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Melbourne Urban Stormwater Institutional Arrangements Review (MUSIA) update

MUSIA  is the ongoing review of the arrangements between Melbourne Water and local councils to clarify stormwater management roles and responsibilities in the greater Melbourne area.

The following actions have been completed in 2022

  • Through 2022 the MUSIA Project Working Group has been focussing on providing Melbourne Water and councils with more information on the change to asset ownership to assist their understanding of the implications of a 60 hectare catchment delineator.
  • Melbourne Water engaged Rain Consulting to develop a revised catchment delineation method which was based on a digital elevation model using LiDAR data, asset information and manual engineering checking.
  • 36 individual council workshops were held to test the revised catchment delineation method, and to assist agencies to understand the magnitude of change in asset ownership. This information has also provided the opportunity for Melbourne Water and Councils to review the catchment data in detail to understand potential changes.
  • Understanding the delineation of responsibilities based on a 60 hectare catchment basis is just one of the activities in scope of this review. Other work currently being undertaken by the Project Working Group includes considering how the various issues identified through the recent consultation process will be dealt with, including those which require more in-depth analysis, and/or those issues which are more relevant for an implementation phase.
  • The Project Working Group is preparing an issues report outlining the key issues and the agreed approach for addressing these issues for the Project Steering Group. Funding options and proposed new governance arrangements are also being developed. Once these have been considered by the steering committee, a paper outlining the detailed proposals for new arrangements will be circulated to Melbourne Water and all councils for further consultation prior to a final decision confirmation aimed to be made in early 2023.