwon / Parwan and Moorabool / Murrabul Rivers through Geelong and the Yarrowee / Yarowee River through Ballarat. The exercise highlighted that the region’s waterway facilities, access and use should align with the areas’ naturalness.

A technical report describing the method and application for waterway amenity mapping has also been delivered, creating an opportunity for application on other river reaches (especially in urban areas) and encouraging consistency in waterway amenity mapping across the State.

• Status: Delivered
• Led by: Corangamite Catchment Management Authority (CCMA)

The flagship waterway program for the Barwon (Parwan) River has progressed substantially. To date works completed include:

• The Upper Barwon River and the Lower Barwon Wetlands Seasonal Watering Proposals for 2022-23 submitted to the Victorian Environmental Water Holder for water for the environment.
• Community engagement for a Waterway Health Plan for the Upper Barwon.
• Landholders’ engagement on proposed riparian management arrangements to improve waterway protection.
• On-ground works at a trial site have been completed on the West Barwon River for Glyceria maxima (reed sweet grass).

The Living Moorabool Flagship Waterway Project is progressing well with key achievements since 2021 including:

• Two annual seasonal watering proposals (2021-22 and 2022-23) developed in consultation with Wadawurrung Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation and accepted by the Victorian Environmental Water Holder. All proposed environmental watering actions were either released or fulfilled naturally during current wet conditions.
• Waterway Health on-ground works assessed 17 sites with 13 approved for funding. Once contracts are signed, 140 hectares will be protected from stock access.

Corangamite CMA has partnered with staff from Wadawurrung Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation and the Arthur Rylah Institute to design and deliver a vegetation monitoring program to help assess the benefits of environmental water delivery. The Moorabool Stakeholder Advisory Group will be consulted on this body of work.

The Corangamite CMA have supported the Wadawurrung Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation to develop their own water quality monitoring program on the Moorabool / Murrabul River. A report of their findings was launched earlier in 2022.

This project is fully funded with planned completion of this phase in 2024.

• Status: In progress
• Led by: Corangamite Catchment Management Authority (CCMA)

Masterplan development is underway, with finalisation due by April 2023. See Implementation in focus – Kitjarra-dja-bul Bullarto langi-ut.

This project is fully funded with planned completion in 2023.

• Status: In progress
• Led by: Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA)

The design and build of a new bridge over the Yarrowee / Yarowee River at the Sunnyside Mill precinct in Ballarat including revegetation and trail enhancement, has been submitted to authorities for approval. Work was impacted by the spring 2022 flooding.

• Status: Delivered
• Led by: Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA)

The Eastern Maar Aboriginal Corporation and Corangamite CMA are collaborating on environmental water delivery in the Upper Barwon which will lead to improvements in the environmental condition of the region’s waterways. Funding has been provided to Wadawurrung Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation for self-determined cultural water assessment priorities.

Funding has been provided to Eastern Maar Aboriginal Corporation to update its water aspirations for Country in its Country Plan through Victoria’s Water, Country and Community program.

• Status: Delivered
• Led by: City of Greater Geelong

With support from Barwon Water, Corangamite CMA, Southern Rural Water and Wadawurrung Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation, the City of Greater Geelong prepared a draft framework for stormwater collaboration.

Barwon Water’s Urban Water Strategy 2022: Water for our Future highlights the risk of climate change, further reducing available water from traditional surface water supplies. It forecasts that an extra 50 billion litres of water would be needed each year to meet demand from residential and business customers in the Barwon region by 2070.

Barwon Water is committed to investigating large-scale stormwater and recycled water distribution networks and working with local and state government on integrated water management opportunities.

This approach is underpinned by strong community support for sustainable water supplies and improved planning and management of stormwater.

The framework outlines the Barwon region’s roles and responsibilities in stormwater management.

• Status: Delivered
• Led by: Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA)

The first annual implementation report for the Action Plan was published on the DEECA website in February 2023.