Water for the environment

What is water for the environment?

Water allocated purely to the environment and not for consumptive use is called water for the environment.

Since European settlement, wetlands and floodplains across the Murray-Darling Basin including South Australia have undergone major modification and widespread degradation.

Declines of iconic and keystone flora and fauna species can be attributed to river regulation and landscape scale changes.

Natural flood events, now occur infrequently, and their magnitude and duration are greatly reduced, causing deterioration in the condition of wetland and floodplain ecosystems.

The Basin Plan provides water for the environment to protect and improve the health of our wetlands, floodplains and rivers and their ecosystems.

Water for the environment provides many benefits, including keeping the Murray Mouth open, flushing salt from the system and providing additional water to precious wetlands and floodplains, which need a varied flow regime to thrive.

Provision of adequate water for the environment is a critical element in restoring the Murray-Darling Basin’s long-term health.

Information on the outcomes from water delivered to the environment in the South Australian River Murray can be found in the Annual River Murray Environmental Watering Reports.

Who holds water for the environment across the Basin?

There are two primary environmental water holders in the Murray-Darling Basin:

• The Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder (CEWH) supported by staff within the Commonwealth Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW)
• The Living Murray (TLM) program

Some water for the environment is also held by Basin States.

Environmental Water in the South Australian River Murray

The water resource plan defines environmental water in the South Australian River Murray.

Planned Environmental Water (PEW) in the SA River Murray includes:

• Dilution and loss
• Unallocated entitlement
• Unregulated flows to South Australia
• Additional Dilution Flow
• Lindsay River Allowance
• Eastern Mount Lofty Ranges inflows

Held Environmental Water (HEW) in the SA River Murray includes:

• Water to support the management of pool-connected wetlands
• An environmental water reserve held by the SA Minister for Climate, Environment and Water (the ‘Minister’s Reserve’) and used to support environmental outcomes
• Water held on a SA licence as part of The Living Murray program
• Water recovered in SA and held by the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder
• Small volumes of water for the environment held by private water holders

In accordance with Section 10.09(2) and (3) of the Basin Plan, South Australia is required to publish a Held Environmental Water Register (HEW) for each accredited water resource plan (WRP) under the Water Act 2007 (Cwlth).

The HEW Register for the River Murray (June 2023) is in the Table 1.

Table 1: South Australian River Murray WRP Held Environmental Water Register
(July 2024)

*SA Minister for Climate, Environment and Water.
** Entitlement shares on the licences are current as of 01 July 2024.
*** Entitlement Licence not provided for Private Water Holders.

More information on the current shares and classes of water held on each entitlement is available on the Water register accessed via the mywater website.

Environmental Water in the South Australian Murray Region and Eastern Mount Lofty Ranges

There is no held environmental water in the South Australian Murray Region or Eastern Mount Lofty Ranges water resource plan areas as of July 2024.

Partnership Agreement with the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder

DEW and the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder have entered into a Partnership Agreement, which outlines the roles and responsibilities of each agency in the delivery of Commonwealth water for the environment. This includes an agreed process for planning and managing the transfer, delivery and monitoring of Commonwealth environmental water within South Australia, and a process for supporting on-going improvement in operational arrangements to provide for the effective and efficient use of held environmental water.

Download the Partnership Agreement.