A consultation draft of the Living Ballarat project, which has been criticised for lengthy delays and a lack of results, was unveiled on Tuesday morning.

Living Ballarat control board chairman Dr Mark Harris believes everything is on track and said the consultation phase would be completed within a couple of months.

“It took a long time, but you have to do the science and do it properly,” Dr Harris said.

“We have a couple of months to get the consultation done with the water sector.”

The Victorian Government’s flagship water cycle management project looks at how to effectively use and retain stormwater in an urban environment.

The draft outlined five consultation points to seek feedback from stakeholders on how to continue water efficiency, retain water bodies during drought, ensure water-conscious urban developments, reduce dependency on catchments and invest in water infrastructure.

“Living Ballarat creates an environment where water is used for the right purpose and valued appropriately as part of a whole water cycle. It’s quite revolutionary,” Dr Harris said. 

The Living Ballarat project has been running since April last year and is expected to be used as a pilot program for other parts of the state. 

Water Minister Peter Walsh launched the consultation draft at a function at the Ballarat Golf Club on Tuesday. 

“The drought focused everyone’s mind on how precious water is,” Mr Walsh said.

“Ballarat is the flagship centre for the project, which will aim to retain nine billion litres of urban runoff water.

“If you increase the amount of greenery, moisture and tree cover you take away the heat bank created from the urban environment.”

david.jeans@fairfaxmedia.com.au