Current Commonwealth Environmental Water publications are listed on this page. To view previous versions or archived publications, visit: Environment Publications Archive.
Water Management Plan
2025-26 Water Management Plan
2024-25 Water Management Plan
2023-24 Water Management Plan
2022-23 Water Management Plan
2021-22 Water Management Plan
2020-21 Water Management Plan
Portfolio Management Plans
2019-20 Portfolio Management Plans
- Planning approach
- Barwon-Darling 2019-20
- Border Rivers 2019-20
- Gwydir Valley 2019-20
- Lachlan River 2019-20
- Lower Murray-Darling Basin 2019-20
- Macquarie River Valley 2019-20
- Mid-Murray Region 2019-20
- Murrumbidgee River Valley 2019-20
- Namoi River Valley 2019-20
- Northern Intersecting Streams 2019-20
- Victorian Rivers 2019-20
2018-19 Portfolio Management Plans
- Planning approach
- Barwon-Darling
- Border Rivers
- Gwydir River Valley
- Lachlan River Valley
- Lower Murray-Darling Region
- Macquarie River Valley
- Mid-Murray Region
- Murrumbidgee River Valley
- Namoi River Valley
- Northern Intersecting Streams
- Victorian Rivers
Agreements
Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder correspondence
- Response to Senator Rex Patrick (PDF 3 MB) | (DOCX 46 KB) - March 2020
Criteria
Environmental watering event updates
- 2024 - February - Western Floodplain Toorale update
- 2023-24 Namoi River Valley updates
- 2020-21 Peel Catchment updates
- 2023-24 Peel River updates
- 2021 Lower Darling-Baaka spring fish flow
- 2021-22 Lower Balonne updates
- 2022-23 Lower Balonne updates
- Lowbidgee water delivery update 2020
- Lower Baaka Spring Flow 2020-21
- Lower Balonne flow 2020
- Lower Balonne flow 2021
- Murrumbidgee water delivery update 2021
- Northern Refresh - 2022-23
- Northern Rivers connectivity event updates
- Northern Rivers - Northern fish flow
- Northern Waterhole Top-up
- The Southern Spring Flow 2019
- The Southern Spring Flow 2020
Fact sheets
- Commonwealth overland flow licences Lower Balonne
- Continuing to rebuild waterbird habitat at Narran Lakes (Dharriwaa)
- Healthy Rivers, Healthy Communities. A pocket guide to water for the environment
- Many Hands Make Hardyheads
- The mighty mussel - Protecting populations for the future - Fact sheet - 2022
- Rebuilding waterbird habitat – Narran Lakes
- Supporting waterbirds at Narran Lakes (Dharriwaa)
- Trade Infographic Fact sheet
- Usage and carryover summary 2012-21
Monitoring, Evaluation and Research Program
- Commonwealth Environmental Water Office Monitoring Evaluation and Research Program: Basin Scale Evaluation and Research Plan
- Edward/Kolety-Wakool System MER Program Quarterly Outcomes Newsletters - 2019 to June 2024
- Flow-MER Basin-scale Annual Report 2020
- Foundation Report update 2020 - Commonwealth Environmental Water Office Monitoring, Evaluation and Research Program
- Foundation Report update 2021 - Commonwealth Environmental Water Office Monitoring, Evaluation and Research Program
- Goulburn MER Quarterly Outcomes Newsletters - 2019 to current
- Lachlan MER Program Quarterly Reporting - 2019 to current
- Lower Murray Monitoring, Evaluation and Research Plan (2019–2022) - 2019
- Monitoring, Evaluation and Research Plan - Goulburn River - 2019
- Monitoring, Evaluation and Research Program - Lachlan River - 2019
- Monitoring, Evaluation and Research Plan - Edward-Kolety-Wakool System - 2023
- Murrumbidgee MER Quarterly Outcomes Newsletters and Field Reports - 2019 to current
- Murrumbidgee River System - Category 3 waterbird breeding monitoring summary report July 2021 - 2021
- Murrumbidgee science publications - 2024
- Darling and Warrego science publications - 2024 to current
- 2019–20 Basin-scale evaluation of Commonwealth environmental water – reports and supporting documents
- 2020–21 Basin-scale evaluation of Commonwealth environmental water – reports and supporting documents
- 2021-22 Basin-scale evaluation of Commonwealth environmental water – reports and supporting documents
MER Selected Area Annual Reports
- Goulburn River and Northern Victorian Tributaries Area annual reports publications
- Gwydir River System Area annual reports publications
- Darling and Warrego River annual reports publications
- Lachlan River annual reports publications
- Lower Murray and Coorong, Lower Lakes and Murray Mouth annual reports publications
- Mid Murray annual reports publications
Operating frameworks
- A Framework for Determining Commonwealth Environmental Water Use
- Commonwealth Environmental Water - Monitoring, Evaluation, Reporting and Improvement Framework
- Commonwealth Environmental Water Trading Framework - December 2025
- The Environmental Water Outcomes Framework - 2013
Commonwealth Environmental Activities Framework
In September 2017 the CEWH released a Discussion Paper - Development of a Framework for Investing in Environmental Activities providing background on the guiding environmental priorities and legislative scope limitations for future funding of environmental activities.
