The Royal Commission of 1897-1901 identified the importance of protecting forested water catchments.
Many areas were identified for stock and domestic consumption and some large reservoirs such as Eildon and Dartmouth were primarily fed from State forest.
The Commission used small speed boats to access the lake edge for fire protection and recreation patrols.
Smaller weirs like Lake Glenmaggie on the Macalister River had a network of channels which fed diary irrigation districts.
The water infrastructure was managed by the State Rivers and Water Supply Commission (SRWSC).
Agreements and policies were progressively put in place between the Forests Commission, the SRWSC and the Soil Conservation Authority (SCA) from the 1940s to ensure water catchment protection.
Melbourne's water supply catchments were treated differently and had been vested in the Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works in 1891.
Some catchments such at the Kiewa and Rubicon were important for hydroelectricity.
 
The 1960s again saw more prolonged droughts and deadly bushfires on the fringes of Melbourne in 1962 and again in 1968.
There were growing concerns about long term water supply security so in 1965 a Parliamentary Public Works Committee began an inquiry into future water supplies for the growing city and reported in 1967.
In response to the inquiry, the Bolte Government immediately approved works for a 20 km diversion tunnel from the Thomson River and planning to begin for the construction the massive Thomson Dam in Gippsland to add considerably to water storage capacity (the Upper Yarra Dam had been completed in 1957).

In addition to the Thomson, a number of smaller diversion catchments known as the Yarra Tributaries were set aside under a lease agreement between the Commission and the MMBW in 1968 to augment water supplies.
Five small concrete weirs on the Armstrong, Starvation, McMahons and Cement Creeks were built to divert water directly into the Silvan Conduit that connected the Upper Yarra Reservoir to Melbourne.
All the newly designated Yarra Tributaries as well as the Thomson Catchment were on State forest, unlike the vested MMBW water catchments set aside in 1891.
They were closed to public access and gates were erected.

The Forests Commission had long opposed the closed catchment policy of the MMBW arguing that timber harvesting, controlled public access and the protection of water supplies were all compatible.
Previously, in 1958–60, the State Development Committee held an inquiry into the utilisation of timber resources in the watersheds of the State and the Commission advocated strongly for logging access to closed catchments.
However, on this occasion they were more concerned that access to timber resources in Thomson would be restricted with construction of a new reservoir and advanced as evidence to the parliamentary inquiry its successful conduct of harvesting in many proclaimed catchments across Victoria.
The State Government had no appetite to overturn the MMBW closed catchment policy that had stood since 1891 but it was resolved that timber harvesting would continue in the Yarra Tributaries and Thomson catchments but with some additional protections.
Construction on the new Thomson Dam commenced in the early 1970s and was completed in 1984.

The MMBW had begun research into forest cover on water supplies as early as 1948.
In the early 1960s it set up a new series of paired catchment experiments in wet mountain forests near Healesville to measure the long term impacts of timber harvesting and bushfire on water quality and quantity.
It took another 10 years for the results to emerge more clearly.
It was found that while timber harvesting had an impact, the most dramatic threat to stream flows remained catastrophic bushfires like those on Black Friday in 1939.
The Royal Commission of 1897-1901 identified the importance of protecting forested water catchments. Many areas were identified for stock and domestic consumption and some large reservoirs such as Eildon and Dartmouth were primarily fed from State forest. The Commission used small speed boats to access the lake edge for fire protection and recreation patrols. Smaller weirs like Lake Glenmaggie on the Macalister River had a network of channels which fed diary irrigation districts. The water infrastructure was managed by the State Rivers and Water Supply Commission (SRWSC). Agreements and policies were progressively put in place between the Forests Commission, the SRWSC and the Soil Conservation Authority (SCA) from the 1940s to ensure water catchment protection. Melbourne's water supply catchments were treated differently and had been vested in the Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works in 1891. Some catchments such at the Kiewa and Rubicon were important for hydroelectricity.  
The 1960s again saw more prolonged droughts and deadly bushfires on the fringes of Melbourne in 1962 and again in 1968. There were growing concerns about long term water supply security so in 1965 a Parliamentary Public Works Committee began an inquiry into future water supplies for the growing city and reported in 1967. In response to the inquiry, the Bolte Government immediately approved works for a 20 km diversion tunnel from the Thomson River and planning to begin for the construction the massive Thomson Dam in Gippsland to add considerably to water storage capacity (the Upper Yarra Dam had been completed in 1957).
In addition to the Thomson, a number of smaller diversion catchments known as the Yarra Tributaries were set aside under a lease agreement between the Commission and the MMBW in 1968 to augment water supplies. Five small concrete weirs on the Armstrong, Starvation, McMahons and Cement Creeks were built to divert water directly into the Silvan Conduit that connected the Upper Yarra Reservoir to Melbourne. All the newly designated Yarra Tributaries as well as the Thomson Catchment were on State forest, unlike the vested MMBW water catchments set aside in 1891. They were closed to public access and gates were erected.
The Forests Commission had long opposed the closed catchment policy of the MMBW arguing that timber harvesting, controlled public access and the protection of water supplies were all compatible. Previously, in 1958–60, the State Development Committee held an inquiry into the utilisation of timber resources in the watersheds of the State and the Commission advocated strongly for logging access to closed catchments. However, on this occasion they were more concerned that access to timber resources in Thomson would be restricted with construction of a new reservoir and advanced as evidence to the parliamentary inquiry its successful conduct of harvesting in many proclaimed catchments across Victoria. The State Government had no appetite to overturn the MMBW closed catchment policy that had stood since 1891 but it was resolved that timber harvesting would continue in the Yarra Tributaries and Thomson catchments but with some additional protections. Construction on the new Thomson Dam commenced in the early 1970s and was completed in 1984.
The MMBW had begun research into forest cover on water supplies as early as 1948. In the early 1960s it set up a new series of paired catchment experiments in wet mountain forests near Healesville to measure the long term impacts of timber harvesting and bushfire on water quality and quantity. It took another 10 years for the results to emerge more clearly. It was found that while timber harvesting had an impact, the most dramatic threat to stream flows remained catastrophic bushfires like those on Black Friday in 1939.
Forests Commission Victoria