A new body, the Victorian Environmental Water Holder (VEWH), has been formed to manage Victoria’s environmental water entitlements.

 

Acting Minister for Environment and Climate Change Peter Walsh said the independent body would help ensure environmental water management in Victoria continued to become more efficient while achieving improved environmental benefits.

 

The VEWH is made up of three part-time commissioners, Denis Flett (chair), Geoff Hocking (deputy chair) and Ian Penrose, supported by a small operations team.

 

The body’s first task will be to develop a seasonal watering plan,  in consultation with catchment management authorities, which will outline the scope for environmental watering activities across Victoria in 2011-12.

 

The main responsibilities of the VEWH are to:

  • hold and manage environmental water entitlements and allocations;
  • co-ordinate the delivery of Victorian environmental water allocations with those of other environmental entitlement holders to maximise benefits to the environment;
  • ensure that environmental water management continues to become more efficient, getting greater environmental benefits from fewer resources;
  • make adaptive, responsive and timely decisions about where and when environmental water is delivered;
  • manage environmental water entitlements in a way that optimises environmental benefits, reducing the need for government investment in water recovery;
  • examine opportunities for trading water allocations and entitlements, but only where there this optimises benefits to the environment;
  • draw on the environmental watering priorities identified by catchment management authorities in consultation with their local communities, to identify the highest statewide priorities; and
  • report on when, where, how and why environmental water entitlements have been used.

 

More information about the VEWH can be found at www.vewh.vic.gov.au