Managing competing needs in water resource planning will become increasingly important due to the impacts of climate change on water availability (DSE 2008). A holistic management approach is required to ensure sustainable and equitable allocation between consumptive and environmental water needs (IPCC 2007). While consumptive licences are currently metered in Victoria, there is little data about stock and domestic (D&S) usage and its associated impact on streamflow. This project aimed to estimate the use of D&S water in the Woori Yallock catchment from waterways, groundwater and dams. The project gathered data that will improve the confidence of hydrological modelling underpinning stream flow management planning in and around Melbourne.
Read the paper here, which was presented at the Water and Climate: Policy Implementation Challenges; Practical Responses to Climate Change National Conference, Canberra (2012).