Sustainability Report 2006/07Managing waterways
A major focus for 2007/08 was the successful development of the Waterways Water Plan, which sets out expected investment in river health and flood protection across the region, including in our extended waterways and drainage operating area.
The Water Plan covers 2008/09 to 2012/13 and was endorsed by the Essential Services Commission in June.
We also successfully completed an extensive two-year communication program with communities, councils and stakeholders in our extended area to explain the services and benefits we provide.
These services and benefits include funds for the community to improve their rivers and creeks, river health improvements and investigations, stormwater management and water sensitive urban design, urban development planning and approvals to ensure sustainable growth, flood protection and flood warning systems, and drainage maintenance and improvements.
Consistent with the Water Plan, these services and benefits will be funded by a waterways and drainage charge from July 2008 for about 170,000 properties in our extended operating area.
Victorian River Health Strategy
To provide clear direction on long-term management of waterways, we refer to a number of important strategies and plans including Melbourne Water’s Corporate Plan, Water Plan, Regional River Health Strategy, Better Bays and Waterways Plan, Waterways Water Quality Strategy, Flood Management and Drainage Strategy and the Port Phillip and Westernport Regional Catchment Management Strategy.
Our Waterways Operating Charter translates these strategic and policy objectives into actions, and outlines our responsibilities, goals and targets for the next five years as required under our Statement of Obligations.
After extensive consultation with customers and stakeholders, the 2008-2013 Waterways Operating Charter was approved by our Board in September.
As continued dry conditions place additional stress on waterways, we have developed drought response contingency plans for 18 wetlands supporting significant biodiversity values, along with installation of depth gauges to monitor water levels.
This work, which was carried out with environmental restoration consultants, listed the wetland values, the water requirements of these values, and actions that might be taken to supply water when needed.
During 2007/08, we began to develop 20 Year River Health ‘Vision’ templates, designed to show the typical ‘end state’ that rehabilitation projects should achieve. This will help deliver consistent outcomes across Melbourne Water, and allow Landcare groups and other external parties a better understanding of our goals.
We successfully purchased ownership rights for a section of Mordialloc Creek reserve from two of three industrial landowners, allowing a rehabilitation project to proceed.
An independent study assessed the performance of 20 river health-related projects, comprising capital, maintenance and grants works, and concluded that they generally had a good fit with best practice and were of very good quality.
Managing weeds continued, with a project beginning in the upper Watts River to remove large tracts of highly invasive Mexican woody weed or elegant poison berry.
We are seeking community and stakeholder input to guide a works program that will address the loss of rock beaching along the banks of the lower Maribyrnong River. In recent years, large sections of the rock beaching have deteriorated, and exposed the riverbanks to erosion.