Water or Woodchips

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Water or Woodchips? - Managing Melbourne's
Forested Catchments - Melbourne Water Catchment
Network April 2008
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All of Melbourne's water comes from forested
catchments to the north east of the City
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Almost half of these catchments are State Forest
where logging can occur.
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Logging has been, and is, extensive and is
planned to continue indefinitely.
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Extensive logging has occurred in the upper Yarra
sub-catchments (Starvation and McMahons) and
isspreading into new areas (Cement and
Armstrong).
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Similarly, in the Tarago and Bunyip
sub-catchments, extensive logging has occurred
and is planned.
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Analysis of State forest in the Thomson catchment
shows logging is concentrated only on the high
rainfall slopes of Mt Baw Baw.
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The rate of logging in the high rainfall ash
forest in the Thomson catchment is alarming.
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Logging is causing a significant reduction in
water yields. This fact is scientifically based,
widely accepted, and does not need to be further
proven.
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The cessation of logging would increase the
supply ofwater to Melbourne by more than 50GL pa
within 40 years
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A comparison with the desalination option
reveals the importance of the logging issue.
Stop logging
Desalination
catchments
plant
Capital cost
20 million
3 billion
Water produced (40 years)
50GL
150 GL
Energy consumed
nil
substantial

Water Cost (annual)
nil
150 million
Water quality
Pure/natural
synthetic
Greenhouse gas impact
nil
substantial
Indicative cost of terminating current
logging licences.
Based on cost of 1000 per ML
(Conservative).
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The value of the lost water is far greater than
the value of woodchips and sawn timber
ECONOMIC VALUE OF SAWLOGS AND PULP LOGS
HARVESTED FROM CATCHMENTS
ECONOMIC VALUE OF WATER GAINED BY CESSATION OF
LOGGING IN CATCHMENTS
Net present value 68-88 million
Net present value 361-468 million
Compare
Water values exceed logging values by a factor of
five
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Wildfire is a red-herring. Major fires are
naturally infrequentin the wet forests which
produce 80 of Melbourne's water.

• Logging practices start bushfires.
• Logging practices dry wet forests out.
• Fire fighters stopped the 2007 fires burning the
  catchments.

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Cessation of logging wont affect APM
significantly
Victorian native forest woodchip output.
Read Sturgess (1994) and WaterSmart (2002)
reports found substitute woodchip can readily be
found.
Source FOI log volume data
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Three strategies, in combination, can compensate
for the loss of sawlogs taken from Melbournes
catchments.
Strategies to offset lost sawlogs
Melbourne catchments projected to supply 12 of
State-wide sawlog output.

• Substitute plantation/other materials forlow
  grade (C D) hardwood used to make
• Pallets, palings, scantling(At least 50 Central
  Highlands timber production. Source ABARE 1998)
• 2. Better utilisation of native forest woodchip
  logs
• Residual log sawlog
• Obtain sawlogs from areas less strategicallyimpor
  tant for water production purposes.

12 56,000 m3
Source MBAC 2007
Average woodchip and sawlog output Central
Gippsland and Dandenong FMA (19992004)
Sawlogs that have been split destined for Midway
export woodchips.
Source Photo taken travelling south on Western
Ring Road Feb 2008.
Source FOI log volume data
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Water Smart in 2002 recommended that a strategy
for cessation of logging be developed by 2004
Water Smart Recommendation 15 (October 2002)
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If Melbourne communities want a policy change on
this issue, they must act now.
This photo, taken in September 2007, shows the
Thomson dam at only 25 full. The yellow line is
the high water full mark.

• Yarra Ranges Shire
• Bayside City Council
• Moreland City Council
• City of Yarra
• City of Port Phillip
• City of Whitehorse
• Knox City Council

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• www.melbournecatchments.org