• Coliban River Catchment Action Plan
  

  A Catchment Action Plan for the Coliban Catchment - Part A: Background, Assets and Threats
  A Catchment Action Plan for the Coliban Catchment - Part B: Action Plan

  In partnership with Greening Australia Victoria and the North Central Catchment Management Authority, Coliban Water invested in the development of a strategic action plan to underpin the Regional River Health Strategy, to provide direction and funding justification for the specific activities and works that need to occur in the Coliban Catchment to protect water supply values.  Stakeholder engagement was a critical part of the development process, with several community, agency and indigenous meetings and workshops held during 2005 to enable their input.  The draft Action Plan was completed in May 2006 and released for broader community comment and input and these comments are currently being reviewed and considered for incorporation.

• Drinking Water Risk Management Plans

  Under the Safe Drinking Water Act 2003, Water Authorities are obliged to develop Risk Management Plans for Drinking Water and cover the supply systems from ‘catchment to tap’.  Coliban Water has completed risk management plans for each of the seven water supply systems within the service region.  Within the plans, we have documented catchment risks for our water supplies and where the opportunities lie in addressing these risk.  The next step for Coliban Water will be in working with land managers and responsible agencies to manage these risks and over the coming year, it is likely that an internal business strategy will be developed  to address the more ‘diffuse’ or harder to manage risks that are commonly found in open catchments like ours.

• Special Area Plan for Lake Eppalock and its immediate surrounds

• Proactive Catchment community liaison and partnership

  Coliban Water is committed to working with Landcare and Catchment Groups to undertake on-ground works and planning to protect the linkages between land use and catchment water quality.

Sandhurst Reservoir showing the immediate catchment

• Involvement in development of Municipal Domestic Wastewater Management Strategies

• Fulfilling Statutory Planning Obligations
  

  Planning Application referral consideration and advice to Councils for strategic development within the potable water supply catchments.

• Septic Tanks and Groundwater Protection in the Hepburn Shire

  Coliban Water is working in partnership with the Hepburn Shire, Central Highlands Water, Goulburn-Murray Water and the CRC for water treatment and Quality to determine if shallow groundwater beneath unsewered towns is subject to pollution from on-site wastewater disposal/treatment systems. Three towns have been chosen to focus the study and include; Lyonville, Glenlyon and Coomoora. The water quality parameter nitrate has been chosen as the indicator for groundwater pollution.

Lauriston Reservoir

Photo taken by G. McDonald, Coliban Water