The Victorian Government introduced long-term operating rules for the lower Goulburn River on 1 July 2022. These rules set limits on the volume of regulated water that can be delivered through the lower Goulburn River to the Murray River over summer and autumn, striking a balance between enabling delivery of traded water and avoiding further environmental damage. The rules provide maximum permissible delivery rates and minimum periods of low flow to ensure that the delivery of water through the lower Goulburn can occur in a more sustainable pattern.
The lower Goulburn River operating rules have been incorporated into the Bulk Entitlement (Eildon–Goulburn Weir) Conversion Order 1995.
You can find the consolidated Bulk Entitlement Order using the record search engine and filtering for the ‘Goulburn’ river basin and ‘Goulburn-Murray Water’ authority.
The operating rules were informed by the findings of an independent scientific panel who, in 2021–22 as part of the Goulburn to Murray Trade Review Regulatory Impact Statement process, assessed the risks and opportunities of a range of flow scenarios in the lower Goulburn to understand the likely environmental outcomes of possible future management frameworks.
Overall, the independent scientific panel reported that they expect the adopted operating rules to minimise further environmental damage, which was observed in 2017–18 and 2018–19 when large volumes of water were delivered to the Murray through the lower Goulburn River in sustained high flows over summer and autumn. The Panel also identified significant uncertainty as to how the rules will enable environmental recovery over time, and recommended further monitoring.
The operating rules were also informed by the findings of a bio-cultural assessment undertaken in partnership with Traditional Owners, as well as additional consultation and recreational assessments.
The operating rules work in parallel with the Goulburn to Murray trade rule to ensure that water allocation trade from the Goulburn system can only occur up to what can sustainably be delivered under the operating rules, mitigating further environmental damage and ensuring that trade from the Goulburn will not increase delivery risks in the Murray. Visit the Murray River Delivery Risks and Shortfalls page for more information.
A key change from the previous trade and operating rules is that delivery of water from the Goulburn Inter-Valley Trade (IVT) account no longer opens up new trade opportunity. This means that river operators have the flexibility to manage delivery of water from the Goulburn in a way that makes the best use of Victoria’s resources, without restricting trade opportunity. Visit the Goulburn to Murray trade review page for more information.
Ongoing environmental monitoring in the lower Goulburn River will occur. Where opportunities arise, an adaptive management approach will be used to apply new information and on-going learning to the operating rules, while also recognising and balancing the other demands on the river.
The 2021–24 Scientific Advisory Panel reports show early positive responses to the operating rules in the lower Goulburn River. This includes more stable banks and gradual bank vegetation recovery after successive years of lower summer and autumn baseflows. The Panel noted that wet conditions and low inter-valley trade demand mean the summer pulse settings have not yet been directly tested and recommended continued monitoring under a range of conditions.
Further information about the trade and operating rules can be found in this Frequently Asked Questions document, while features of the operating rules are described in this fact sheet.