Integrated Water Management

Introduction 

The East Gippsland Integrated Water Management (IWM) region covers an area of about 21,000 square kilometres stretching from Lindenow and Bairnsdale in the west through to Buchan in the heart of Snowy River country, to the holiday centres of Paynesville, Metung, Orbost, Cann River, Lakes Entrance and Mallacoota in the east, and the alpine resorts of Dinner Plain and Omeo in the highlands. It is home to around 55,000 people and includes the traditional lands and waters of the Gunaikurnai, Bidwell and Ngarigo Monero peoples, for whom water has a fundamental and intrinsic cultural and spiritual value.

Over the past five years, our communities and environment across the region have been through some of the most challenging times we have ever experienced. This includes one of the worst recorded droughts, followed by bushfires that burnt more than half the region. The impact of these were then compounded by the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, and more recently we have seen large rain events and continuous flooding across the region.

The region’s natural environment and unique waterways need to be protected for future generations. This requires our commitment and a collaborative approach from us all. The East Gippsland IWM Forum plays a crucial role in driving a collaborative and integrated approach to water management to adapt to change and maximise value across the whole water cycle. IWM allows us to optimise the environmental, cultural, social and economic outcomes for our communities.

East Gippsland Integrated Water Management Forum

The (IWM) Framework for Victoria (2017) is designed to help water managers and stakeholders work together to improve how the water cycle contributes to the liveability of towns and cities in Victoria, with communities at the centre of decision making.

Acknowledging that water is a scarce resource, the partners have formed the East Gippsland IWM Forum. The aim is to undertake integrated water management projects to maximise the resilience, liveability and economic prosperity of our East Gippsland communities and connected waterways, wetlands and Gippsland Lakes. The East Gippsland IWM Forum is one of 10 regional IWM forums across Victoria that are realising the local implementation of the framework.

See also Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA): Ingerated Water Management Forums

Strategic Directions Statement

To help guide the ongoing direction and priorities of the forum, a Strategic Directions Statement has been developed that identifies eight high priority projects covering areas such as supporting Aboriginal water values, supporting communities to achieve their own objectives around water,  stormwater management, protecting and creating wetlands, increasing recycled water usage and improving the health of existing waterways.

East Gippsland IWM Strategic Directions Statement 2022 (PDF, 9MB)