Victoria Prepared For Dry Conditions

Minister for Environment, Climate Change and Water Lisa Neville today released a drought preparedness statement, detailing the current measures in place and options available to secure water supplies for towns and regions across Victoria.

While dry conditions are continuing to have a serious impact in parts of the State, Victoria is well placed to cope through the initiatives put in place during and after the millennium drought.

These initiatives range from water entitlement and planning reforms to recycling projects, water saving measures and the Victorian water grid – including the desalination plant, the Goldfields Superpipe and the Wimmera Mallee Pipeline.

To further boost our water supplies, the Andrew Labor Government is working on a range of infrastructure projects, underway or being considered across the State, to further develop the grid, including:

• The extension of the Wimmera Mallee Pipeline to Wartook, Pella and Quambatook, and the south west Loddon Rural Water Supply Project;
• A $20 million Victorian Government commitment to the Macalister Irrigation District, pending Federal government support and the passage of the Port of Melbourne lease legislation; and
• Committing to leave up to 75 gigalitres held by Melbourne’s retail water corporations in the north to make more water available to irrigators under continued dry conditions.

As well as these existing projects, the Labor Government announced today an extra 3,300 megalitres of water in Lake Merrimu west of Melbourne would be made available in the Werribee system to boost supplies for irrigators, Melton and environmental flows in the Werribee River.

A number of regional projects are also detailed in the Statement including bringing forward the Colac Geelong pipeline, improving water efficiency on farms, investigating greater use of groundwater, introducing water restrictions and where possible using the water grid to supplement town supplies. This final option is likely in towns in Western Water’s area including Lancefield and Romsey, which can access the Melbourne system through the water grid.

Melbourne’s storages are about 8 per cent lower than this time last year but remain relatively healthy at about 70 per cent capacity and water restrictions aren’t expected over coming months.

Quotes attributable to Minister for Environment, Climate Change and Water Lisa Neville

“After the millennium drought we learnt the importance of planning and preparing for dry conditions as we face the challenges of the future including climate change, rainfall variability and growth in population and demand.”

“We are working to protect the environmental, recreational and social values of our water resources in the face of the dry conditions.”

“We are also developing the Victorian Water Plan which will recognise the needs of the agricultural sector, towns, cities and their businesses and economies, and the needs of the environment and recreational users.”