Central and Gippsland Region Sustainable Water Strategy.

The Central and Gippsland Region Sustainable Water Strategy’s role is to set policy directions and outline actions for securing the region’s long-term water supplies to protect the jobs, farms, ecosystems, communities and Traditional Owners that rely on them. The Strategy's objectives are to: secure the region’s urban water future and safe drinking supplies by using water wiser and more efficiently as well as increasing the use of manufactured water sources (Manufactured water sources include recycled water treated stormwater desalinated water); return water to Traditional Owners across the region and strengthen Traditional Owners’ role in water resource planning and management; maintain and improve waterway health for environmental and healthy Country outcomes; build the resilience of agriculture to a drying and variable climate; provide for social and recreational uses and values of waterways.
The Strategy identifies water efficiency measures that could save up to an additional water, this will include water efficiency campaigns, regulations, and incentives that will help people, businesses and industry all save water. The Strategy also articulates the range of options for a transitioning to manufactured water supplies; it identifies options to improve how the water is used and shared, this includes optimising the water grid and opportunities to reallocate water held by the Victorian Government, etc. The Victorian Government is also committed to addressing the historical and ongoing exclusion of Traditional Owners from holding and managing water through a restorative justice approach. This is the first sustainable water strategy that has been developed in partnership with Traditional Owners and the government is committed to further working with Traditional Owners to continue to identify and pursue opportunities to return water as it becomes available, without taking water away from farmers or other entitlement holders, strengthening the role of Traditional Owners in water resource planning and management. The Strategy will support farmers to adapt and grow their businesses in an increasingly dry climate, r. Commitments that will be progressed include: water efficiency advice, incentives and investments through the Sustainable Irrigation Program; investigating opportunities to expand irrigation through new recycled water and stormwater supplies; investigating the feasibility of new irrigation areas; improvements to water trading. Furthermore the Strategy commits to returning water to the environment in major rivers across the region over the next 10 years. The Strategy outlines a new approach to delivering water supplies in the future and strengthening the community’s role in future decisions. The Strategy also commits to investigating reforms to bulk entitlements held by urban water corporations as the region transitions to using more manufactured waters.