Water definitions

Inland waters

Inland waters (freshwater) are:

  • any waterway from its mouth to its source and any inlet or lagoon connected with it; and
  • any swamp, lake, lagoon, backwater, billabong, dam, river, stream or public water storage reservoir.

Inland waters do not include:

  • the Gippsland Lakes, Lower Lake of Mallacoota Inlet (see map 5), Lake Tyers (see map 7), Anderson's Inlet and Wingan Inlet (which are considered marine waters).

Marine waters

Marine waters are:

  • the Gippsland Lakes, Lower Lake of Mallacoota Inlet (see map 5), Lake Tyers (see map 7) and Wingan Inlet; and
  • Victorian waters that are not inland waters such as (but not limited to) Port Phillip Bay, Western Port.

Note: Water on private property, such as farm dams, are neither inland nor marine waters.

Mouth

Mouth: Imaginary line between the most seaward banks of a river or estuary where:

  • those waters meet the sea (for examples see maps 1 and 2).
  • where those waters flow into a bay, inlet or lake that is defined as a marine water (eg. Port Phillip Bay, Gippsland Lakes, Wingan Inlet) (see map 3).
a map displaying an inland and marine water boundary 

Map 1: Example of an inland and marine water boundary

 

Map 2: Example of an inland and marine water boundary

 


Map 3: Example of an inland and marine water boundary

 

The location of the inland/marine water boundary (mouth) differs for the following waterways (see maps 4-9).

Map 4: Inland and marine water boundary at Curdies Inlet

 

Map 5: Inland and marine water boundary at Mallacoota Inlet

 

Map 6: Inland and marine water boundary at the Merri River

 

Map 7: Inland and marine water boundaries at Lake Tyers

 

Map 8: Inland and marine water boundary at the Barwon River

 Map 9: Inland and marine water boundary at the Yarra River