Water quality policy review
Improving the protection of Victoria’s water environments
The Victorian Government has prioritised
the protection and improvement of
Victoria’s water environments.
 ensure water quality objectives reflect current
science, changes to national guidelines and
community aspirations for Victorian water
environments;
To ensure Victoria has clear and relevant standards,
legal rules and statutory obligations to protect and
improve the health of our water environments, the
Victorian Government is reviewing two key policies:
 make it easier for industry (and others) to
understand and comply with their obligations;
 the State Environment Protection Policy (Waters
of Victoria) (SEPP (WoV)); and
 ensure alignment and delivery
government policy and programs;
 the State Environment Protection
(Groundwaters of Victoria) (SEPP (GoV)).
Policy
This will be known as the SEPP (Waters) review.
Healthy water environments and the
State Environment Protection Policies
The state environment protection policies (SEPPs) are
a legal framework to protect and improve Victoria’s
water environments and the social and economic
values they support.
SEPPs are established under the Environment
Protection Act 1970. SEPPs protect the health of
water environments by setting out the values and
uses of water environments that Victorians want to
protect (known as ‘beneficial uses’), by establishing
the water quality objectives required to protect those
beneficial uses, and by providing clear guidance and
tools for controlling water quality pollution.
Who is responsible for the review
The Department of Environment, Land, Water and
Planning (DELWP) are carrying out the SEPP (Waters)
review in partnership with the Environment
Protection Authority.
Why the protection framework needs to
be reviewed
It is a legal requirement to review state environment
protection policies every 10 years. The new review
aims to:
www.delwp.vic.gov.au
 streamline rules for decision-makers and progress
risk-based approaches to regulation;
of
current
 incorporate the management of groundwater and
surface water, which are currently covered by
separate policy frameworks; and
 improve implementation and accountability.
The review will begin in May 2015 and is expected to
be completed in late 2016.
Responding to stakeholder feedback
Incorporating stakeholder feedback is a key part of
the review.
Feedback from a broad review of all environment
protection policies and initial consultation with the
water sector indicated that the new policy should
provide clearer guidance on who is responsible for
delivering the following policy objectives:
 realistic short-term targets that contribute to
long-term state-wide objectives;
 improved flexibility to accommodate changes (for
example, in resources or to deal with local issues);
 improved alignment with
government water policies; and
other
current
 improved clarity of decision-making processes and
interpretation of the policy.
Victorian water policy review
Key areas of the review
Updating the science
Water needs to meet certain quality standards to
protect the values and beneficial uses of Victorian
water environments and support aquatic life.
Environmental quality objectives are used to measure
physical, chemical or biological indicators of the
environmental health of a waterway.
The environmental quality objectives are based on
the level of environmental health required to protect
the beneficial uses of a specific water environment.
They are designed to protect and maintain the
existing aquatic environment of healthy areas and to
provide goals for rehabilitation of impacted areas.
A range of indicators and objectives are used to
assess environmental quality and, where an
environmental quality objective is not met, a riskbased approach is used to determine whether there
is a risk of adverse impacts on the ecosystem. The
policy objectives will be updated during the review
based on the latest science and evidence.
Progress diffuse pollution management in both
urban and rural areas
Diffuse pollution sources, such as agricultural site
runoff, urban stormwater runoff and onsite domestic
wastewater management systems, may be small
individually and easily overlooked. However, large
numbers of these small sources across a catchment
can cause problems.
The review will explore options for how we can
better manage the wide range of activities that
contribute to diffuse pollution in both urban and
rural areas.
Improve consistency with new government
policy
Since the last review, many new national and state
government policies and programs relating to water
quality management have been delivered, such as
the Murray-Darling Basin Plan, Victorian Waterway
Management Strategy, Victorian Coastal Strategy and
the Gippsland Lakes Environmental Strategy.
The policy directions in these documents will be
considered in the revision of the policies.
Bring together the protection of surface waters
and groundwaters
Groundwater and surface water are strongly
connected within many catchments, and some
beneficial uses are highly dependent on
groundwater. Currently, groundwater and surface
water protection are managed through separate
policies. The review will consider the joint protection
and management of groundwater and surface water
quality through a single SEPP that will apply to all
Victorian waters.
Guide implementation plans for at-risk areas
A broad review of all environment protection policies
recommended the development of separate
implementation plans and new reporting and
management approaches to improve accountability.
Areas identified as being at high risk of losing
beneficial uses because of poor water quality could
benefit from an implementation plan. Each plan
would identify the key actions to address the highest
risks, priority issues and community concerns for the
specific water environment.
How you can get involved
Opportunities for your input will be offered
throughout the review process. Public comment will
be sought on the:
 beneficial uses of Victoria’s water environments;
 draft SEPP (Waters) and policy impact assessment;
and
 challenges and opportunities to managing water
quality in high risk areas.
For further information on the revision of the Water
SEPPs see www.delwp.vic.gov.au/state-environmentprotection-policy-waters-review
Email: [email protected]
© The State of Victoria Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning 2015
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