1. Commonwealth environmental water management
Ben Docker, Director, Environmental Water Policy

2. Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder
Established by the Water Act 2007 to manage the Commonwealth holdings:
 With independence to ensure that the holdings are managed for the best
possible environmental outcomes from the available water
 To perform its functions for the purpose of protecting or restoring
environmental assets (including rivers, streams and wetlands)
 so as to give effect to relevant international agreements
 taking a Basin-wide approach
 To act in accordance with the MDBA environmental watering plan when
in place. A guide to the proposed Basin Plan was released last October
 276 gigalitres of water has already been made available for
environmental use
www.environment.gov.au

3. Water for the Future
A 10-year plan to secure the long-term water supply of all Australians,
consisting of:
 Policy and administrative reforms with four high level objectives:
 Climate adaptation
 Using water wisely
 Including sustainable rural water use and infrastructure program
 Securing water supplies
 Healthy rivers and waterways
 Including restoring the balance in the Murray-Darling Basin; and
 Managing water entitlements to protect and restore environmental assets
www.environment.gov.au

4. Acquiring water entitlements
 Restoring the Balance in the Basin ($3.1 billion)
 Water purchased through tenders with entitlements to be managed by the CEWH
 Aims to restore the balance between consumptive use and the environment
 Assists transition to a new cap
 Sustainable Rural Water and Infrastructure ($5.8 billion)
 Infrastructure investments assisting the rural sector to adapt to an environment of
less water, via improving the efficiency and productivity of water use
 Where water is saved a share of the water will be acquired by the Commonwealth
and managed by the CEWH
www.environment.gov.au

5. Commonwealth environmental water holdings
 As at 31 January 2011, the total amount of entitlements registered in the
holdings was 861 GL
www.environment.gov.au

6. Context of environmental water use
 Holding tradeable water entitlements rather than a manager of an
environmental reserve or of operating rules (i.e. as a market participant)
 Different situations across the Basin require different solutions
 Including water shepherding arrangements within and through unregulated
parts of the Basin
 Decisions about priorities need to be made against a clearly articulated
and transparent framework
 Use of water is not just about specific “sites” but the connectivity between
sites and use of the water for improving river health
 Monitoring of outcomes needs to be focussed and clearly demonstrate
achievements
www.environment.gov.au

7. Active Management - Efficiency
Active management provides opportunities for efficiency:
 Using infrastructure (e.g. regulators) and pumps to direct water to
particular sites
 Calling water at a time that achieves the highest outcome:
 supplementing planned environmental water and other flows;
 achieving more natural seasonal flows (e.g. winter rather than summer
flows);
 carrying over water to subsequent years to prepare for drier periods.
 Transferring between catchments of the southern connected system
(depending on conditions)
 In the future, trading allocations / entitlements with purchase of other
allocations / entitlements (either later or in another catchment)
www.environment.gov.au

8. Multi-Site Use
Efficiency
4. Lower Lakes, 2. Edward-Wakool and • Improves water
Coorong and Werai Forest use efficiency
3. Murray River
Murray Mouth
Channel
(separate site
watering would
require more
water).
1. Barmah • Accounting
Millewa Forest issues to be
resolved.
Requires
significant
coordination
across
catchments.
www.environment.gov.au

9. www.environment.gov.au

10. Commonwealth environmental water holdings
 In the past the planned environmental water was amongst the least
secure water in times of drought
 Held environmental water (like Commonwealth Environmental
Water) is treated the same as equivalent water entitlements:
 the same allocations / carry over rules etc. (i.e. equal security as equivalent
entitlements)
 pays the same fees and charges, and
 is being actively managed to achieve the maximum possible outcome
www.environment.gov.au

11. Commonwealth environmental water holdings
 Most previous watering done by allocated reserves with specific
environmental characteristics
 As a market participant, there is increased flexibility to respond to changing
circumstances
 Active management of water that will complement a flow rules approach
 Enabling targeted watering of key assets
 Acquiring water where it is needed, disposing where/when not needed
 But poses numerous challenges:
 E-water shepherding and flows in unregulated catchments
 Navigating different jurisdictional rules and entitlement characteristics
 Restrictions on location of use
www.environment.gov.au

12. Decisions on environmental water use
 Objectives based on water resource availability
 We consider the volume of water available in the year, input provided from
state government agencies, independent experts and others such as local
site managers and Catchment Management Authorities
 Advice is received from our Environmental Water Scientific Advisory
Committee
 An assessment of watering options is made against five criteria
www.environment.gov.au

13. Management scenarios
Extreme Dry Dry Median Wet
Watering Avoid damage Ensure capacity Maintain health Improve & extend
objectives to key assets for recovery & resilience ecosystems
Prolong flooding Increase flood
Water refugia & Water refugia &
Management provide emergency provide low flows;
events; provide duration & extent;
actions in-channel flows & high flows &
water at key sites limited recruitment
limited connectivity connectivity
www.environment.gov.au

14. Assessment criteria
1. The ecological significance of the asset
2. The expected ecological outcomes from the proposed action
3. The potential risks of the proposed watering action at the site and at
connected locations
4. The long-term sustainability of the asset including appropriate
management arrangements
5. The cost effectiveness and operational feasibility of undertaking the
watering action
www.environment.gov.au

15. Local – Basin - Local
 Local priorities
 determined by CMAs, Environmental Water Advisory Groups, Landholders,
Community Groups, Local Trusts through established processes
 Basin-wide prioritisation
 CEWH with advice from department and EWSAC and consultation with
MDBA
 Local delivery, monitoring and reporting back
 CMAs, research institutions, parks authorities, community groups
www.environment.gov.au

16. Use of Commonwealth environmental water
 Since the commencement of ‘Water  First water use - March 2009
for the Future’ 297 gigalitres of  Paiwalla Wetland - 475 ML
environmental water has been made  Chowilla Floodplain - 286 ML
available to rivers, wetlands and  Katarapko Floodplain - 200 ML
floodplains of the Murray-Darling  Rocky Gully - 80 ML
Basin
 Largest water use - May 2010
 2009-10: 154 gigalitres returned to  Lowbidgee Floodplain - 40 GL
the environment
 Supplementary water use
 So far in 2010-11: 119 gigalitres has  Macquarie Marshes – 845.6 ML
been committed  Lowbidgee Floodplain – 1600 ML
www.environment.gov.au

17. Monitoring the outcomes of environmental water use
 Currently working through states, CMAs
and other local groups
 Developing a longer-term framework in
line with the monitoring and evaluation
program for the Basin Plan
 Monitoring has already detected
encouraging changes such as
improvement in the condition of trees,
decreasing salinity and benefits to rare
and endangered species
 A complete picture of the effects of
returning water to the environment will
take time
www.environment.gov.au

18. Questions
www.environment.gov.au