Victoria’s long-term drying trend is expected to continue, and by 2065 the Melbourne and Geelong region will be relying on manufactured water for an estimated 75 per cent of its supplies, the draft strategy says.

“Without a planned approach to sustainable water management, Melbourne and Geelong are at risk of water shortfalls this decade,” the report says.

Relying more heavily on manufactured water rather than river water will mean greater water entitlements can be returned to traditional owners and the environment in a heavily oversubscribed system, it finds.

Historic water injustices for traditional owners, who have long been excluded from water management and ownership in Victoria, “must be remedied”.

The Gunaikurnai Land and Waters Aboriginal Corporation was given two gigalitres of water from the Mitchell River last year, the first cultural water hand-back in Victoria.

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Lisa Hocking, the centre’s policy and program manager, said all traditional owners should be able to determine how to use water on their Country. “It’s very important for healing Country, and people as well,” Ms Hocking said.

Under the draft strategy, environmental water will also be returned to major rivers, many of which are in poor health and home to threatened species such as the platypus, which was added to Victoria’s threatened species list in January and is classified as “vulnerable”.

Melbourne’s residential water consumption has decreased by more than one-third in 20 years: from 245 litres per person per day in 2001 to 157 litres today.

The Victorian desalination plant, near Wonthaggi, was announced by then premier Steve Bracks in 2007 at the height of the millennium drought, when Melbourne’s water storage levels dropped to less than 30 per cent.

It was completed in 2012 under a public-private partnership. In 2019-20 about 125 billion litres was ordered from the plant, at the cost of $63 million to customers. In 2020-21 the same amount was ordered, at a cost of $73.8 million.

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