Our mission is to provide efficient and effective water services in a sustainable manner with consideration to the environment.
Goulburn-Murray Water (G-MW) is a water corporation owned by the State Government and governed by a Board of Directors, who are appointed by the Minister for Water. We are Australia's largest rural water authority. Our business is managing the water cycle; we harvest, store and deliver water, ensuring that water is available for stakeholders in our region. We are responsible for managing around 70% of Victoria's stored water resources, around 50% of Victoria's underground water supplies and Australia's largest irrigation delivery network. We are committed to delivering a modernised irrigation system to help secure the economic, social and environmental future of northern Victoria. We have the challenge of balancing water management needs, expectations and impacts. In line with our mission, G-MW is committed to the prevention of pollution, environment protection and sustainability initiatives by:
1. Minimising detrimental effects while maximising opportunities
We will achieve this through:
- Achieving compliance with relevant legislation and apply a risk based approach that results in continual improvement.
- Strengthening environmental expectations on our staff and contractors through effective environmental controls in our contracts.
- Promoting awareness and understanding of sustainability and environmental issues to our staff.
- Monitoring, measuring and reporting on our environmental performance.
2. Mitigating threats to delivering water services
We operate water systems within open catchments that are popular places to visit. To mitigate environmental threats to the delivery of water services from these activities and other physical climatic changes, we will:
- Set and communicate consistent standards to encourage sound environmental management practices.
- Build and utilise our understanding of water management impacts to improve operational practices.
- Establish clear arrangements with stakeholders where responsibilities for activities are shared with G-MW or undertaken on G-MW managed land.
3. Maintaining strategic involvement
There are a number of stakeholders interested in the management of our water storages and our delivery network, therefore we will:
- Optimise internal and external stakeholder networks and partnerships to anticipate and prepare for future environmental changes that will impact on our sustainable delivery of water services.
- Target stakeholder engagement to influence catchment outcomes of benefit to G-MW activities and increase stakeholder confidence.
- Capitalise on our expertise to deliver programs that contribute to reducing the region's irrigation environmental footprint.
Llew Vale - CHAIRMAN
Gavin Hanlon - MANAGING DIRECTOR
Goulburn-Murray Water, June 2012
Environmental Policy Statement (142 KB)