Environment
Carbon offsets
VicWater, together with Melbourne Water, is forming a working group to develop an industry position on the purchase of carbon offsets including setting principles for balancing carbon offset quality and value. The initial objective of the working group will be to draft a set of principles and priorities for carbon offset sourcing and procurement to…
Read MoreSecuring the water supply for Moe and Newborough
Gippsland Water has completed works to secure the water supply for Moe and Newborough Completed in November the $1.8 million project has a 20-megalitre capacity basin and supplies water to the Yallourn Power Station and almost 3000 residential customers in the Moe/Newborough area. The work involved removing the damaged cover and liner, repairs on the…
Read MoreCould you solve an international water, sanitation or hygiene problem?
Registration for 2020 Winnovators program is now open! The program begins Wednesday 1 April and runs until the end of September with the winners announced in October 2020. This year’s program is really exciting – teams will be able to solve climate resilience problems from and raise funds for India, Timor-Leste, or Zambia. WaterAid UK will also be hosting for the first time…
Read MoreMagnesium hydroxide liquid for odour control
A catchment dosing approach Mission Beach is a mixed residential and tourist area and is home to the iconic Cassowary. A sewerage scheme was commissioned by Cassowary Coast Regional Council in 2006 to collect the wastewater from three constituent communities and pumped by two major stations, at Wongaling and North Mission Beach, to the Main…
Read MoreEmerging contaminants risk assessment
Draft Emerging Contaminants Risk Assessment report were circulated to water corporations prior to Christmas. The reports will be finalised very early in February. This risk assessment of emerging contaminants and new ANZECC parameters (at $2500 per assessed site) has saved water corporations hundreds of thousands of dollars, compared to alternative options to assess risk from…
Read MoreRecreational Access
VicWater is working with DELWP to finalise a scope for a consultant project to provide a state-wide inventory of water storages, and identify cost and timing implications of providing recreational access at currently closed storages, on per-storage basis. The consultant report will address issues such as water treatment augmentations, access infrastructure, safety and security services,…
Read MoreAustralian research on cyanobacteria
Recent Australian research on cyanobacteria with implications for risk management within the water industry Cyanobacteria, also known as blue-green algae, are a diverse group of photosynthetic bacteria with the ability to colonise a range of environmental niches. Given the right environmental conditions they can grow rapidly, forming blooms which impact the environment and a range…
Read MoreA new draft Buffer Overlay
DELWP has commenced public consultation on a new Buffer Overlay for water assets. DELWP developed the draft Buffer Area Overlay, in response to water industry feedback during 2019. The overlay strengthens planning tools to support proposed updates to the Planning Policy Framework and Clause 53.10. VicWater has been closely involved in earlier phase of the…
Read MoreNew draft Buffer Overlay
DELWP has commenced public consultation on a new Buffer Overlay for water assets. DELWP developed the draft Buffer Area Overlay, in response to water industry feedback during 2019. The overlay strengthens planning tools to support proposed updates to the Planning Policy Framework and Clause 53.10. VicWater has been closely involved in earlier phase of the…
Read MoreRed tape reduction – revised statutory land use terms
During 2018 VicWater prepared a submission to the DELWP Land Use Terms Advisory Committee: https://vicwater.org.au/news-publications/industry-guides-submissions/vicwater-submission-land-use-terms A focus area for the submission, and subsequent negotiate with DELWP, was the definition of ‘minor utility installation’. The minor utility installation definition plays a significant role in determining planning permit and native vegetation requirements (among other things) for water…
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