When the eyes of the world turned to Melbourne for the Commonwealth Games in March 2006, the Yarra River was its main star.
Fireworks shot colour across a twighlight sky from the corrugated metal fins of 72 amazing fish sculptures that floated on the water near Federation Square. Thousands of people watched. It was a moment to be proud of.
But for years, the Yarra River has been allowed to suffer.
The Yarra River provides us with some of the best drinking water in the world. In an average year, 70 percent of Melbourne’s freshwater supplies are sourced from its upper reaches. And we don’t just drink its water. We use it to flush our toilets and irrigate our farms. Some 400 billion litres of water are taken every year from the Yarra to meet our needs – in most years that’s well over half the river’s water.
Taking out so much water has left the river high and dry, with its health under increasing stress from overuse. Right now, despite the recent rains, the Yarra’s flow is only a fraction of its natural level – threatening the birds, fish, frogs and platypus that make the river their home.
Go Yarra Flow!
Together with our colleagues at the Yarra Riverkeeper Association (ykra), we’ve campaigned to send a strong message to the Victorian Government that the people of Melbourne value a healthy Yarra River. We were particularly busy during 2007-9, when we urged the government to:
Honour their commitment to deliver life-giving environmental flows to the Yarra River
Commit to making Melbourne a water-sensitive city by adopting the recommendations outlined in our vision for Melbourne’s water future.
We visited politicians, wrote articles and letters, and asked for the minimum flows that a 2005 study showed the Yarra needed to sustain its health.
But for a while, things only got worse. The 17 GL (billion litres) Environmental Entitlement created for the Yarra River by the Bracks government in 2006 is yet to be delivered. It was qualified the very next year, and the Yarra’s legal share of its own water was redirected for use in Melbourne’s homes and industry.. Historical minimum passing flows were also reduced in order to meet consumer water demands. (Passing flows are releases made from storages to maintain riparian vegetation, habitat and other environmental values, and to provide for other community benefits.)
It wasn’t until 2010 that this long–promised water was made available to the Yarra. In July the state government announced that 10GL of water would be returned to the river each year. This was a good start.
In August 2010, when water restrictions were eased, we were critical of the decision. Surely, we argued, the Yarra should get its fair share of water, before we can begin to wash our cars and water lawns. Then in October, a further 7GL and the passing flows were returned to the Yarra.
While the Environmental Entitlement of 17GL will provide significant benefit to the river, it is only enough to provide the minimum flows the river needs, and natural flows are still required to keep the river connected to its floodplain.
Environment Victoria is now working with the environmental manager (Melbourne Water) and stakeholders to determine how this 17GL entitlement can best be delivered to the Yarra, to protect and restore the values of the river that we all love and appreciate.
Get involved!
Let the Victorian Government know that you value a healthy Yarra River.
Email the Victorian Minister for the Environment, Ryan Smith, telling him what you like about the Yarra River. Ask him what his state government will do to prioritise the health of the Yarra? The restoration of the 17GL of entitlement is a good start, but still leaves the river and its wildlife vulnerable in dry years. The Yarra deserves its fairs share of water, each season, and every year.
For more information, contact Ian Penrose, Yarra Riverkeeper on 0409 510 766.
(What’s Ian’s story anyway? Check it out)
We’ve been pretty busy. Check out some of our adventures below