Environmental water management plans

Environmental Water Management Plans

Environmental Water Management Plans (EWMPs) provide detailed management information at the waterway scale. They set out the:

environmental watering goals
ecological objectives
water regime required to meet the ecological objectives.

They are characterised by a long-term focus, such as more than 10 years, for rivers or wetlands identified by a catchment management authority in their Regional Waterway Strategy as priorities for environmental watering. In northern Victoria, EWMPs are a key reference for the long-term watering plans prepared for the Murray-Darling Basin Plan.

Environmental water management plan guidelines for waterway managers

In consultation with waterway managers and partners, EWMP Guidelines have been prepared to assist authors in preparing or updating their EWMPs to:

identify material that will help create a robust, science-based planning document that also draws on Traditional Ecological Knowledge, as appropriate
ensure that the content clearly outlines how it meets Victorian Government and Basin Plan requirements and obligations
include guidance from Traditional Owner groups on how they want to be engaged in the EWMP development and implementation process, recognising the right of each group to self-determine the extent of their engagement in the process.