Managing Water for the Environment During Drought: Lessons from Victoria, Australia

Over the past 30 years the Australian state of Victoria developed innovative approaches to planning and setting priorities for environmental water, along with new tools to manage it. These sweeping reforms were in part a response to the Millennium Drought, a decade-long record dry spell that severely affected all water use in Victoria. California—currently in its fifth year of drought—has many similarities with Victoria, including significant challenges in managing the health of rivers and wetlands during times of extreme water scarcity. In this report, we examine the reforms enacted by Victoria and compare them to current environmental water management policies in California. This comparison highlights some key lessons learned by Victoria that may help guide how California adapts environmental water management to address future droughts. The environmental policy reforms enacted by Victoria were difficult and at times highly controversial. While it will take years to fully understand whether these reforms had their intended effect, there is no doubt that the state’s new approach to managing environmental water avoided some serious biological losses during the drought. Additionally, it is clear that the state is much better prepared for the next drought.