The Victorian Environmental Watering Program Denis Flett, Chairperson, Victorian Environmental Water Holder

1. Wednesday 10 September 2014

2. The Victorian environmental
watering program
Denis Flett
Chairperson
Victorian Environmental Water Holder

3. Overview
• What is environmental watering?
• Why is it important?
• The Victorian Environmental Water Holder
• Short history and role
• The Victorian environmental watering program
• Partnerships
• Planning
• Challenges
• Shared benefits of environmental watering
• Why and how

4. What is environmental watering?
• Releasing environmental water from reservoirs
when necessary to improve the health of
waterways
• The aim is to help plants and creatures
survive, feed and breed
• Environmental water releases mimic some of
the flows that would have occurred naturally
before major reservoirs were built

5. Why healthy waterways matter

6. Short history of environmental water
1997 Murray-Darling Basin Cap on diversions introduced
2003 The Living Murray program introduced (to recover 500GL for the River
Murray)
2005 Victorian Environmental Water Reserve and regional sustainable water
strategies introduced
2007 Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder established
2011 Victorian Environmental Water Holder established on 1 July 2011

8. Role of the VEWH
• Plan for seasonal watering (collate CMA planning)
• Liaise with other water holders to ensure coordinated use
of all environmental water
• Make decisions on watering actions, carryover and trade
• Authorise waterway managers to implement watering
• Review, learn, report, adapt

9. Environmental watering partnerships
Werribee Estuary

10. 10
Where is our environmental water?
Melbourne

11. Facts and figures
• VEWH is funded by the ‘Environmental Contribution’
(levy on water corporations for sustainable water management initiatives)
• 630 GL approximate long-term average water availability
• Total market value of ~$1 billion
• Number of priority watering actions scoped each year:
Watering year 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15
Priority watering actions scoped 109 122 222 233
Fully or partially achieved 90% 91% 81% ?

12. Environmental water planning
1. Identify environmental values and objectives!
2. Identify long-term watering requirements
3. Identify watering actions for a range of scenarios
each year in each system (Scenario planning)
4. Be ‘implementation ready’
5. Make watering decisions as conditions unfold

13. 13
Planning framework in Victoria
/other watering plans

14. A challenge for environmental watering:
Maximise environmental outcomes
while optimising shared benefits

15. Shared benefits – what have we done so far?
CMAs incorporate different interests in regional planning
Examples of ‘tweaked’ watering actions for
shared benefit:
 Timing of freshes in the Goulburn River tweaked
for better recreational fishing outcomes in Murray
cod season
 Timing of Mallee wetland waterings adapted to
manage salinity and water quality

16. Shared benefits – how can we improve?
We would like to hear from you.
Focus questions this afternoon:
• Considering shared benefits of environmental watering in
Victoria: What might success look like? Describe examples if
they exist already
• What actions could we take to support the achievement of shared
benefits of environmental watering in Victoria?
• If you were to choose the major priorities for the Victorian
environmental watering program in the next five years, what
would they be and why?