The Gellibrand River is the backbone of the Otway region in South West Victoria, supporting life, primary industry and recreation activities. The river also contributes to our largest water supply system, the Otway system, providing water to more than 26,000 customers.

We want to make sure we're looking after the river while ensuring a secure water supply for the future. That's why we're delivering a major upgrade to the Otway supply system to increase water security and reduce environmental impacts on the Gellibrand River.

This project is a partnership with the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action, the Corangamite Catchment Management Authority, Southern Rural Water and Eastern Maar.

Three main projects are planned over the next few years, including:

• Converting the Curdievale emergency deep groundwater bore to a production bore.
• Construction of a secondary emergency bore at Curdievale.

This will provide up to 10 megalitres of groundwater per day to supplement the existing supply during high demand periods, reducing pressure on the Gellibrand River.

Measures will also be undertaken at the Dales Road raw water storage in Warrnambool to protect against the increased risk of algae blooms due to the addition of groundwater in the water supply.

Reducing how much we extract from the Gellibrand River, especially in the summer months, will improve river flows, protecting native fish and wildlife including the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act listed Australian Grayling. It will also reduce the risk of fish deaths after artificial estuary openings.

As planned in our Urban Water Strategy, taking proactive measures like this ensures our community and industry will have a safe, secure water supply well into the future while reducing impacts on the environment.

The $10 million Gellibrand River Restoration and Supply Resilience project is jointly funded by the Australian Government, through the National Water Grid Fund’s Water Infrastructure for Sustainable and Efficient Regions initiative, and Wannon Water.