The review was announced in December 2019 and started in early 2020 with the aim of helping entitlement holders to improve water-use efficiency, water trading and water access for domestic and stock use.
The review’s project steering group conducted an in-depth review of system operations, climatic conditions and user behaviour in the river system to understand the challenges facing entitlement holders, including declining water availability and variable conditions.
The group then recommended a range of actions to improve water management in the Broken River system, following consultation with the community on draft proposals.
It said the principal priority was a feasibility study into system reconfiguration options, as years of low water allocations and inconsistent inflows into the storage of Lake Nillahcootie were expected to continue.
Other recommendations were:
- Clear information should be made available that describes the current reliability of water entitlements in the Broken system, including variability between seasons and potential climate change impacts over the long-term.
- Information about operational actions that Goulburn-Murray Water takes to maximise the efficiency of the regulated Broken system should be made available.
- Individual Broken River diverters should be supported to opportunistically upgrade their water supply arrangements or to connect to other water systems (that is, the Goulburn or Murray systems) if opportunities arise to improve the resilience of supply.
- A system reserve that supports access to water by diverters for critical domestic and stock needs in dry conditions should be investigated to support river diverters to manage through years with very low allocations.
- Sustainable irrigation practices should be promoted in the Broken system to support diverters to make the most of available water and understand their options for managing through dry conditions.
- Effective support should be introduced for water trade in the Broken system to make sure people can make the most of available water within the catchment.
Seven water entitlement holders were represented in the project steering group.
This included representation from the chair of the Goulburn-Broken Water Services Committee and agencies including G-MW, North East Water and Goulburn Broken Catchment Management Authority.
“I want to thank the members of the project steering group for their hard work to make sure this river system review was rigorous and supported by the community,” Ms Shing said.
“We will work with the community to deliver on the recommendations to ensure we can make the most of the available water now and into the future.”
To view the project steering group’s final report and supporting documents, visit: engage.vic.gov.au/broken-review
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