Report Card 2023-24 - Port Phillip, Western Port and Gippsland Lakes

In 2023–24, water quality in Port Phillip Bay and some catchments improved compared to previous years. However, the conditions in the Gippsland Lakes and Western Port mostly stayed the same.

Water quality was often Very Good or Good in rivers at higher elevations. As the rivers flowed through rural, agricultural, and urban areas, quality generally dropped to Poor, or Very Poor. In the bays and lakes, water quality was mostly Very Good or Good in areas where it mixed with larger water volumes.

Data from the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) shows rainfall in central Victoria was below average during this period. It was average in the Gippsland region. Drier weather likely:

• cut river flows
• decreased polluted runoff into waterways
• increased salinity
• led to more frequent or longer algal blooms.