"Certainly for regional areas it is one of the critical areas, especially in line with the drought conditions," Ms Cousins said.

Water management, in particular waste water management, is one of the topics to be discussed at the two day Environmental Health Conference taking place in Ballarat.

Drought-recovery and planning for a pandemic influenza outbreak were also on the agenda, Ms Cousins said.

More than 100 environmental health delegates, mainly from local government, are attending the conference which began yesterday at the Ballarat Lodge.

"We have some fantastic speakers," Ms Cousins said yesterday.

"It's mainly a networking opportunity for our delegates to speak with colleagues and experts in their field."

City of Ballarat chief executive officer Richard Hancock said the conference was a fantastic opportunity for environmental health officers to share information about contemporary issues.

"The Australian Institute of Environmental Health State Conference draws together a number of health professionals to discuss a broad range of environmental health subjects concerning the wellbeing of both the community

and the environment," Mr Hancock said.

"The City of Ballarat has taken some innovative steps towards improving the city's environmental health condition."

Mr Hancock said it was the second time the conference had been held in Ballarat.