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Acting Premier John Thwaites today formally signed over 21.5 billion litres of water for the iconic Snowy River.
Mr Thwaites said the water came from savings achieved through pipeline projects and the more efficient delivery of water in northern Victoria.
Mr Thwaites also announced funding of $950,000 for major river improvement works on the Snowy system.
Speaking on the Snowy's banks near Orbost, Mr Thwaites said Victoria was on track to meet its commitments to returning flows to the famous River.
Mr Thwaites said water savings had been achieved in three main areas:
- Piping the Normanville system - saving 3.6 billion litres per year;
- Piping the Woorinen system - saving 1.5 billion litres per year; and
- Domestic and Stock Water Metering in northern Victoria - saving 16.4 billion litres.
He said the earlier completion of the pipeline works also would enable savings from the previous year to be released when new outlet works are completed at Jindabyne Dam in June.
This would bring the total volume available from Victoria for release into Snowy in the 2005/06 water year to 26.6 billion litres. The water year starts on 1 May.
Mr Thwaites today handed a letter outlining Victoria's contribution to Richard Bull, the Chairman of Water for Rivers - the body established to manage extra water for the Snowy and Murray Rivers.
"This will allow Snowy Hydro Ltd to incorporate the environmental releases as part of their 2005/6 Annual Water Operating Plan," Mr Thwaites said.
"This is an historic day for this icon river - the Snowy now has an environmental water reserve that guarantees an annual allocation from Victoria's water allocation system," Mr Thwaites said.
"Rivers such as the Snowy are the lifeblood of Victoria.
"Environmental water reserves, introduced in the Government's Our Water Our Future action plan, will guarantee permanent entitlements for rivers and help restore their health and vital role in Victoria's environment and economy."
Mr Thwaites also announced two works programs worth $950,000 to further improve the Snowy's health.
- $500,000 for the second phase of a willow eradication program to clean up the banks of the upper Deddick River, a major Victorian tributary of the Snowy's upper reaches.
"The Deddick River has a major infestation of willow and must be treated to ensure the effectiveness of future willow eradication works along the Snowy,' Mr Thwaites said.
"Willows smother native plants and provide poor habitat for wildlife. They also damage streams by trapping large volumes of silt and causing erosion of the existing river course."
The new works follow the first phase of a willow eradication program in Victoria last year along the Snowy from the state border to the river's confluence with the Deddick.
- $450,000 for fencing along 20km of riverbanks to exclude grazing stock from the Snowy's lower reaches and for improved drinking sites for cattle away from the riverbank.
"Cattle can erode river banks, damage indigenous plant and habitat and affect water quality through depositing excrement on river banks and in the water," Mr Thwaites said.
These river health improvement projects will be funded through the Bracks Government's $202 million commitment to the Snowy River and will be managed by the East Gippsland Catchment Management Authority on behalf of the Snowy River Rehabilitation Plan of Works Steering Committee.
Media contact: Geoff Fraser 03 9651 5799
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