Over 10 years, the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder's flagship science program, Flow-MER, has demonstrated how environmental water delivers significant results across the Murray-Darling Basin, one of Australia's largest and most complex river systems.
A report released in partnership with Australia's national science agency CSIRO, Commonwealth environmental water sustaining Murray-Darling Basin ecosystems: 10-year (2014-24) retrospective, outlines how a decade of monitoring, evaluation and reporting is optimising management of Commonwealth environmental water holdings - a public asset with a market value approaching $10 billion.
This report celebrates the success of Flow-MER, highlighting the results achieved at a Basin-scale and the important lessons that confirm the benefits of adaptive environmental water planning and delivery. Integration of this knowledge into water management decisions is enabling environmental water managers to adapt and adjust flows according to the best available science - ensuring we value every drop.
One of the most ambitious of its kind globally, the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder's science program aims to understand how our rivers, wetlands, floodplains, and the plants and animals depending on them, are responding to environmental water.
Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder, Dr Simon Banks, said the Flow-MER program was a success due to its collaborative approach to harnessing the best science and knowledge.
"Flow-MER began as a bold vision to pair environmental water delivery with rigorous science - laying the foundation for how we manage water for the environment today.
"The program is a credit to our enduring partnerships with scientists, river managers, First Nations People and community, and it remains the backbone of evidence-based decision-making in the Basin," Dr Banks said.
Since Commonwealth environmental watering began in 2009, more than 18,000 gigalitres of water for the environment has been delivered across the Basin, supporting fish, frogs, birds, plants and the wetlands they depend on. Since 2014, the Flow-MER program has informed when, where and how this water should be delivered to get the best results.
"This is not science for science's sake - this is science in action," Dr Banks said.
"After a decade of monitoring, we know environmental water is restoring life in our rivers and wetlands across the Basin - and we're using those insights to adapt when, where and how we deliver water to get the best outcomes.
"Every success is built on evidence, and every action is guided by a clear vision: healthy rivers for healthy communities - valuing every drop," Dr Banks said.
Water Security Research Director at CSIRO Dr Carmel Pollino said Flow-MER was world-leading environmental monitoring.
"The strength of Flow-MER is how it connects science directly to on-ground environmental water delivery decisions," Dr Pollino said.
Flow-MER has been extended through to 2030, ensuring science continues to guide environmental water management across the Basin.
