Wimmera-Mallee Water Resource Plan
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Wimmera-Mallee Water Resource Plan Comprehensive Report Front cover: Lake Fyans by Daniel Burton Chapter 1: Brim Silos by Wimmera CMA Chapter 2: Green Lake by Chris55 Chapter 3: Sheep Hill art silo by Vic Pics. Chapter 4: Horsham Weir by Wimmera CMA Chapter 5: Toolondo by Chris55 Chapter 6: Lake Bellfield by GWMWater Chapter 7: Wimmera River at Horsham in April 2009 by David Fletcher, courtesy Wimmera CMA Chapter 8: Jeparit Weir by Wimmera CMA Chapter 9: Wimmera River at Old Horsham Weir in April 2009 by David Fletcher, courtesy Wimmera CMA Chapter 10: Dunmunkle Creek in September 2010 by Wimmera CMA Chapter 11: Traditional Owners Aunty Heather Marks, Belinda Marks, Sharni Hamilton (MLDRIN), Aunty Hazel Mcdonald, Aunty Noelene Douglas, Aunty Faye Marks and Sandra Knight (left to right) at River Yarns Aboriginal Waterway Assessments at Wimmera River in March 2017. Photo by Wimmera CMA Chapter 12: Crow Swamp by Wimmera CMA Chapter 13: Green Lake by Chris55 Chapter 14: Pink Lake by Chris55 Chapter 15: MacKenzie River by Wimmera CMA References/Glossary: Green lake by Chris55 Appendix A: Pine Lake by Chris55 Appendix B: Wimmera River at Jeparit in April 2009 by David Fletcher, courtesy Wimmera CMA Appendix C: Lake Bellfield Spillway by GWMWater Appendix D: Wimmera River by Chris55 Back cover: Taylors Lake by Chris55 © The State of Victoria Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning 2019 This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence. You are free to re-use the work under that licence, on the condition that you credit the State of Victoria as author. The licence does not apply to any images, photographs or branding, including the Victorian Coat of Arms, the Victorian Government logo and the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) logo. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ ISBN 978-1-76077-070-9 (pdf/online/MS word) Disclaimer This publication may be of assistance to you but the State of Victoria and its employees do not guarantee that the publication is without flaw of any kind or is wholly appropriate for your particular purposes and therefore disclaims all liability for any error, loss or other consequence which may arise from you relying on any information in this publication. Accessibility If you would like to receive this publication in an alternative format, please telephone the DELWP Customer Service Centre on 136186, email [email protected], or via the National Relay Service on 133 677 www.relayservice.com.au. This document is also available on the internet at www.delwp.vic.gov.au. Rushes in the Wimmera River by Kathryn Walker Aboriginal acknowledgement We acknowledge and respect Victorian Traditional Owners as the original custodians of Victoria’s land and waters, their unique ability to care for Country and deep spiritual connection to it. We honour Elders past and present whose knowledge and wisdom has ensured the continuation of culture and traditional practices. We are committed to genuinely partner, and meaningfully engage, with Victoria’s Traditional Owners and Aboriginal communities to support the protection of Country, the maintenance of spiritual and cultural practices and their broader aspirations in the 21st century and beyond. Accredited text The proposed accreditation text will be clearly identified throughout the document. This accreditation text is Victoria’s proposed response to each requirement of Chapter 10 of the Basin Plan and will be updated by Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning following consultation with the Murray-Darling Basin Authority and as a result of any feedback received during the public consultation process. The final accredited text components are the formal component of the Wimmera-Mallee Water Resource Plan and are subject to accreditation by the Commonwealth Minister for Water. 10.49(1) Sample accredited text This accreditation text is Victoria’s response to each requirement of Chapter 10 of the Basin Plan. This text and the information contained in the accompanying Wimmera-Mallee Index Table form Victoria’s Wimmera-Mallee Water Resource Plan. The remaining content of this document is supplementary to the Wimmera-Mallee Water Resource Plan and is intended to explain and give context to the text that is accredited for Basin Plan purposes. The Wimmera-Mallee Index Table is attached here. Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning Index table Placeholder for insertion of Index Table Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning At a glance Aboriginal acknowledgement iii Accredited text iv Index table v At a glance vi 1. Introduction: Victoria implementing the Murray-Darling Basin Plan 2 2. Wimmera-Mallee water resource plan area 16 3. Landscape, people and economy 24 4. Water resources 32 5. Victoria’s water institutions and functions 52 6. Victoria’s water entitlement framework and trade 68 7. Challenges for water planning, management and use – the risk assessment 100 8. Sustainable diversion limits (SDLs) 134 9. Extreme events and critical human water needs 156 10. Interception 176 11. Aboriginal water values and uses 192 12. Environmental water 296 13. Recreational values 334 14. Managing water quality and salinity 356 15. Measuring and monitoring 366 References 382 Glossary 386 Acronyms and abbreviations 415 Appendix A Wimmera-Mallee Water Quality Management Plan 418 Appendix B Approaches to addressing risk in the Wimmera–Mallee Water Resource Plan surface water and groundwater areas 480 Appendix C Methods Report 660 Appendix D Consultation Report 700 Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning Contents Aboriginal acknowledgement iii Accredited text iv Index table v 1. Introduction: Victoria implementing the Murray-Darling Basin Plan 2 1.1 Objectives of the Basin Plan 5 1.2 Victoria’s approach to this water resource plan 6 1.2.1 A ‘water source’ basis 7 1.2.2 Victoria’s core obligation under the Basin Plan 7 1.2.3 Context and purpose 7 1.3 Accreditation and compliance 9 1.4 Consultation 11 1.4.1 Who else is involved? 11 1.4.2 Water security and risk analysis 12 1.5 Water resource plan review process 14 2. Wimmera-Mallee water resource plan area 16 2.1 Surface water boundaries 18 2.2 Groundwater boundaries 20 3. Landscape, people and economy 24 3.1 Climate and landscape 26 3.2 Traditional Owners 28 3.3 Population and towns 28 3.4 Recreation and community values 31 4. Water resources 32 4.1 Managing water resources: types of water resource supply systems 34 4.1.1 Unregulated surface water systems 34 4.1.2 Regulated surface water systems 35 4.1.3 Groundwater systems 35 4.2 Wimmera-Avon basin 36 4.2.1 Surface water 36 4.2.2 Groundwater resources 37 4.2.3 Salinity and water quality 37 4.3 Avoca basin 38 4.3.1 Surface water 38 4.3.2 Groundwater resources 39 4.3.3 Salinity and water quality 39 Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning 4.4 Mallee basin 39 4.4.1 Surface water 39 4.4.2 Groundwater resources 39 4.4.3 Salinity and water quality 40 4.5 Inter-basin transfers 41 4.5.1 Murray system resources 42 4.5.2 Goulburn system resources 42 4.5.3 Glenelg basin resources 42 4.5.4 Inter-basin transfers from the Wimmera-Mallee water resource plan area 42 4.6 Groundwater connection to other water resource plan areas 43 4.7 Wimmera-Mallee water resource plan area water supply systems 45 4.7.1 History 45 4.7.2 Murray Northern Mallee Pipeline system 47 4.7.3 Wimmera-Mallee Pipeline system 47 4.7.4 Pyrenees and East Grampians supply system 51 4.7.5 Groundwater-supplied systems 51 5. Victoria’s water institutions and functions 52 5.1 The Minister 55 5.2 Water corporations 55 5.3 Catchment management authorities 59 5.4 Victorian Environmental Water Holder 60 5.5 The storage manager 61 5.6 Issuing authorisations to take water 61 5.6.1 What is an authorisation to take 61 5.6.2 Limits on issuing new entitlements 62 5.7 Compliance and enforcement 63 5.7.1 Metering and monitoring compliance 64 5.7.2 Education programs 64 5.7.3 Compliance and enforcement strategy 65 5.7.4 Complementing MDBA enforcement 65 6. Victoria’s water entitlement framework and trade 68 6.1 Authorisations to take water 71 6.2 Statutory rights 75 6.2.1 Domestic and stock rights under section 8 75 6.2.2 Traditional Owner rights under section 8A 76 6.3 Water entitlements and supply arrangements 76 6.3.1 Bulk and environmental entitlements 77 Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning 6.3.2 The storage manager 78 6.3.3 Specific water entitlements in the Wimmera-Mallee supply system 79 6.4 Individual arrangement for access to water 83 6.4.1 Take and use licences 83 6.4.2 Registration licences 84 6.4.3 Water shares 84 6.5 Other supply arrangements 84 6.5.1 Urban water supply 84 6.5.2 Supply by agreement 84 6.6 Above cap and system water 84 6.6.1 Above Cap 85 6.6.2 System water 85 6.7 Specific water access arrangements under entitlements 85 6.7.1 Rosters, bans and restrictions 85 6.7.2 Water allocation 86 6.7.3 Carryover 86 6.8 Certainty of entitlements 87 6.9 Qualification of rights 91 6.10 The Victorian Water Register 91 6.11 Water markets 93 6.12 Basin Plan requirements for trade 93 6.13 Victorian trading policies and rules 93 6.14 Entitlement trade in the Wimmera-Mallee (groundwater) water resource plan area 94 6.14.1 Trades between two locations within a groundwater SDL resource unit 96 6.14.2 Trades between two groundwater SDL resource units 97 6.14.3 Trades between surface water and groundwater SDL resource units 98 7.