The benchmark is completed every five years and has been carried out in 1999 and 2004. The 2004 benchmarking exercise shows that only 21% of major rivers and tributaries were in overall good or excellent condition. 32% per cent of river length assessed were in poor or very poor condition. This is due to a combination of factors including changed river flows, poor water quality, poor condition of river bank land, changes to the river channel and reduced habitat.

All ISC data is available at the Victorian Water Resources Data Warehouse.

The results of the 1999 and 2004 ISC benchmarking have provided an enormously valuable information resource, critical for setting long-term management objectives, developing priorities for action and evaluating the effectiveness of past efforts.

Comparing the ISC results shows that overall at the statewide scale, no major changes had occurred to the condition of Victoria’s major rivers and tributaries over the five year period. No general improvement was detected, but importantly, overall deterioration in stream condition appears to have been controlled. Streams in good or excellent condition have been identified and protected and those in poor or very poor condition – with only a few exceptions - do not appear to have deteriorated further. At the statewide level, river health has remained basically the same, with basins in the east of the State generally in better condition than those in the mid and west regions.

As the ISC results suggest, there are no quick or easy solutions to solving river health problems. Instead, long-term management objectives, clear priorities for on-ground works and continued investment and commitment by government and natural resource management agencies are required for long-term improvements in river health.

2004 Statewide River Condition

2004 River Basin Condition