About

Over the past century, the Murray River has been regulated with weirs, dams and levees to support communities, agriculture and industry. While this has delivered many benefits, it has reduced the frequency and extent of natural flooding that wetlands and floodplains need to survive.

The VMFRP will reconnect parts of the floodplain to the Murray River by removing barriers to flow and building carefully designed infrastructure to support the seasonal wetting cycles that native plants and animals depend on.  This infrastructure includes gated structures known as regulators, which control the movement of water between the river and surrounding wetlands in a controlled and carefully timed way, along with containment banks that help direct and retain water. By returning water to these landscapes when natural floods do not occur, forests, shrublands and wetlands can regenerate, and habitat for threatened native species can recover and thrive.

The VMFRP focuses on priority floodplains in northern Victoria and has the potential to improve the ecological health of around 15,000 hectares of wetlands and flood-dependent forests. The VMFRP is one of the largest coordinated environmental improvement programs currently being delivered along the Murray River. It will help meet Victoria’s ecological objectives under the Murray-Darling Basin Plan.

The VMFRP is funded by the Australian Government and delivered by the Victorian Government, Lower Murray Water, Goulburn-Murray Water, Mallee and North Central Catchment Management Authorities and Parks Victoria.