The Port Phillip Bay (PPB) EMP is a 10-year plan that will provide an overarching framework for government and other organisations to work together to address the key threats to the health of the Bay.

The Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) led the development of the EMP in partnership with Melbourne Water and Victoria EPA.  The EMP Framework has seven-priority area that could each have targets.

Alluvium was engaged to develop a discussion paper aimed at understanding targets that will drive actions to ensure the Bay’s water quality does not deteriorate over the next 30 years and continues to meet the water quality objectives of the Waters SEPP.

The paper focused on describing the benefits of quantifiable load reduction targets and specific aspects of load reduction targets for PPB (including single number targets vs ranges, targets for specific forms of nitrogen, targets for specific catchments.

We presented methods to define, measure and report progress towards the targets (e.g. monitoring, models, statistical approaches (3-year rolling averages) and the alignment of the targets with other plans and strategies (including SEPP Waters, Victorian Waterways Management Strategy, Melbourne Water’s Healthy Waterways Strategy 2018).