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National Water Account 2019

Melbourne: Water management

  • Key legislation for managing surface water in the Melbourne region is Victoria's Water Act 1989 and Victoria's Water Industry Act 1994.
  • Victoria's water entitlement and allocation framework provides the basis for the management of Melbourne's water resources and governs the way water can be used.

 

For further information on the region's water management scroll down this page or click on the links below:

 

Surface water and groundwater management

Water legislation

  • Key legislation for managing water in the Melbourne region is Victoria's Water Act 1989 (the Water Act) and Victoria's Water Industry Act 1994 (the Water Industry Act).
  • The Water Act establishes the water entitlement framework for the allocation and management of the State's water resources. It sets out the functions, powers, and governance for Victoria's rural and regional water authorities and Melbourne Water.
  • Under the Water Act, the Victorian Government retains the overall right to use and control flows of Victoria's surface water and to issue entitlements. It also provides direction on groundwater management, such as licensing of bore construction and groundwater extraction.
  • The Water Industry Act governs how Government-owned retail and regional water authorities are licensed and operate.

 

Water management plans

  • Victoria's water entitlement and allocation framework takes a whole-of-system approach to water management in that it considers all water resources (surface water and groundwater) for both consumptive and environmental purposes at all phases of the water cycle.
  • The framework includes bulk entitlements authorising abstraction of water for consumptive use, urban and rural water authority drought response plans, urban water authority demand strategies, streamflow management plans, and groundwater management plans for water use in declared water supply protection areas.
  • Planning documents that influence water management in the Melbourne region include the Central region sustainable water strategy, the Melbourne Water System Strategy, and Water for a future-thriving Melbourne, which outline key strategies for managing the region's water resources and water needs into the future.

 

Environmental water management

  • The Victorian Environmental Water Holder is an independent statutory body responsible for making decisions on the best use of Victoria's environmental water entitlements.
  • There are currently three environmental entitlements in the Melbourne region: Consolidated Yarra Environmental Entitlement 2006 (revised in 2014), Tarago and Bunyip Rivers Environmental Entitlement 2009 (revised in 2014), and Werribee River Environmental Entitlement 2011.
  • The environment's share of water is called the 'Environmental Water Reserve', which is made up of actual entitlements for the environment, water set aside as part of conditions associated with consumptive water entitlements, and above—cap water left over after diversion limits are reached.
  • Information on environmental water for the 2018–19 year is available in the Water access and use note in 'Supporting information'.
  • Streamflow management plans are also in place within the Melbourne region, including Hoddles Creek, Little Yarra and Don rivers, Olinda Creek, Plenty River, Stringybark Creek, Pauls, Steels and Dixon creeks, and Woori Yallock Creek. These plans are managed by Melbourne Water.
  • Local management rules are available for several areas within the region that have a level of demand lower than water supply protection areas.

 

Cultural water management

  • The Victorian Aboriginal Heritage Act 2006 recognises the Aboriginal people as traditional owners of the land.
  • The waterways within the Melbourne region are important to cultural beliefs of traditional owners including the Wurundjeri, Wathaurung, and Bunurong people.
  • The Water Act recognises the right to take water under the Victorian Traditional Owner Settlement Act 2010. Members of a traditional owner group with a natural resource agreement can take and use water from a waterway or bore for traditional, non-commercial purposes.

 

Organisations responsible for water management

  • Organisations responsible for water management in the region are shown below.

 

Table R1 Organisations responsible for water management
OrganisationResponsibilityMajor storages operated within the region
Department of Environment, Land, Water, and Planning (Vic)
  • providing advice on policy, performance, and compliance to the Victorian Minister for Water
  • implementing Government policy
  • liaison between the Victorian Minister for Water and each water business.
n/a
Melbourne Water
  • supplying bulk water to:

– City West Water
– South East Water
– Yarra Valley Water
– Western Water
– water authorities outside the Melbourne region

  • providing sewerage collection and treatment to:

– City West Water
– South East Water
– Yarra Valley Water

  • operating the Eastern Treatment Plant and the Western Treatment Plant
  • supplying recycled water to a number of authorities for a variety of uses
  • operating the North–South and Thomson–Yarra pipelines
  • administering diversion licences for the Yarra and Maribyrnong catchments
  • undertaking waterways services, including flood and drainage management, waterway management, and water quality protection for the greater Melbourne metropolitan area.
  • Cardinia
  • Greenvale
  • Maroondah
  • O'Shannassy
  • Silvan
  • Sugarloaf
  • Tarago
  • Thomson
  • Upper Yarra
  • Yan Yean
Yarra Valley Water
  • providing water supply and sewerage services to 1.9 million people (over 800,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers) in the northern and eastern suburbs of Melbourne
  • operating nine local sewage treatment plants.
n/a
South East Water
  • providing water and sewerage services to 1.75 million people (approximately 750,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers) in the southeast of Melbourne
  • operating eight sewage treatment plants.
n/a
City West Water
  • providing water and sewerage services to over 1.0 million people (approximately 450,000 residential and business customers) in Melbourne's central business district and its inner and western suburbs
  • operating Altona sewage treatment plant.
n/a
Southern Rural Water
  • supplying water to irrigation districts at Bacchus Marsh and Werribee
  • supplying bulk water from Rosslynne, Pykes Creek, and Merrimu reservoirs to Western Water for supply to Myrniong, Melton, Macedon, Mt Macedon, Sunbury, Gisborne, and Bacchus Marsh
  • managing groundwater extraction licences in the Melbourne region
  • administering take-and-use licences (surface and groundwater) within the Bunyip catchment.
  • Melton
  • Merrimu
  • Pykes Creek
  • Rosslynne
Western Water
  • providing water, recycled water, and sewerage services to a population of over 150,000 in towns outside metropolitan Melbourne, and some that are outside the region
  • operating seven recycled water treatment plants
  • operating seven drinking water treatment plants.
Several minor storages
Gippsland Water
  • supplying water to the towns of Drouin and Neerim South in the east of the region under its entitlement to water within Tarago Reservoir and also supplying water to some urban areas outside the Melbourne region
  • operating a wastewater treatment plant at Drouin.
n/a
Central Highlands Water
  • providing urban supply to the towns of Blackwood and Ballan in the west of the region
  • operating a water treatment plant at Blackwood and a wastewater treatment plant at Ballan.
n/a
Port Phillip and Westernport Catchment Management Authority
  • coordinated catchment management within the Melbourne region
  • providing leadership to a range of stakeholder groups to deliver integrated catchment management and sustainability of the region's catchments. These groups include Melbourne Water, government agencies, local government, and community groups.
n/a