RMCG was proud to be be a finalist for the University of Melbourne award for Building Knowledge in Waterway Management at the River Basin Management Society Awards Night, in conjunction with project partners Melbourne Water.
Melbourne Water and RMCG delivered the tender as a pilot under the existing River Health Incentives Program (RHIP), with the primary objective to improve water quality by reducing diffuse source nitrogen (TN), phosphorus (TP) and sediment (TSS) loads from rural properties in the Stringybark Creek catchment using a tender process. The project has developed through a history of collaboration between Melbourne Water and academic and industry groups and a longstanding focus on continuous improvement of the RHIP.
While tenders are not a new approach, they have not been widely adopted in water quality programs. In addition to water quality goals, this project aimed to test some of the perceptions of tenders, both positive and negative.
The project was nominated in the ‘Building Knowledge’ category because the key drivers were to build understanding among Stringybark Creek landholders of the connection between their land management and water quality, to build the knowledge and understanding of tenders among the Melbourne Water team, and to document and evaluate the approach so that the experiences can be shared across the industry.
