As the weather has become warmer and drier, there have been several cases of people parking at boat ramps or besides waterways on public roads and pumping water into their trailer tanks.
G-MW water delivery services general manager Warren Blyth said people caught doing this would face legal action.
“The water stored in our lakes, dams and reservoirs belongs to entitlement holders,” Mr Blyth said.
“When people illegally take water from our storages and waterways, they are taking our customers’ water.
“Water is a valuable and limited resource. To ensure fairness in how it is used, we take a zero-tolerance approach to any form of unauthorised take.”
Anyone caught pumping water from a G-MW storage or waterway without the appropriate authorisations can be prosecuted for water theft under the Water Act 1989.
Mr Blyth said those in need of water, but lacking entitlements, could contact G-MW to discuss their options.
“Our diversions inspectors can help people with any questions about how they can gain authorisation to take water,” he said.
“People in urgent need of water also have the option of using emergency water supply points.”
There are about 300 emergency water supply points in Victoria. These are bores and standpipes that people can draw water from for emergency stock and domestic or rural needs.
People can search for nearby emergency water supply points on the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action website: https://www.water.vic.gov.au/for-agriculture-and-industry/emergency-water-supply-points
Anyone wanting to discuss their options for sourcing water can phone G-MW on 1800 013 357.
People can use the same number to report any instances of water theft or send an email to: compliance@gmwater.coam.au
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