Volumes of water Different volumes of water are referred to in this document. Volumes of water are measured in litres. One litre 1 litre 1 litre 1 L One thousand litres 1,000 litres 1 kilolitre 1 KL One million litres 1,000,000 litres 1 megalitre 1 ML One billion litres 1,000,000,000 litres 1 gigalitre 1 GL Published by the Victorian Government Department of Sustainability and Environment Melbourne, November 2011 © The State of Victoria Department of Sustainability and Environment 2011 This publication is copyright. No part may be reproduced by any process except in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968. Authorised by the Victorian Government, 8 Nicholson Street, East Melbourne. 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Call us via the National Relay Service on 133 677 or visit www.relayservice.com.au This document is also available in PDF format on the internet at www.water.vic.gov.au Cover images Clockwise from left: Wilsons Promontory (Tourism Victoria), Inverloch (DSE), Metung (Tourism Victoria), Watering potatoes (Thordale VFF), Strzelecki farmland, DSE. Gippsland Region Sustainable Water Strategy i Foreword Consultative Committee Chair’s foreword It has been my pleasure to represent the Gippsland As a Gippslander, I was proud of the quality of the community as chair of the Consultative Committee submissions received by the Consultative Committee responsible for guiding the development of this in response to both the Discussion Paper and the Draft Strategy. It has been developed over almost three years Strategy. The Consultative Committee considered all with the help of farmers, industry, urban water users, the submissions made in response to the Draft Strategy councils, local community members and environmental in detail, and discussed the actions and policies in the groups across our region. Strategy at great length. As representatives of different interest groups within Gippsland, the members of the Gippsland is home to a wide range of industries, Consultative Committee often held opposing views businesses and communities. Our particular needs from each other, but they shared a commitment to are very different, but we all rely on secure supplies of fairness that resulted in a very high level of agreement water. This fifty year Strategy represents the culmination on the final actions and policies. I thank all members of the Consultative Committee’s efforts to ensure that of the committee and the support team from the Gippsland’s water resources are managed sustainably, Department of Sustainability and Environment for their so that the benefits we receive from them can continue hard work, commitment and the way they approached into the future. the task. In directing the actions and policies that form this On behalf of the Consultative Committee, I would like Strategy, the committee members focused on giving to thank all those who made submissions, as well water users greater opportunities to manage their as those who attended the public meetings held water needs. A robust review of these commitments is across Gippsland during the course of the Strategy planned after the first 10 years. The Strategy provides development. I would also like to thank those who flexibility to deal with uncertainties about future climate contributed to the working groups that reported conditions or economic circumstances. to the Consultative Committee. Implementation of the Strategy over time will involve many individuals and organisations across Gippsland. The responsibility for delivering many of the actions sits primarily with a range of Government bodies, including Catchment Management Authorities, Urban Water Corporations, Southern Rural Water, the Department of Primary Industries and the Department of Sustainability and Environment. Llew Vale OAM Chair, Gippsland Region Sustainable Water Strategy Consultative Committee ii Gippsland Region Sustainable Water Strategy Table of contents Part One – Introductory chapters Foreword ii Chapter 1 – What is the Gippsland Region 1 Executive Summary iv Sustainable Water Strategy? 1 Part One 1 1.1 Vision and guiding principles 2 Part Two 33 1.2 Role of the regional sustainable water strategies 3 Part Three 97 1.3 The Gippsland Region 3 Delivering the Strategy 169 1.4 Development of the Strategy 5 1.5 Implementation of the Strategy 9 2 Appendices 172 Chapter 2 – Gippsland’s water resources now, 15 Appendix 1 – Independent Panel 172 and in the future Report on the Draft Strategy 2.1 Overview of water resources for Gippsland 16 Appendix 2 – List of strategy 175 2.2 Drought, climate risk and variability 21 actions and policies 2.3 Other pressures on water resources 28 Appendix 3 – Surface water and 177 3 groundwater availability and use Part Two – Gippsland-wide actions Appendix 4 – Key influences on 181 Chapter 3 – Protecting Gippsland’s water future 33 Victoria’s climate 3.1 Sharing water resources – finding the right balance 34 Appendix 5 – Summary of water 183 3.2 Providing increased certainty for all water users 41 supply-demand strategies 3.3 Strengthening the water entitlement framework 49 4 Appendix 6 – Summary of 190 Regional River Health strategies Chapter 4 – Promoting sustainable use of water 61 4.1 Promoting the sustainable development of water resources 62 Further information 193 4.2 Future consumptive water needs of industry, agriculture and 74 communities Acronyms 194 4.3 Considering the views of Gippsland’s Traditional Owners when 81 5 Glossary 195 managing catchments End notes 199 4.4 Protecting Gippsland’s waterways, aquifers, wetlands 85 and estuaries Associated Technical Papers available at www.water.vic.gov.au/ Part Three – Actions specific to areas within Gippsland programs/sws/gippsland Chapter 5 – South Gippsland 97 6 5.1 Water availability and use 98 5.2 Promoting sustainable use of water 101 5.3 Protecting waterways, aquifers, wetlands and estuaries 110 Chapter 6 – Catchments of the Gippsland Lakes 113 6.1 Water availability and use 114 7 6.2 Promoting sustainable use of water 120 6.3 Managing waterways, aquifers, wetlands and estuaries 142 Chapter 7 – Far East Gippsland 151 7.1 Water availability and use 152 7.2 Promoting sustainable use of water 155 8 7.3 Protecting waterways, aquifers, wetlands and estuaries 161 Chapter 8 – Delivering the Strategy 169 8.1 Implementation responsibilities 169 8.2 Reviewing the Strategy 170 8.3 Community involvement in water resource planning 171 Appendices 172 Appendices Table of contents iii Executive summary Executive Summary The Gippsland Region Sustainable Water Strategy identifies the challenges for water management and opportunities to secure the region’s water supplies for the next 50 years. It outlines policies and actions to ensure sustainable water supply and management over that period. Consultation with regional water managers and the The region boasts the largest estuarine lagoon system community helped to develop the policies and actions in Australia, the Gippsland Lakes – which is a major in this Strategy. There were nine public meetings with tourism destination. Gippsland has some of Victoria’s local communities and two public comment periods best preserved natural environments including forested that drew more than 150 submissions to a Discussion catchments and heritage-listed rivers that are still in Paper, released in July 2009, and the Draft Strategy, their near pristine condition. It also contains Victoria’s which was released for comment in September 2010. largest free-flowing river, the Mitchell, with upper These comments helped to determine how best to reaches of high environmental significance. share water between agriculture, towns, industry This Strategy considers: and the environment, and improve water resource management in the region. • Part One – pressures and risks to water availability. • Part Two – policies and actions that apply to all The Gippsland Region entitlement holders in response to challenges and The Gippsland Region, as considered in this Strategy, opportunities. spans the area south of the Great Dividing Range in • Part Three – how these policies and actions will be Victoria from the Strzelecki Ranges and the Latrobe applied in: catchment to the New South Wales border in the east – South Gippsland; (see Figure E1). The region’s water resources support – Catchments of the Gippsland Lakes; and important industries such as electricity generation, – Far East Gippsland. oil and gas production, dairying, fisheries, tourism, horticulture and forestry plantations. Figure E1 Areas considered in this Strategy iv Gippsland Region Sustainable Water Strategy Executive summary Gippsland Region sustainable water strategy > 2.5 GL in the Tarwin catchment, 500 ML in the Powlett catchment, 300 ML in each of The proposals in the Gippsland Region Sustainable the