News
Forum to examine Bass River entitlement proposal
SHARING high-flow water from the Bass River will be discussed at two public forums on 22 April.
Westernport Water is seeking public opinion about its plans to secure a permanent water supply for the region.
The local water corporation is planning to use high river flows and bores to help ensure there is enough water for the region and avoid the June 2007 situation when Candowie Reservoir levels fell to a record low of 6% capacity.
Faced with such a serious shortage, the water corporation was granted a temporary licence to pump water during the winter period from the Bass River to boost supply.
Now, it is seeking State Government approval for a permanent entitlement to extract water from the Bass River.
As part of its plans, Westernport Water is proposing to seek an ongoing entitlement to use up to 8% of the Bass River annual total flows – while always giving priority for an environmental flow, said chairperson Pam Cameron.
“Our pumping licence last year saw us using less than half that amount,” she said.
“Any entitlement would be managed under an agreed set of rules, pumping water only when flows are high and taking account of environmental impacts, the effects on other river water users and sustainable river flows,” Mrs Cameron said.
The water corporation has a temporary licence to pump up to 13ML/day from the river between July 1 and October 31, 2008. The latest application seeks an ongoing entitlement to extract water at other times of the year, if flows are high.
“This will allow us to capture some of the high-flow rain events that happen outside winter,” Mrs Cameron said.
“Short episodes of intense rainfall are predicted to become more common as a result of climate change. Being able to harvest some of this excess run-off could also help prevent erosion and save riverbank vegetation.
“The maximum annual volume that we are proposing to extract would be up to 2000ML – but we may not use anything like that amount because of environmental considerations and infrastructure capacity.”
Melbourne Water is undertaking a detailed environmental flow assessment for the Bass River. Westernport Water is represented on the Advisory Group for this project, which meets regularly to provide input into this process.
Kylie White, Regulation and IT Manager said: “We have been collecting data on river flows since 2000 and modeling sustainable extraction levels to support any application. This monitoring will be ongoing.
“We have quantified what’s available out of the Bass River and now are continuing to investigate groundwater supply through the new Corinella bores.
“All this work is part of the forward water management plan for the eventual raising of the Candowie Reservoir wall to ensure future supply.”
Two bulk entitlement public meetings will be held on 22 April and representatives from Melbourne Water (the waterway manager) and Department of Sustainability and Environment have been invited.
The daytime meeting will be held at the Bass Valley Community Centre, Bass at 11am. There will also be an evening meeting at Cowes Cultural Centre, 91-97 Thompson Avenue, at 7.30pm.
To register your interest in attending the meetings and to list items you would like discussed, please call or e-mail Kylie White on 5956 4121 or kwhite@westernportwater.com.au.