The Latrobe Valley’s mine rehabilitation moment: water, rivers, wetlands, and why CWA keeps showing up

Sep 1, 2025 | Issues

Across the Latrobe Valley, the end of coal is finally in view, and what happens next will shape the Latrobe River, the Gippsland Lakes and the communities that depend on them for generations. Hazelwood shut in 2017; Yallourn’s owner has reaffirmed it will close by 2028; and Loy Yang A is slated to retire by 30 June 2035.

This transition is governed by a strengthened regulatory framework for “declared mines” and by a region-wide rehabilitation strategy. New Declared Mines regulations commenced in 2022 to lift standards for rehabilitation planning and transparency, and the Latrobe Valley Regional Rehabilitation Strategy (LVRRS) sets the high-level policy direction.

The water story—big picture

The mining companies are clear in their intent, their position is that the only viable form of mine rehabilitation is to fill the pits with water. This also is widely acknowledged as likely to be the cheapest rehabilitation option. However the LVRRS’ water studies are blunt: fully filling the three mine voids could take up to ~3,000 GL which is nearly 50% more than the combined volume of all 10 of Melbourne's water reservoirs. Even a partial, stability-focused approach still totals ~1,600 GL, with an ongoing ~15 GL/yr needed just to offset evaporation. Those evaporation volumes are comparable to what towns across Central Gippsland use each year. Volumes to fill the pits will largely come from water stripped from the region's waterways. In other words, choices about mine water directly intersect with the river and the Lakes.

For the Gippsland Lakes, especially Lake Wellington and the Lower Latrobe Wetlands, freshwater from the Latrobe is lifeblood. Over the past two decades the Latrobe has supplied, on average, nearly 60% of Lake Wellington’s freshwater inflow. Reducing that freshwater pulse further (particularly under a drier climate) risks accelerating salinisation and degrading Ramsar-listed ecosystems and species.

Redgum die off in lower Latrobe River due to salt water from Lake Wellington encroaching into the river and upstream during periods of low flow. Lake Wellington is visible in the distance. Photo courtesy Mary Connor

Independent scientists advising the LVRRS concluded that continuing current-level extractions under a drier climate would see further environmental values decline, and taking more water makes things worse. Flood-harvesting to fill pit lakes was identified as particularly detrimental to Lake Wellington and the Lower Latrobe Wetlands.

The government’s intervention (so far)

In an attempt to minimise harm while allowing rehabilitation, the State has proposed clear access conditions for surface water (especially relevant to Yallourn and Loy Yang):

  • Limit access to winter–spring (June–Nov) only.
  • Protect a baseflow threshold of 447 ML/day in the Latrobe (measured at a new Willow Grove compliance point) so routine baseflows aren’t tapped.
  • Cap releases from mine licensees’ Blue Rock shares to 44 GL/yr to reduce pressure in dry sequences.
  • Keep total annual take for mine rehab around the historic average (~63 GL/yr), rather than full entitlement volumes.
  • Time-limit access to 30 years from first supply (or to 2065, whichever comes first).

These sit alongside due-process steps under the Water Act, applications must be advertised and the Minister must consider impacts on waterways, existing users and the environment.

Meanwhile, each operator must file a Declared Mine Rehabilitation Plan by October 2025, against which their proposals and risks can be assessed.

What CWA is pushing for (and why)

As a network of river advocates, scientists and community groups, the Concerned Waterways Alliance (CWA) has leaned into the detail, submitting on licences, pricing and draft plans to keep rivers, wetlands and communities front and centre.

Underpinning all of this is the science: environmental flow recommendations for the Latrobe/estuary/wetlands quantify the minimum events needed to keep the system fresh and functioning; shortfalls, especially under a drying climate, translate into salinisation and biodiversity loss. The Central and Gippsland Region Sustainable Water Strategy (CGRSWS) seeks the return of 129GL of desperately needed environmental flows to the Latrobe System. To what extent this water justice action has been put at risk, due to the need to allow for water to fill the mine pits, is still unclear.

What to watch next

  • Operator plans (2025): DMRPs are due by October 2025. Expect detailed scrutiny of water sources, staged timelines, water quality management, ash risks and monitoring/TARPs.
  • Hazelwood EES: The rehabilitation proposal is being assessed through Victoria’s Environment Effects Statement process (with Commonwealth assessment too), providing a formal avenue to test impacts and alternatives. Planningengie.com.au
  • Water access decisions: Any application for surface water access must be advertised and open to submissions—community voices remain crucial.

CWA will keep working for a rehabilitation pathway that restores the Latrobe system instead of adding to its burden, because what happens in the pits does not stay in the pits; it impacts downriver to Heart Morass, Dowd Morass and Lake Wellington.

The Victorian government's intervention is welcome, but it only goes so far. The science warns that extractions for mining rehabilitation will continue to degrade the health of the Latrobe system, even more acutely under a drying climate. Our role is to help on the ground groups like Friends of Latrobe Water, Friends of the Gippsland Lakes, and the Gippsland Environment Group ensure mine rehabilitation strengthens, not weakens, the Latrobe River and the Lakes it feeds, nor allow it to take away from the environmental flows promised for this system.