Discussion Paper: Development of a Framework for Investing in Environmental Activities (PDF 485 KB)
Discussion Paper: Development of a Framework for Investing in Environmental Activities (DOCX 992 KB)
An outcomes report based on the discussion paper can be reviewed at:
Consultation Outcomes Report (PDF 216 KB)
Consultation Outcomes Report (DOCX 710 KB)
Outcomes
Policy statements
- Blue-green algae and Commonwealth Environmental Water
- Carp in the Murray-Darling Basin and Commonwealth environmental water
Review of the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder
During 2017, an independent review was commissioned and undertaken by the then Commonwealth Environmental Holder, Mr David Papps, to evaluate the effectiveness of the Office’s operations and business processes, which support the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder’s management of the Commonwealth environmental water holdings. The Review was finalised in November 2017 and the internal response was approved in January 2018.
Reports
- Independent advice on the management of the Commonwealth water holdings in the Goulburn catchment - 2022
Long Term Intervention Monitoring Basin Matter foundation reports
- Foundation Report update 2021 - Commonwealth Environmental Water Office Monitoring, Evaluation and Research Program
- Foundation Report update 2020 - Commonwealth Environmental Water Office Monitoring, Evaluation and Research Program
- Aggregation of Selected Area biodiversity outcomes (biodiversity) - 2019
- Ecosystem diversity - 2019
- Fish - 2019
- Hydrology - 2019
- Stream Metabolism and Water Quality - 2019
- Vegetation Diversity - 2019
Monitoring reports
Goulburn/Broken
Gwydir
Junction of the Warrego and Darling Rivers
Macquarie
Murrumbidgee
- Commonwealth Environmental Water Office Long-Term Intervention Monitoring Project Murrumbidgee River System Summary and Technical reports 2014-19 - 2020
- Native and invasive fish dispersal, spawning and trophic dynamics during a managed river-floodplain connection - 2019
- Commonwealth Environmental Water Office Long-Term Intervention Monitoring Project Murrumbidgee River System Summary and Technical reports 2014-18 - 2019
- Commonwealth Environmental Water Office Long-Term Intervention Monitoring Project Murrumbidgee River System evaluation report 2014-17 - 2017
- Commonwealth Environmental Water Office Long-Term Intervention Monitoring Project Murrumbidgee River System evaluation report 2014-16 - 2016
- Commonwealth Environmental Water Office long-term intervention monitoring program Murrumbidgee River system Selected Area, 2014-15 Synthesis report - 2016
Technical reports
- Aquatic Habitat Mapping to Inform Water Management
- Assessing Vulnerability for use in Determining Basin-scale Environmental Watering Priorities - 2023
- Desiccation tolerance of river and floodplain mussels in the Murray–Darling Basin - 2022
- Fish and Flows Intervention Monitoring in the Border Rivers - 2019
- Monitoring Native Fish in the Lachlan Catchment Through Environmental DNA and Conventional Methods - 2019
- Monitoring native fish response to environmental water delivery in the lower Darling River 2020-2021 - 2021
- River Murray Channel Monitoring Plan 2021-22 to 2025-26 - 2021
- Weir stratification and hypoxic water management - Murrumbidgee River 2019 - 2019