South Gippsland

This ongoing action contributes to operating arrangements for Gippsland’s surface water and groundwater systems, improving the transparency of their management.

Existing operating arrangements were documented on the Southern Rural Water website and ministerial guidelines were released for new and to amend existing local management plans.

See action 3.4 for more information about this action.

Action status (5-yearly assessment 2018): Achieved and ongoing

Delivery period: Ongoing

This action is to revise the caps on the amount of unallocated surface water available for winter-fill diversions in South Gippsland’s catchments. The winter-fill sustainable diversion limits were amended to account for reduced volumes of additional available water. Rural water corporations are managing the revised SDLs.

The PCV Surface Water Order 2010 will be updated to reflect these changes. The amount of water available for new entitlements in South Gippsland’s catchments is to be reviewed as part of the GRSWS review process.

The Progress report considered that this action is progressing. The 2010 order applies to (PCV orders): Thomson, Latrobe, Bunyip, Yarra, Maribyrnong, Werribee, Moorabool, Barwon, Otway Coast River Basins.

The department plans to update the 2010 PCV Surface Water Order.

Action status (5-yearly assessment 2018): Partly or not yet achieved

Delivery period: NA

This action contributed to effective and comprehensive water supply and demand planning to ensure the reliability of supply for urban and industrial users.

South Gippsland Water developed a water supply-demand strategy in December 2011 and updated it in April 2017 as the South Gippsland Water Urban Water Strategy, in line with the WfV requirement for Victoria’s urban water corporations to develop urban water strategies, which provide detailed, 50-year forecasts of demand, and supply options.

Urban water strategies are to be based on the government’s climate guidelines, which set out essential data and advice about how to assess the impact of climate change on water supplies.

The strategy is one of several South Gippsland Water long-term plans: others address drought response, financial expenditure, asset management, water quality and wastewater.

The main change in the updated strategy reflects the connection of several of South Gippsland Water’s supply systems to the Melbourne supply system, which reduces the region’s future supply risk from population growth, climate change and land use changes.

Action status (5-yearly assessment 2018): Achieved and completed

Delivery period: 2011, 2017

This ongoing action contributes to the protection and improvements to the condition of South Gippsland’s inlets and estuaries. There are wetlands in these inlets and estuaries which are listed as of national importance, including the Corner Inlet Ramsar wetland.

Part D of the West Gippsland Regional Waterway Strategy details the works program to protect these inlets and estuaries, and the part includes the Corner Inlet Ramsar Site Management Plan.

The Corner Inlet Water Quality Improvement Plan 2013 also provides direction for protection of and improvements at the inlet.

The West Gippsland CMA works with project partners to implement priority actions in both plans, with state and federal funding, and it reports progress on the works it undertakes each year in its biannual project progress report.

The CMA has also worked with the EPA and the department to include load targets consistent with the water-quality improvement plan in the draft revised SEPP.

Action status (5-yearly assessment 2018): Achieved and ongoing

Delivery period: Ongoing