A 50-year draft strategy to secure water supplies for farms, homes, industry and the environment has been released for community feedback.

The Draft Western Region Sustainable Water Strategy sets out 60 proposals to manage the impacts of drought, climate change, land use change and other pressures on water resources.

The Western Region Sustainable Water Strategy covers almost one-third of Victoria and includes the Mallee, Avoca, Wimmera-Avon, Millicent, Glenelg, Hopkins, Portland Coast, Lake Corangamite and Otway Coast river basins.

The Draft Strategy has been developed by the State Government, in consultation with water corporations, catchment management authorities, and industry, farming and environmental groups.

Wannon Water has been a member of the Western Region Sustainable Water Strategy Consultative Committee, which has been meeting regarding the strategy since 2009.

The Draft Strategy shows the Western Region has received lower rainfall than anywhere else in the State during the past 13 years of drought, and that the potential impacts of climate change could see an equally dry future.

A continuation of recent dry conditions could see future water availability reduced by between 30 per cent in the Otways to up to 90 per cent in the Avoca river basin compared to the long-term average.

The Draft Strategy examines water sharing arrangements in the pipelined Wimmera-Mallee supply system in the light of climate change, and the implications of climate change for the Wimmera and Glenelg rivers.

It proposes a state-wide approach to manage groundwater in response to increasing demands on groundwater.

The Draft Strategy also looks at how land use changes can impact water availability at a sub-catchment level, particularly when deep-rooted vegetation is planted in higher rainfall areas or where there is access to shallow groundwater.

Submissions to the Draft Strategy have been extended until 5pm Monday, 21 June 2010. For details on how to make a submission, click here.