The Victorian Environmental Water Holder may also sell up to 17 Gl of its allocation in the Goulburn, Campaspe and Murray systems in 2025-26, if foreseeable environmental demands can be met.
Trade could occur anytime in the 2025-26 water year, with details of individual trade decisions provided on the VEWH website.
VEWH released its Seasonal Watering Plan 2025-26 on June 30, which details how environmental water will be used to build resilience in rivers, streams, wetlands and plants and animals for forecast dry periods and expected low inflows.
“We are looking at a different climate picture since the very wet back-to-back La Niña events and relatively high storage levels of several years ago,” VEWH chief executive officer Sarina Loo said.
“Conditions in 2024-25 have generally been dry, with parts of western and central Victoria experiencing their driest start to the year on record,” she said.
“The Bureau of Meteorology is predicting below-average rainfall and above-average temperatures for various regions through spring 2025.
“We expect water for the environment to be delivered under a dry scenario at the start of the water year, unless the VEWH and waterway managers see a change based on forecasts or local conditions.”
In the Wimmera, as well as experiencing its second-lowest inflow year since 1900, the catchment is recovering from fires in summer across large areas of the Grampians and Little Desert national parks, with big impacts on water availability and quality.
“It will be a difficult year, and we’ll work with waterway managers and storage managers to deliver environmental water efficiently and effectively,” Dr Loo said.
“Although storage levels in the northern region, Melbourne supply system and West Gippsland have been dropping, there is sufficient water to deliver the watering objectives to support rivers, wetlands and native plants and animals under the forecast dry conditions.”
The Seasonal Watering Plan 2025-26 includes for the first time proposed watering actions provided by Traditional Owner groups.
There is a proposal from Taungurung Land and Waters Council to water the Molesworth Billabongs complex off the Goulburn River, which has local community support.
A proposal from the First People of the Millewa-Mallee Aboriginal Corporation to water Musk Duck wetland in the Mallee aims to maintain water quality for native fish.
“Our work in environmental water management is deeply connected to the land and waterways that have been cared for by Aboriginal communities for thousands of years,” Dr Loo said.
“Recognising and respecting their knowledge and contributions is important in our efforts to manage and protect waterway health.”
Dr Loo said the VEWH, waterway managers from nine catchment management authorities and Melbourne Water engaged with Traditional Owners, storage managers, land managers, technical experts and local communities on the proposed watering actions.
The seasonal watering plan shows how waterway managers plan with communities to consider how environmental flows can support activities like boating, canoeing, fishing, birdwatching, camping, relaxing in nature and tourism.
Dr Loo said waterway managers integrate environmental water with other management activities such as pest control, fish barrier removal and streamside vegetation improvements to achieve environmental outcomes from the top to the bottom of Victoria’s catchments.
The VEWH has also released the Allocation Water Trading Strategy 2025-26, an overview of the allocation water trading activities the VEWH may carry out in 2025-26 across Victorian water systems covered in the seasonal watering plan, and interstate.
Dr Loo said the strategy provides transparency around the VEWH’s potential trade decisions and a ‘no surprises’ approach to environmental allocation water trading activity.
For more information on the Seasonal Watering Plan 2025-26, go to: https://www.vewh.vic.gov.au/annual-planning-and-reporting/seasonal-watering-plan
For more information on the Allocation Water Trading Strategy 2025-26, go to: https://www.vewh.vic.gov.au/annual-planning-and-reporting/trade-strategy
