Gippsland Lakes

The Gippsland Lakes are one of Victoria's major environmental and tourism destinations.

Spanning an area of 340km², the Lakes form the largest navigable network of inland waterways in Australia.

The Lakes are of great environmental importance, and contain a number of internationally significant RAMSAR wetlands.

As a major tourism and recreation destination, the Lakes provide enormous economic benefits to the Gippsland region.

PROTECTING THE HEALTH OF THE LAKES

The Gippsland Lakes & Catchment Taskforce
In 2002 the State Government appointed the Gippsland Lakes and Catchment Taskforce to oversee the implementation of the Gippsland Lakes Future Directions and Actions Plan.

The Plan aims to reduce nutrient levels entering the Lakes by 40 percent by 2022.

The Plan address five key areas:
1. reducing nutrient levels entering the Lakes;
2. balancing freshwater and salt water flows;
3. maintaining wetlands biodiversity;
4. increasing community awareness and participation, and
5. continued planning and evaluation of the program's effectiveness.

Between 2002 - 2006, the State Government allocated $12.8 million to projects and a further $6M from June 2006 - June 2009.

A copy of the projects for 2008-09 can be viewed here: Projects for 2008-09 (XLS 34 kb)

· Read the Gippsland Lakes Future Directions and Actions Plan

The Taskforce has undertaken several projects to assist the management of the Lakes and their catchment and to improve our understanding of catchment and in-lake processes. The Taskforce has also commissioned several reports to refine the investment in the Plan to ensure project address high priority activities and high priority locations. The following reports are available:

Item Title Author PDF Size
1 Sensitivity analysis of the CSIRO model for the Gippsland Lakes. Nicky Grigg, Ian Webster - CSIRO Land and Water.
John Parslow, Pavel Sakov - CSIRO Marine Research

 1.6 mb
2 Protocols for the optimal measurement of Nutrient Loads

 Prof. David Fox, Dr. Teri Etchells and Dr. Tan 4 mb
3 Quantifying the water quality benefits of erosion and sediment control practices on unsealed forest roads. Dr Gary Sheridan and Mr Philip NoskeSchool of Forest and Ecosystem ScienceThe University of Melbourne

 4.8 mb
4 Assessment of the importance of sediment-bound nutrients

 Andrew R. Longmore, Simon Roberts and Brett Light 198 kb
5 Importance of Sediment Nutrients in the Gippsland Lakes - A report for the Gippsland Task Force

 Andrew R.Longmore1 and Simon Roberts 1 mb
6 BMPs for reducing phosphorus loads to the Gippsland Lakes

 Tony Ladson, Monash University and John Tilleard, Moroka Pty Ltd 423 kb
7 Prioritising nutrient reduction for the Gippsland Lakes and catchments

 Prof. Rodger Grayson - Catchment to Sea Pty. Ltd. 6.4 mb
8 Index of Gippsland Lakes Health - Stage 1

 Paul Boon - Dodo Environmental 1.8 kb
9 Sedimentation in the Gippsland Lakes as determined from sediment cores

 Gary Hancock and Tim Pietsch 699 kb
10 Sources of sediment and nutrients to the Gippsland Lakes: Preliminary modelling results

 Scott Wilkinson, Gary Hancock, Arthur Read and Briohny Davey 4.9 mb
11 Sources of sediment and nutrients to the Gippsland Lakes assessed using catchment modelling and sediment tracers Gary Hancock, Scott Wilkinson and Arthur Read 7.4 mb

How You Can Help
With seven rivers flowing into the Gippsland Lakes, and a total catchment area over 20,000 km² -almost 10 per cent of the State- the capacity for communities to have an impact on the Lakes' health is enormous.

Some simple steps you can take to help save the Lakes include:

  • Preventing contaminants such as sediment or fertilisers from entering drains and waterways from your house or property
  • Disposing of your waste in the right way. (Read about boat sewage pump out)
  • Not littering our waterways and water bodies
  • Supporting those actions in your local areas which benefit our Lakes and streams.