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:
- 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:
- 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. Maintain strategic involvement
Water management involves multiple stakeholders and therefore G-MW will:
- 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.
- 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