Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, Victoria

DELWP manages Victoria’s water resources in partnership with a network of government agencies and water authorities. We manage groundwater, catchments and waterways, infrastructure, water saving and re-use projects, flood management, governance and water legislation.

Quality water sources are essential for the health of our cities. Victoria has faced water scarcity and can share what it has learnt to future-proof water for urban areas, industry and agriculture.

Victoria is a recognised leader in managing water scarcity and has some of the best quality drinking water in the world. It’s not surprising that our water expertise is in demand as other countries also face the impacts of climate change and related water scarcity.

Over recent decades, Victoria’s climate has become drier and warmer. From 1997 to 2009 – 13 long years – Victoria experienced very dry conditions, known as the Millennium Drought. During this time, Melbourne water storages dropped from almost full to two-thirds empty in three and a half years. Since then, we have invested significantly to reform our water sector and build infrastructure to increase productivity and ensure the health of river and groundwater systems.

Victoria is recognised for its strong regulatory framework that protects public health and the environment; well-established and transparent institutions and pricing arrangements; understanding of water availability and climate dependence; water efficiency and world-class infrastructure; and formal water entitlement framework, including a water trading system and water markets.

Organisational Capability

Victoria is a world leader in innovative water management, with capabilities in:

• Water management, planning and policy – long-term planning, policy development, collaboration with academia and industry and community engagement.
• Water markets and efficiency – efficient sharing of water between competing uses and jurisdictions via improved governance and regulation.
• Water sensitive urban design – embedding resilience for water excess and scarcity into the design of buildings and precincts.
• Water quality and treatment – technologies to treat, filter or desalinate water to safe standards for drinking or grey water use.
• Water solutions for the developing world – low cost, low maintenance water treatment and storage solutions for use in aid/development projects.
• Smart irrigation – irrigation modernisation – advanced remote-control hardware and software to enable higher value agriculture while using less water, labour and energy.
• Water modelling and data management – analysis of water resources, and hydrodynamic and ecological modelling of catchments to support proactive water management.
• River basin management.
• Optimisation of water utilities – engineering and software solutions for water monitoring and controls, utility operations, and customer management.

Victoria’s water sector is:

• Integrated – Our industry specialises in integrated water management to retain liveable cities and towns in a drying climate with a growing population.
• High quality – Victoria has some of the cleanest drinking water in the world. Victoria has established technology and systems in place to monitor not only drinking water quality from catchments but also rivers and bays.
• Efficient – Victoria’s water corporations are experts in managing water scarcity. With a well-established water market and water trading system, Victoria’s water sector is efficient and continues to innovate.
• Resilient – Victoria is preparing for more frequent extreme weather events – droughts and floods. We've invested in state of the art climate modelling, a Desalination Plant to diversify our water sources and a water grid with connected pipelines that enable water to be moved across the state to where its needed most.
• Inclusive – Victoria’s Water corporations have gender diverse boards and engage deeply with their communities.

Projects

Integrated Water Management
The Victorian water sector is working together to create better outcomes for communities through the implementation of integrated water management. Integrated Water Management (IWM) is a collaborative approach to the way we plan for and manage all elements of the water cycle. This includes managing and protecting the health of our waterways and bays, wastewater management, alternative and potable water supply, stormwater management and water treatment. This collaborative process allows organisations to identify and deliver greater value water cycle initiatives to improve the resilience and liveability of Victoria’s cities and towns.
Water Cycle Climate Change Adaptation Action Plan
The Water Cycle Climate Change Adaptation Action Plan 2022–2026 (Water Cycle AAP) is a five-year action plan that focuses on the impact of climate change on Victoria’s water cycle system. It aims to build a strong foundation for a climate-resilient Victoria. It is one of seven systems developing plans under the Climate Change Act 2017. The other six systems are the built environment, education and training, health and human services, natural environment, primary production and transport.
Water sensitive urban design – Waterways of the West (WoW)
The population of the WoW region is growing rapidly and is predicted to double to over 1.9 million by 2040. This urban growth presents significant challenges, including increased stormwater, litter and pollution. The Action Plan will include steps to better protect the waterways and their parklands so that these community assets will continue to be valued and enjoyed for years to come. It will also look at broader issues such as landscape amenity, and land use planning and development controls and standards, that are suited to the unique features of Melbourne’s west.
Managing water supply and use
The Central and Gippsland Region Sustainable Water Strategy (CGRSWS) and Urban Water Strategies (UWS) are a 50-year planning framework with an opportunity to align policy development, community engagement and set an agreed direction to meet future water security challenges.