State of the Environment

Inland Waters

Inland waters provide water for drinking, agriculture and industry, and we value them as places to enjoy nature and for recreational activities such as boating and swimming. Inland waters; both surface and ground waters, are interlinked as parts of a water cycle that cannot be separated from the land, or the plants, animals and people that live in and around them.

The last assessment of river health in 2004 found that only one fifth of major rivers and tributaries in Victoria were in good or excellent condition. By 1994, more than a third of naturally occurring wetland area had been lost. Twenty-one fish species, 11 frog species and 29 species of water birds are currently considered threatened.

This section reports on inland waters in the context of our inter-dependence with them, their often degraded condition, unprecedented dry conditions over the past 11 years and the likelihood of a warmer and drier future.

An exploration of the state of Victoria’s inland waters is presented via six issues: flow regimes, in-stream and wetland habitat, riparian vegetation, water quality, aquatic fauna and the impacts of climate change on inland waters. Major rivers and tributaries receive most attention as these are most comprehensively monitored. The section also provides an overview of policy responses to the challenges confronting Victoria’s inland waters and presents recommendations for managing these resources in a time of rapid environmental and social change.

There are two ways to access sub-sections within the Inland Waters section: The pdf’s below contain the introduction only and entire section respectively, while the links on the left will take you to each of the sub-sections individually.

Inland Waters - Introduction only (PDF - 7.7 MB)

Inland Waters (PDF - 2.8 MB)