The Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder (CEWH) manages environmental water for the Australian community.
The CEWH is committed to being open and accountable. We share information about:
- the water we hold
- how we manage it
- where we use it
- the environmental benefits it supports.
Our reporting duties
The CEWH must report on its work under Australian law.
The annual report outlines our operations:
- how we use environmental water
- how much water we hold
- water trades
- environmental results
- how funds from water trades have been used.
We also provide information to the Murray–Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) for Basin Plan reporting.
What we report
Every year
We report on:
- our activities and results
- environmental watering actions
- our water holdings
- water trades
- spending from the Commonwealth Environmental Water Special Account.
We also report on:
- how local knowledge, including First Nations’, helped guide decisions
- how environmental water was used
- how we monitored watering activities
- how water quality was considered when making decisions.
Every 5 Years
We report on environmental results across the Murray–Darling Basin.
Independent checks
Several organisations can review the CEWH's work, including:
- the Murray–Darling Basin Authority
- the Inspector–General of Water Compliance
- the Australian National Audit Office
- the Productivity Commission
- Parliamentary committees.
These checks help make sure we follow the law, manage water well and use public resources responsibly.
Accountability to Parliament
The CEWH is also accountable to Parliament.
Our work may be examined through:
- Senate Estimates hearings
- Parliamentary inquiries
- audits and reviews.
Information we share
We publish information throughout the year.
Monthly
- updates on Commonwealth environmental water holdings
Quarterly
- planned water trades
- completed water trades
Every 2 weeks
- updates on environmental watering activities
Every year
- water management plans
- watering plans for each valley
- reports on environmental outcomes
Ongoing
- CEWH science program, known as Flow-MER, research and monitoring results
- science reports
- evaluations and summaries.
Community engagement
We share information with the public through:
- community events
- webinars
- stakeholder briefings
- fact sheets
- case studies
- videos
- stories about environmental watering
- science reports.
We also work with scientists, water managers, First Nations Peoples and local communities through Flow-MER. This program helps us understand how rivers, wetlands, floodplains, plants and animals respond to environmental water.
Where to find more information
Information about Commonwealth environmental water is available at:
- Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder
- Commonwealth environmental water holdings
- Water trade intentions
- Water by region
- Flow-MER program
- Flow-MER reports library
- Basin Plan Annual Reports - MDBA
Disclosure Statement
The CEWH shares clear information about how Commonwealth environmental water is managed and used. This helps people understand our decisions, our actions and our results. It also shows how we measure the benefits of environmental watering and report them to the community.