On 27 April 2025, the Concerned Waterways Alliance provided feedback to DEECA’s Groundwater Management 2030 team on the proposed questions for developing Victoria’s groundwater monitoring strategy. We welcomed the opportunity to contribute, suggesting additional questions and providing initial input to help shape a more robust, transparent, and community-informed monitoring framework.
Our submission emphasised the need for monitoring to support decision-making, early warning, transparency, and accountability; for broader parameters to be measured, including contaminants and ecological indicators; and for sustainable, publicly funded monitoring programs that maintain public trust. We also stressed the importance of community access to monitoring data and highlighted the significant risks extractive industries pose to groundwater and connected waterways.
Accompanying the CWA submission is a comprehensive contribution tilted Mechanisms & processes that impact groundwater quality and quantity – composed by Tracey Anton from Friends of Latrobe Water. This report highlights how mining and resource extraction across Victoria are degrading groundwater quality and availability. Exploration licences now cover much of the state’s productive land and groundwater basins, while regulatory failures, poor data, and weak oversight have allowed widespread contamination and aquifer disruption.
Case studies reveal risks from mine tailings, wastewater, and groundwater drawdown, affecting ecosystems, agriculture, and communities. Coastal areas face additional threats from seawater intrusion and subsidence. Without urgent reforms, Victoria’s groundwater-dependent ecosystems and water security remain at serious risk.