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Draft Wimmera Mallee Water Resource Plan Summary Report © the State of Victoria Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning 2017

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Draft Wimmera Mallee Water Resource Plan Summary Report © the State of Victoria Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning 2017 Draft Wimmera Mallee Water Resource Plan Summary Report © The State of Victoria Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning 2017 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 creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Printed by Finsbury Green ISBN 978-1-76047-578-9 (Print) ISBN 978-1-76047-579-6 (pdf/online) 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 136 186, or 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 Wimmera Mallee Water Resource Plan | 3 Aboriginal acknowledgement Victoria proudly acknowledges Victoria’s Aboriginal community and their rich culture and pays respect to their Elders past and present. We acknowledge Aboriginal people as Australia’s first peoples, and as the Traditional Owners and custodians of the land and water on which we rely. We recognise and value the ongoing contribution of Aboriginal people and communities to Victorian life and how this enriches us. We recognise that Aboriginal cultures and communities are diverse. We acknowledge that the land is of spiritual, cultural and economic importance to Aboriginal people. We also recognise the intrinsic connection of Traditional Owners to Country and acknowledge their contribution to the management of land, water, and the natural landscape. We embrace the spirit of reconciliation, working towards the equality of outcomes and ensuring an equal voice. We have distinct obligations to Traditional Owner groups that are paramount in our responsibilities in managing Victoria’s resources. Figure 1. Sheep Hill Art Silo depicting local Aboriginal community members by Vic Pics. 4 | Wimmera Mallee Water Resource Plan Context For more on the Basin Key points Plan, see Chapter 1 of the Draft • This summary document provides a snapshot • Victoria’s existing water management Wimmera‑Mallee WRP: of the Draft Wimmera-Mallee Water Resource framework meets these requirements, as Comprehensive Report. Plan: Comprehensive Report. demonstrated in the Comprehensive Report. • All Basin states are required to prepare water • Victoria has met its Basin Plan water recovery resource plans (WRP) showing how they will targets in the Wimmera-Mallee region. meet their obligations under Chapter 10 of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan (the Basin Plan). Victorian Irrigation Act 1886 (Vic) exclusively vests the Timeline First major diversion right to the use, flow and Flooding in the Murray of water from the the control of water in any and Wimmera Rivers Wimmera River watercourse in the State Pre contact 1856 Mid 1880s 1886 1895 ‑ 1902 1903 1906 1909 Archaeological evidence reveals a Federation drought State Rivers and connection extending beyond 40,000 Water Supply years. A Creation Story tells how Purra, Commission of an Ancestral Kangaroo Spirit, marked Water shortages and Victoria takes control the route of Barbarton (Wimmera crop failures result in the of all water supplies to River) from Stawell north to construction of the region under Ngelbakutya (Lake Albacutya) and Lake Lonsdale Water Act 1905 Gooro (Lake Hindmarsh). Wirringer (Wirrengren Plain), in the middle of this The first water storage desert, was an important meeting Wartook Reservoir is built place for people throughout this on the MacKenzie River region and beyond. by the Wimmera Shire Wimmera Mallee Water Resource Plan | 5 The Murray-Darling Basin Plan What is the Wimmera-Mallee WRP and • The planning processes for environmental water what does it do? and water quality. The Murray-Darling Basin covers northern Victoria • Strategies for managing risk, including drought as well as parts of Queensland, New South Wales, The Basin Plan requires states to prepare WRPs to and climate change. South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory. demonstrate how they will comply with reduced • How farm dams, plantations and other The Basin Plan sets sustainable diversion limits limits on water that can be taken for consumptive interception activities will be managed. (SDLs) on how much water can be taken from rivers use by 2019. The draft Wimmera-Mallee WRP is and aquifers. The surface water SDLs are set to Victoria’s first WRP plan showing how we meet the The Murray-Darling Basin Authority will assess recover an annual average of 2,750 gigalitres (GL) of obligations set out in chapter 10 of the Basin Plan. Victoria’s WRPs and accreditation is required by the water across the Basin to return to the environment. It explains: Commonwealth Minister for Water. Victoria’s share of this is 1,075 GL. • How much water can be taken for farms, towns, industry and recreation. • How Aboriginal water objectives and outcomes have been considered to date and how they will be developed into the future Groundwater Act 1969 (Vic) passed to First River Murray extend principle of Agreement government control First edition of the State signed between of waters to ground Environment Protection Vic, NSW and SA waters Policy: Waters of Victoria 1906 1914 1931 1958 1967 1969 1970 1988 1991 Large expansion: Water Act 1958 The final storage Environment Protection Water trading commenced (Vic) and River to be Act 1970 (Vic) passed to in Victoria - Unofficial The extent of channel system Improvement Act constructed, control discharges to trades occurred previously increases rapidly from 1,600 km to 1958 (Vic) Lake Bellfield on land, water and air but regulations under the 9,600 km. New channels include the Fyans Creek in Water Act 1989 now Glenelg River Diversion Channel, the Grampians is allowed permanent trades which was constructed in 1930 to completed divert Upper Glenelg winter flows into the Wimmera storages. Fyans, Taylors and Pine lakes were constructed during this period 6 | Wimmera Mallee Water Resource Plan What effect will the Wimmera-Mallee WRP have on me? One of Victoria’s core obligations in the Wimmera- Victoria has a well-established water management The existing strength of Victoria’s water Mallee WRP area was to recover an average of 23 GL framework. This draft Wimmera-Mallee WRP brings management framework together with Water for of surface water a year for the environment. This together existing arrangements provided under state Victoria, means that the draft WRP proposes no water was recovered through the sale of 28 GL of legislation, such as bulk and environmental immediate changes to how water is managed in the Wimmera irrigator entitlements (including losses) to entitlements, groundwater management plans and region. The risk assessment identifies areas requiring the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder as sustainable water strategies, to show how we will continued or additional work, including the part of closing the Wimmera Irrigation District in meet our Basin Plan obligations. identification of Aboriginal water values and cultural 2013. As a result no additional water recovery is values and regular updates to existing long-term required and the WRP will have no impact on existing water strategies. entitlement holders. See ‘Responding to water resource challenges’ below for more. Catchment and Land Protection Governments Murray Lower National Water Initiative signed. Act 1994 (Vic). Sets up Catchment implement the first Darling Rivers Basin Salinity Management Framework cap on the volume of Indigenous Management GWMWater is including a statewide Council surface water Nations group Strategy adopted established as a and 10 Regional Catchment and diverted from the is formed including end of government-owned Land Protection Boards Murray-Darling Basin valley targets statutory corporation 1992 1993 1994 1995 1997 1998 2002 2003 2004 • Construction of Northern Native Title Council of Australian Completion of Living Murray Securing Our Water Our Mallee Pipeline starts Act 1993 (Cth) Governments adopts first edition of initiative Future Together is • Murray-Darling Basin a strategic framework all Regional commences released by the Commission replaces the for reform of the Catchment to recover Victorian Government. River Murray Commission Australian water Strategies water for the This White Paper industry environment recognises the need to • Wimmera River respond to what was by Catchment Coordination this time the eighth Group put out draft year of drought strategy Millennium drought Wimmera Mallee Water Resource Plan | 7 The Victorian Government is seeking Have feedback from the community on the draft Wimmera-Mallee WRP. Your your views and ideas are important and the Draft Comprehensive Report will be open for public consultation and submissions until 18 August 2017. say! For more information visit www.engage.vic.gov.au. Taylors Lake by GWMWater
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