Environmental Water Reserve
This variability is fundamental to a river's ecology, and includes:
- low flows during summer with small freshening flows occurring periodically
- higher winter flows including bank-full flows and floods of adjacent land.
River plants and animals need different flows at different times of their life cycle in order to survive and reproduce.
For example:
- high flows stimulate fish breeding and maintain estuary openings
- groundwater can provide base flows in summer to maintain fish refuges
- floods in spring regenerate floodplains and wetlands, and replenish the river channel.
Extracting water can change these crucial flow components and affect the ecology of the system.
In 2004 the Government announced a range of actions in Our Water, Our Future that significantly progressed the management of environmental water in Victoria. It means the Victorian River Health Strategy targets for 2005 and 2011 can be met.
The Government also passed legislation establishing the Environmental Water Reserve. This provides a legally protected share of water for the environment to safeguard the health of Victoria’s river systems. The amount of water available for consumptive use has now been capped in all basins across the State.