Kayaking on Gippsland Lakes Credit: Visit Gippsland
Applications are now open for further submission into AGL’s application for a new bulk entitlement for mine rehabilitation, specifically in regard to the economic value of the water.
You can make a submission by 22nd July 2025 by heading to Engage Victoria.
Gunaikurnai people have called it Durt’Yowan for thousands of years. We know it as the Latrobe River – the lifeblood that starts high in the Victorian Alps and winds its way through Gippsland before feeding into the internationally protected Gippsland Lakes.
But here’s the kicker: this river is already on life support, and now three coal mining companies want to drain it further to fill their massive coal pits.
The Water Grab: What AGL Really Wants from Our River
First to act for the great Latrobe water grab is AGL (the Loy Yang mine licensee), applying to the State Water Minister for a new bulk water entitlement to access approximately 36 million litres (36 gigalitres (GL)) per year for water-based rehabilitation of the Loy Yang mine pit.
In total, AGL’s water application represents around 2 Sydney Harbours worth of water taken from the Latrobe River and groundwater system. This is approximately 1000 GL of water over 30 years – enough to fill 53,000 Olympic swimming pools every single year for three decades.
If that sounds massive, it’s because it is.
Here’s what makes this truly shocking: this application is just the start. Collectively, the total water demand for rehabilitation of the three Latrobe Valley mines with full pit lakes will reach 2,341 GL – more than four and a half Sydney Harbours which doesn’t include top up of 15 GL/year to account for evaporation.
The Ticking Time Bomb Nobody Talks About
Another issue no-one is talking about: the Morwell River Diversion (MRD) levee which runs through the Yallourn Mine is going to collapse. Not might collapse – will collapse. Energy Australia Yallourn have said “it’s foreseeable,” but somehow this massive game-changer doesn’t get a mention in this water application other than Friends of Latrobe Water submission, challenging why?
Worst, the technical risk report used by the water minister and miners to assess how much river water could be taken annually from the system did not consider this significant loss of water and the threat it poses to other users and the health of the Latrobe River.
This MRD levee supports the unregulated Morwell River and sits between two giant coal pits on Energy Australia Yallourn mine land. It has the ability for fish and sediment nutrients to flow from high in the Strzelecki’s through to the Latrobe River and downstream, feeding the life in the lower wetlands and beyond. However, there is now a new normal, since the repair works to the MRD in 2021, which changed the MRD structure, which means loss of variable flows as the levee can no longer support high flows and floods which are essential for river resilience and flushing of the Latrobe River through to the Gippsland Lakes. High flows are now diverted into the mined-out Township field of the Yallourn mine, with Energy Australia planning for an engineered spillway to divert water via a coal pit before it enters the Latrobe River when they begin the full pit rehabilitation.
How can the water minister decide on AGL’s water application if the integrity of the MRD is unknown? It’s like planning your household budget while completely ignoring that your biggest source of income is about to disappear.
The Latrobe River butts up against the boundary of Yallourn open cut mine, just downstream of where the Morwell River Diversion currently releases it’s flows into the Latrobe. Credit: Friends of Latrobe Water
A River Already On the Brink
Let’s be honest about where we’re starting from. The Latrobe River system is already what experts call “flow-stressed” and “over-extracted.” Some sections are in worse shape than others, but the bottom line is we’re already asking more of this river than it can sustainably give.
The flow regulation from loss of meanders and overextractions has messed with the river’s natural rhythm. It’s changed how sediment moves, disconnected floodplains and contributed to the salinity problems plaguing Lake Wellington and the Gippsland Lakes.
Now imagine adding even more pressure to this already struggling system.
The Dolphins Are Trying to Tell Us Something
Everything that happens to the Latrobe River flows downstream to the Gippsland Lakes – those world-famous wetlands that are supposed to protect biodiversity under international law.
Here’s a heartbreaking reality check: there are only 65 Burrunan dolphins left in the Gippsland Lakes. That’s out of just 280 remaining in all of Victoria and Tasmania combined. These unique dolphins are already showing signs of stress – ulcers and skin discoloration from heavy metals and other nasties in the water.
Less freshwater flow means higher concentrations of these toxins.
Burrunan Dolphins in the Gippsland Lakes. Credit: Marine Mammal Foundation
The Climate Reality Check
This is where things get really challenging. Climate change is already reducing water availability across our region. We’re seeing more extreme weather events, longer dry periods and higher temperatures.
In this context, committing to massive water extractions for the next 30 years seems like planning for yesterday’s climate, not tomorrow’s reality. What happens when the dry years get drier and the system simply can’t provide the water that’s been promised?
The Money Question That No One Wants to Answer
This might surprise you – while AGL executives have told community groups they expect to pay for this water, there was no mention of costs in their application.
Historically, energy operators have only paid infrastructure costs, paying next to nothing for the water they consume to provide energy. While this situation may have benefited us as the energy customers, the situation is changing. Should these companies be able to take water from our system for another 30+ years to fill their pits without paying a fair price for it?
This raises some uncomfortable questions: Are taxpayers expected to subsidise water for mine rehabilitation? If the government knows this will negatively impact the river system, what compensation comes back to fund river restoration?
Meanwhile, alternative water sources like recycled and desalinated water are dismissed as “too expensive” to fill the mine pits – but expensive compared to what, if river water is apparently free?
Fortunately, because of our collective voice calling for river justice, the water minister is currently conducting further consultation to price the water for these new allocations and to determine where should that money go.
We would strongly object to that money being consolidated into state treasury, and wholeheartedly support it being directed towards local river restoration works, like those already being established by Catchment Management Authorities, who work with Traditional Owners and landholders to support river health.
What’s Really at Stake Here
This isn’t just about water allocations and technical applications. This is about what kind of future we want for Gippsland.
Do we want a future where our river system gets pushed to breaking point to serve companies that have already extracted massive profits from our region? Or do we want healthy waterways where families can fish, boat and enjoy clean water for generations to come?
Mine rehabilitation is important – absolutely. But there are other options. Manufactured water from recycling plants works. Alternative rehabilitation approaches exist for consideration. The question is whether we have the political will to demand better solutions instead of just accepting the cheapest option for the companies involved.
Family enjoying fishing on Gippsland Lakes. Credit: Visit Gippsland
The Decisions Ahead
The Victorian Water Minister, Gayle Tierney has some massive decisions to make. The law requires her to consider whether these applications will have “significant impacts” on the water system. Given everything we know, it’s hard to see how the answer could be anything but a resounding ‘yes’.
What we desperately need is:
– Complete transparency about all costs and alternatives – no more hiding the true price of “cheap” river water.
– Investment in a program of activities which will restore the Latrobe River – asking the companies to pay a fair price for the water and investing that back into the health of the river and Gippsland Lakes.
– Proper assessment of cumulative impacts, including the ticking time bomb of the Morwell River diversion collapse
– Review mechanisms that can adapt to our changing climate reality
Your River, Your Voice, Your Future
The Latrobe River belongs to all of us. It’s supported Gunaikurnai peoples for thousands of years, settlers for generations, and continues to be the lifeblood of our region today.
What happens over the next year will shape Gippsland future and how the river flows for the next three decades. If you care about clean water, healthy ecosystems and a sustainable future for Gippsland, now is the time to make your voice heard.
Because once we give away our water rights, getting them back is a whole lot harder.
Applications are now open for further submission into AGL’s application for a new bulk entitlement for mine rehabilitation, specifically in regard to the economic value of the water.
You can make a submission by 22nd July 2025 by heading to Engage Victoria.