Our mission is to provide efficient and effective water services in a sustainable manner with due consideration to the environment.
Goulburn-Murray Water (G-MW) manages
water related services including storage, delivery and drainage systems within
a region of 68,000
square kilometres across Northern Victoria. This brings
with it the challenge of balancing water management needs, expectations and impacts. In line with our mission, G-MW is committed
to the prevention of pollution, environmental protection and sustainability initiatives by establishing the following objectives:
1. Minimise our impacts on the environment
To minimise or prevent adverse environmental impacts of our activities and meet
associated environmental regulatory obligations, G-MW will:
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Achieve compliance with relevant legislation and apply a risk based approach that results in continual improvement.
- Strengthen environmental expectations on project managers and contractors through effective environmental controls in contracts.
- Advise staff of their responsibilities, promote awareness and understanding of sustainability and environmental issues to employees.
- Monitor, measure and report our environmental performance.
2. Mitigate threats to delivering water
services
G-MW
operates water systems within open catchments which host a range of public and
land use activities. To mitigate environmental
threats to the delivery of water services from these activities and other
physical climatic changes, G-MW will:
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Set
and communicate consistent standards to encourage sound environmental management
practices.
-
Build
and utilise our understanding of water management impacts to improve operational
practices.
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Establish clear arrangements with
stakeholders where responsibilities for activities are shared with G-MW or undertaken on G-MW managed land.
3. Maintain strategic involvement
Water
management involves multiple stakeholders and therefore G-MW will:
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Optimise internal and external stakeholder networks and partnerships
to anticipate and prepare for future environmental changes that will impact on
the sustainable delivery of water services.
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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, December 2011
Environmental Policy Statement