To improve the environmental health and long-term sustainability of the Murray-Darling Basin, the Victorian Government is backing further recovery efforts.
A series of projects that will recover more environmental water for the Murray-Darling Basin have been identified through the Planning Our Basin Future Together Prospectus, which was developed with Basin communities by the Victorian Government to plan for the region’s future with communities as a focus.
The Federal Government is funding the projects through the Resilient Rivers Water Infrastructure Program, which invests in water savings projects as part of its commitment to consider all options for additional environmental water recovery. This includes up to $132 million for the Broken Reconfiguration Project and $1.38 million for three feasibility studies.
Working with local communities, the Broken Reconfiguration Project looks to remove demand on the Broken River system, contribute water to the Basin Plan, increase reliability for water entitlement holders, increase domestic and stock water supply security and improve resilience against drought.
Victoria has also secured $1.935 million from the Federal Government to complete a Restoring Flows to the Mallee Floodplain detailed assessment, aiming to improve environmental outcome by maximising the use of existing environmental water.
This is in addition to the funding already secured for environmental projects, including the Victorian Murray Floodplain Restoration Project, which will build infrastructure like flow regulators, channels and containment banks to get water onto high-value floodplains along the Murray River.
The Victorian Government said that these projects will contribute to restoring the health of waterways and providing sustainable futures for Basin communities.
Victorian Minister for Water, Gayle Tierney, said, “We are continuing to deliver significant environmental works and measures that maximise environmental outcomes from the water available while protecting basin communities.
“The successful funding of the Broken Reconfiguration Project is built on the many years of community driven discussions to achieve a resilient and sustainable Broken River System.”
Federal Minister for Environment and Water, Murray Watt, said, “A healthy Murray-Darling Basin is vital to our communities, our industries and the environment. That’s why we’ve worked together with Basin states and communities to rescue the Basin Plan and deliver much-needed water.
“Delivering this water is one of the most significant things we can do to protect the environment in this country.”
