31 Melbourne Water.Pdf 2.54 Mb

Figure 1 – Port Phillip and Westernport Region 4 Figure 2 shows the waterways and drainage assets managed by Melbourne Water within the Region. Figure 2 – Melbourne Water’s waterways and drainage system How is Melbourne Water funded to undertake Waterways and Drainage Services? Melbourne Water’s Waterways Group manages rivers and creeks and major drainage systems throughout the Port Phillip and Westernport region. The Group’s activities are funded via a Waterways and Drainage Charge which is levied on customers in the region. The charge appears on customer’s water bills and is collected by seven water retailers within the region on our behalf from around 1.8 million property owners across the region. The Essential Services Commission (ESC) regulates Melbourne Water’s prices for waterways and drainage services and endorses the service commitments. The Waterways Operating Charter supports pricing submissions to the ESC. Every five years, Melbourne Water must submit a Water Plan to the ESC outlining what activities we propose to undertake to manage waterways and drainage services across the region and the cost associated with this. The ESC then reviews the proposed programs and provides a determination on what price will be set for the five year period. There is a Waterways and Drainage charge for properties within the urban growth boundary and a Waterways (only) charge for properties outside the urban growth boundary UGB). Figure 3 shows the extent of the current urban growth boundary. This arrangement reflects the different level of services provided to urban and rural 5 communities. Properties outside the UGB are considered rural and will receive a charge for waterways services only. Properties within the UGB generally benefit from our drainage and flood protection services as well as waterway management services. Most of the significant pipe and channel drainage systems benefit properties with the UGB. Figure 3 – Port Phillip and Westernport Region – Urban Growth Boundary An exception to the above charging arrangements is the two special precept areas where charges are based on specific levels of service – Patterson Lakes Precept Area and Koo Wee Rup – Longwarry Flood Protection District (KWRLFPD). Further details of the KWRLFPD arrangements will be provided later on in this submission, as it is in affect a rural drainage scheme. Funding for the five-year period from 2008/09 to 2012/13 totals some $844 million. This is allocated to the following key activities: $11.6 million - community and stakeholder $1751 million – managing waterway improvement $9.8 million – managing environmental flows $87.32 million – managing water quality $179.63 million – flood and drainage management $380.54 million – managing urban growth 1 Includes funding for monitoring, investigations and research projects and some waterways community projects such as stream frontage management grants 2 Includes funding for monitoring, investigations and research projects 3 Includes funding for monitoring, investigations and research projects 4 Mainly funded by development industry rather than through waterways and drainage charge 6 Waterways and Drainage Services Provided in the Region Throughout the region Melbourne Water has adopted a holistic approach to the delivery of our waterway, drainage and floodplain management services. The services include: Protecting the ecological health and amenity of waterways Helping achieve water quality objectives Responding to pollution and blue-green algae outbreaks on waterways and water bodies Planning and delivery of environmental water entitlements Managing water diversions from rivers and creeks Issuing stormwater licences for extraction from drainage systems Operating a flood monitoring network on major rivers and creeks Monitoring, investigating and researching particular issues to support our decisions and the delivery of our programs Educating and engaging our customers and the community in the work we do Providing, managing and/or maintaining structures that control the path, quantity and quality of stormwater, such as constructed wetlands and new drainage infrastructure to service urban development. Key strategies that currently guide our investment priorities across the region are the Regional River Health Strategy, Waterways Water Quality Strategy and the Flood Management and Drainage Strategy. Drainage and Floodplain Management within the Region We are generally responsible for managing major drainage systems that carry stormwater to waterways and bays and have catchment areas greater than 60 hectares. Drainage in catchments smaller than 60 hectares is generally managed by local councils. However other organisations such as road and rail authorities do have responsibility for management of some stormwater assets. Floods are natural events that benefit some ecosystems but can also negatively affect people and property. Flood risks and impacts to people and property are managed through three key activities – prevention, response and recovery – delivered collaboratively by several agencies with flood management responsibilities. Specific services provided by Melbourne Water throughout the region include: Investigations to understand the nature and extent of flooding and floodplains Flood mitigation works program to reduce the risks associated with flood events Operating a network of rainfall and river level stations to provide a flood prediction service for major rivers and creeks within the region Working with others through partnerships to build their capacity and educate the community in regard to flood risk Maintenance and renewal of the extensive network of built and natural drainage and waterways assets Maintenance and renewal of the built assets in the Precept Areas. 7 Figure 4 shows the Region which has a heavily urbanised central core with an extensive rural component elsewhere. The figure also shows the abutting Catchment Management Authorities. Figure 4 - Port Phillip and Westernport Region, Urban and Rural areas Koo Wee Rup – Longwarry Flood Protection District; Background / History For a more detailed history of the Koo Wee Rup swamp in terms of drainage and agricultural production please refer to the book ‘From Swampland to Farmland – A History of the Koo Wee Rup Flood Protection District’ by David Roberts. The book with its maps, diagrams and photographs explains the formation of the former swamp and describes the efforts and problems associated with its drainage as well as the development of the area as a farming district. The Koo Wee Rup – Longwarry Flood Protection District (KWRLFPD) lies in what was originally known as the Koo Wee Rup Swamp. In the 1800s the Koo Wee Rup swamp extended over an area of some 40,000 hectares. It was covered by dense stands of swamp paperbark, reeds and bullrushes and provided a natural barrier between Melbourne and West Gippsland. The swamp was fed by a catchment of 220,800 hectares in area that included three major drainage basins of Cardinia Creek, Bunyip River and Lang Lang River catchments. Figure 5 below shows the extent of the KWRLFPD along with the major rivers, creeks and constructed drains. 8 Figure 5 – Koo Wee Rup – Longwarry Flood Protection District 9 Prior to European settlement, the Yallock Creek formed the only permanent outlet from the swamp into Western Port. In the late 1800s and early 1900s the swamp was slowly drained by the construction of over 500 kilometres of major and minor channels to convey stream flows from upstream catchments and local runoff through the swamp to Western Port. The district has a long history of flooding from the early years of the drainage works with major flooding occurring in April 1901, June 1911, October 1923, August 1924, December 1934, April 1935 and October 1937. The December 1934 flood resulted in flows never seen before or since with great loss of property and stock. Over 1000 people were made homeless and the Koo Wee Rup hotel had almost two metres of water in it. A Royal Commission was established in 1936 that noted the deficiencies in the drainage system and recommended that substantial improvements be made. The works involved alternations (eg levee construction, sediment removal) and extensions to main drains. As part of the improvements recommended by the Royal Commission construction of the Yallock Outfall was undertaken in the 1950s. The Outfall splits the flow of the Bunyip Main Drain at Cora Lynn. The completion of the spillway at Cora Lynn in 1962 was done to divert floodwaters into the Yallock Outfall and so protect the township of Koo Wee Rup. The spillway was the last major work to take place in the KWRLFPD until the Bunyip Main Drain rehabilitation works commenced in 2001 with the last stage of these works currently being constructed. The intent of these works is to renew the levee banks and increase the flow carrying capacity of the main drain to a 15 year ARI event. Flooding in the district results from not only over topping of the main carrier levees but also as a result of floodwaters from the local catchments exceeding the capacity of the local drainage system. Flooding within the district is characterised by large areas of water pondage, particularly behind raised roads and levees. Due to the extremely flat nature of the terrain, even relatively minor events can inundate large areas within the district. KWRLFPD Management Arrangements The floods of 1911 severely impacted the lives of many settlers, which caused much discontent between them and the Public Works

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