The Broken River System

The Broken River system is the regulated part of the Broken Basin in north-eastern Victoria. The basin covers an area of approximately 7,700 square kilometres.

Water in the system is managed through water entitlements and seasonal determinations. Allocations mainly rely on inflows into Lake Nillahcootie, as well as unregulated flows in the river coming from local tributaries like Hollands Creek.

Similar to other areas of northern Victoria, the Broken system is being impacted by climate change. Average annual inflows have declined, and water availability can greatly vary from year to year.

Because of this, it is challenging for water entitlement holders, including irrigators, and stock and domestic users, to plan their water use.

These issues were the subject of a review of the Broken system, which was completed in 2022.

The Broken River System Review

A review of the Broken System has been undertaken considering the impact of dry conditions and low inflows on the system. The review also looked at water management changes that could help to deal with the changing climate.

A Project Steering Group of water entitlement holders led the review with support from the Victorian Government. The review included technical investigations and gathered feedback from entitlement holders.

In 2022, the review made seven recommendations to the Minister for Water about the future management of the system.

These included actions to improve water trading and the flexibility available to entitlement holders, investigations to improve access to water for critical domestic and stock needs in dry years, a focus on sustainable irrigation, and an investigation of options for system reconfiguration.

All seven recommendations were accepted and are being implemented. The Broken Reconfiguration Feasibility Study is one of these recommendations.