Better Bays and Waterways
This program aims to improve water quality in the Port Phillip and Westernport region's bays, rivers, creeks and estuaries. It is a partnership at the local, regional, state and national level.
The Port Phillip and Westernport region is an area of 12,000 km2. It includes a population of 4.3 million people. The bays and beaches, and 8000 kilometres of rivers and creeks, are vitally important natural assets.
The health of these bays and waterways can be directly linked to human activities. As the population of Melbourne and surrounding areas continues to grow, it becomes more difficult to protect water quality.
Development of this program is jointly funded by Melbourne Water, the Australian Government's Coastal Catchments Initiative (Natural Heritage Trust) and EPA Victoria.
The program will integrate current water quality activities with new ideas to frame water quality improvements for the major rivers, creeks, estuaries and bays.
Many organisations and communities are already working to improve water quality. Building on this work, Better Bays and Waterways seeks to blend existing ideas and new initiatives to provide clearer directions for the future.
How can I get more information?
Download the Better Bays and Waterways (PDF, 260kb) brochure or contact Lisa Kitson on (03) 9235 2251 or online.
Stakeholder Advisory Group
A Stakeholder Advisory Group has been established to provide opportunities for wider community input into the development of the Better Bays and Waterways program.
This group provides a forum to discuss water quality priority issues and threats, and how these might best be addressed. It will also discuss current projects addressing issues such as urban stormwater management, pollution monitoring, and agricultural land management practices.
The Stakeholder Advisory Group was established through an expression of interest process and members were chosen for their ability to represent a diversity of backgrounds and views of the people and organisations in the region that have an impact on or interest in water quality.
Membership includes representatives from local government, environment groups, industry, research indigenous groups, education sectors and the broader community.
Downloads
You will need Adobe Acrobat to access the above PDF documents. 