Melbourne's drinking water is being put at risk by "widespread" illegal logging near water catchment areas, according to scientists Chris Taylor and David Lindenmayer from the Fenner School.

In Victoria, regulations prohibit logging on steep slopes — usually more than 30 degrees — to protect the integrity of critical water catchments used for drinking and agriculture.

But ANU scientists have found 231 hectares of steep slopes in Victoria's Central Highlands have been clear-felled — an area larger than Melbourne's Docklands.

Read more at the ABC website.