The Bureau of Meteorology has taken responsibility for making riverine flood forecasts and warnings across Greater Melbourne, in a bid to streamline the system and improve public access to information.

Before July 1, Melbourne Water assessed and prepared the forecasts, while the bureau published the warnings on its behalf.

The change aligns Melbourne’s flood warning arrangements with those across the rest of Victoria and nationally.

Bureau GM of decision support services Chantal Donnelly says the agency’s meteorologists and hydrologists will analyse rain and river data to support communities and emergency services during floods.

The move means the bureau is now responsible for river observations, forecasting and warnings at 27 locations across the Werribee, Maribyrnong, Yarra, Dandenong Creek and Bunyip catchments.

Flood warnings for the Yarra catchment will be issued separately for the upper and lower reaches of the river following community feedback, allowing more targeted warnings.

Melbourne Water says it has worked with the bureau to establish a continuous data feed from its rainfall and river level gauges, allowing real-time information to be published on the bureau's website.

The State Emergency Service will continue to issue localised emergency warnings and calls to action through the VicEmergency website, app and social media channels, while also publishing the bureau’s flood warnings.

The service’s chief officer of operations Alistair Drayton says the changes implement recommendations from the inquiry into Victoria’s 2022 floods and create a more consistent warning system for the state.