Lowther Hall Nora Collisson Centre (Library): Health of Waterways

EPA monitors water quality at locations across Victoria. Includes Beach Report, Yarra Watch and Report Card.

The aim is to create a more appealing creek side environment, restore waterway health and activate open space and recreational opportunities along the creek. The project will examine a length of the most northerly concrete section of the Moonee Ponds Creek, in Oak Park and Strathmore.

Melbourne Water and the Chain of Ponds Collaboration are working with the community to reimagine a section of Moonee Ponds Creek (Brosnan Cres, Strathmore) to create a more appealing waterway, activate open space, enhance recreational opportunities along the creek and improve waterway health.

Conservation is the responsible stewardship of the environment to preserve natural ecosystems while insuring that balanced consideration is also given to human needs for production and recreation.

Find out how you can make a difference to the health and beauty of our waterways, so we can all continue to enjoy Melbourne's backyard.

We track the condition of Melbourne’s rivers, creeks and wetlands so we’re aware of any changes – or if we need to adjust what we’re doing to look after them. Learn how we assess river health and view data for catchments across Greater Melbourne.

Scroll down to 'Environmental watering cycle' for the most useful part of this page.

The Aboriginal Water Program works to better include Aboriginal people in the way water is managed in Victoria and to reconnect communities to water for cultural, economic, customary and spiritual purposes.

Water is considered by Indigenous peoples of Australia and New Zealand to be a sacred gift that is critical to their identity and existence, as well as being economically important. The protection of water is bound by traditional lore and customs, which provide a system of sustainable management ensuring healthy people while exercising custodial responsibilities to manage parts of customary estates.

The purpose of the Aboriginal Waterways Assessment (AWA) program was to develop a tool that consistently measures and prioritises river and wetland health so that Traditional Owners can more effectively participate in water planning and management in the Murray–Darling Basin.

If we really care about closing the gap we need a serious discussion about Indigenous water rights and Indigenous voices in water management. If you want to deepen your historial perspective on Aboriginal water management, this is for you.

For the first time in Victoria’s history, the state government has handed back water to traditional owners, giving them rights to a river system they have managed sustainably for thousands of years.

The Yarra Riverkeeper Association carefully monitors the health of the Yarra River. From here, they can measure the river’s condition and continue to fight for critical improvements.

Mention the Yarra River and you might think of the last few kilometres that cut through the city – but it’s so much more. This iconic river flows 242 kilometres from its source on Mt Baw Baw in the Yarra Ranges National Park, north-east of Melbourne, all the way to Port Phillip Bay. Get to know the river.

The Yarra River's environmental health is being put at risk due to litter, pollution and invasive species, with nearly 180 tonnes of rubbish being collected from the river system over a four-year period, a report has warned.

One of Melbourne’s largest rivers, the Maribyrnong River corridor is critical to the physical and emotional health of many communities in the west of Melbourne.

Whereas the Freshwater took the name ‘Yarra’, the Maribyrnong River was soon named the Saltwater by early settlers, due to the tidal nature of its lower reaches. The name Maribyrnong may derive from mirringgnay-bir-nong which in Woiwurrung (the language of the local Wurundjeri people) is said to mean “I can hear a ringtail possum”. The Maribyrnong River valley has been home for the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nation for up to 40,000 years. Human remains dated at least 15,000 years old have been found along the river, with much older signs of human habitation also present. Thousands of cultural sites and places have been recorded, most along the river. The land and waters of this region continue to hold deep spiritual and cultural significance to the Kulin nations.

Melbourne’s second major river, the mighty Maribyrnong, runs for 160 kilometres from its source on the slopes of Mount Macedon through to Port Phillip Bay. Get to know the river.