Policy Update – February 2023
Practical guidance documents to support the implementation of EPA revised guideline for water recycling
VicWater and DEECA met with Water Futures in December to discuss feedback on the draft guidance documents. Water Futures is now preparing a new milestone schedule for the document which includes seeking more case studies for the guidance, incorporating the feedback into the documents and confirming with EPA that it is happy with draft guidance documents. Following this the draft guidance documents will be provided to VicWater members for comment.
Carbon Offsets project
Phase three of the Carbon Offsets project kicked off on 24 January with the first meeting of the Steering Group for this Phase of the project. The purpose of this meeting was to convene the Steering Group, agree the objectives of the project and the frequency of steering group meetings.
The objective of Phase three of the project is to recommend the best delivery vehicle option for meeting the Victorian Water sector’s collective demand for the Scope One carbon offsets. This collective approach is an additional option for water corporations to consider in addition to meeting some of their demand needs individually. The timeline for delivery of Phase three is the end of April 2023.
Collaborative improvements to onsite wastewater management practices
Over the Christmas / New Year period TOverman Sustainability provided drafts of the project Synthesis Report, Good Practice Guide and Education Materials to VicWater and DEECA for comment. These documents have been updated to incorporate the feedback and provided to the project steering group for comment and endorsement. Following this the project materials will be provided to VicWater members and other stakeholders for their use.
The project is expected to be complete in early March 2023.
Mutual Aid Program
With impacts from the floods still being felt by a number of water corporations VicWater’s Mutual Aid Program is still operating. If any of our members have any queries about the program, or require any assistance please email Stuart Craven (stuart.craven@vicwater.org.au).
