Environmental water and the community

Environmental water is important for the health of our rivers and waterways, as well as the communities and properties it flows through.

What is an Environmental Flow?

An environmental flow (or e-flow) is any managed change in water flow pattern intended to maintain or improve the health of a river or wetland and with the aim of achieving key ecological objectives such as:

• fish movement and breeding
• improvement in water quality and riparian vegetation health
• enhancing bird breeding, feeding and roosting opportunities

Environmental flows in Victoria are regulated under Environmental Entitlements that provide rivers and wetlands with water exclusively for environmental use.

Environmental Entitlements in Victoria are held by the Victorian Environmental Water Holder (VEWH), established under an amendment to Section 33DZA of the Victorian Water Act 1989. Additional water holdings, such as the Living Murray Entitlement, can be sourced through a competitive bidding process.

The Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder  (CEWH) also holds environmental water in north central Victorian storages (including wetlands and built storages).

In addition to these formally recognised water holdings, the environment can benefit from river operations, such as the delivery of consumptive water to licensed irrigators.

In the North Central CMA region environmental flows are delivered to our regulated waterways, including the Campaspe and Loddon Rivers, Birch's Creek, and wetlands such as the Boort District wetlands, Central Murray wetlands, Wimmera Mallee pipeline Wetlands and Gunbower Forest and Creek.

Environmental flow recommendations for river systems and wetlands are based on the current best science. For rivers they are generally broken down into seasonal components including:

• Cease to flow - periods where the river may contract to a series of pools
• Passing or base flows that are generally minimum flow requirements
• Freshening or high flows
• Bank full flows
• Overbank flows

Bank full and Overbank flows are never delivered as managed environmental flows, rather we rely on nature to provide them.

Wetland environmental watering is based on defined watering regimes which may run over a number of years. Environmental flows for wetlands include filling from empty, top-ups and periods of drying, sometimes to completely dry. This is in an attempt to mimic natural wetland filling patterns.

Why do we have Environmental Flows?

Regulation of Victoria's river systems and wetlands has had significant impacts on river and wetland health.

Storing water and releasing it for irrigation during seasonally dry periods (spring and summer) has altered flow characteristics, leading to declines in fish numbers, riparian vegetation health, water quality and aquatic ecosystem health.

Many wetlands in northern Victoria have been used for water storage or as outfalls for irrigation water, meaning their natural filling and drying cycles have been significantly altered. This has had ramifications for waterbirds, particularly breeding and feeding, fringing and aquatic vegetation and water quality.

Environmental flows help river and wetland ecology by triggering fish movement and breeding, enhancing the condition of riparian and aquatic vegetation, reducing black water and algal bloom risks and providing enhanced feeding and breeding opportunities for waterbirds.

Environmental flows also perform important chemical and physical functions, such as nutrient and carbon cycling, bed and bank maintenance and scouring of pools to provide habitat and refuge.

Rivers and wetlands are important to local communities, providing water for stock and domestic supply, recreational and cultural uses. Environmental flows are one of the ways the North Central CMA manages waterways to enhance both the ecological and human values.

Combined with a range of river and wetland restoration activities, such as fencing, revegetation, off-stream watering and erosion control, we can look forward to healthier catchments with improved water quality and ecological conditions, which benefit the whole community.

Where are flows delivered in north central Victoria?

Water is delivered to a number of assets in the North Central CMA region:

• Campaspe River downstream of Lake Eppalock
• Coliban River downstream of Malmsbury Reservoir
• Loddon River downstream of Cairn Curran Reservoir
• Boort District Wetlands (Lakes Boort, Leaghur, Yando, Meran and Little Meran)
• Bullarook (Birch's) Creek downstream of Newlyn Reservoir
• Central Murray Wetlands (Lake Elizabeth, Lake Murphy, Hird's Swamp, McDonalds Swamp, Johnson Swamp, Richardson Lagoon)
• Wimmera Mallee off-stream wetlands
• Gunbower Forest
• Pyramid Creek
• Gunbower Creek

General information about all Victoria's proposed watering activities for 2015-16 can be found in the Victorian Environmental Water Holder's Seasonal Watering Plan, which is available for download here.

The North Central CMA acknowledges our partners and stakeholders in environmental watering across north central  Victoria:

• Goulburn-Murray Water
• Central Highlands Water
• Grampians Wimmera Mallee Water
• Parks Victoria
• The Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning
• Community members through the Campaspe, Loddon, Central Murray, Wimmera Mallee and Gunbower Island
• Environmental Water Advisory Groups
• The Victorian and Commonwealth Environmental Water Holders