Environmental water management is a comprehensive approach to managing water resources that prioritises the protection, restoration, and sustainable use of aquatic ecosystems and their associated habitats. It recognises the intrinsic value of water for ecological health and biodiversity while balancing the needs of human societies for water-related services such as drinking water supply, agriculture, industry, and recreation.

1. Ecological Integrity: Environmental water management emphasizes maintaining the ecological integrity of rivers, wetlands, lakes, and other water bodies. This involves preserving natural flow regimes, water quality, and habitat diversity to support native species, migratory patterns, and ecosystem functions.

2. Flow Regimes: Natural flow regimes, characterized by seasonal variations in water levels and flow rates, play a critical role in shaping river ecosystems. Environmental water management seeks to mimic or restore these flow patterns through flow regulation strategies such as environmental flow allocations, instream flow requirements, and dam operations that prioritize ecological needs alongside human demands.

3. Water Quality Protection: Ensuring the protection and improvement of water quality is fundamental to environmental water management. This includes reducing pollution inputs from point and non-point sources, controlling nutrient runoff, managing contaminants, and minimizing the impacts of sedimentation and erosion on aquatic habitats.

4. Habitat Restoration and Enhancement: Restoring degraded habitats and enhancing ecological connectivity are key components of environmental water management. This may involve re-establishing riparian vegetation, restoring floodplains, creating fish passage structures, and implementing other measures to enhance habitat diversity and resilience.

5. Invasive Species Management: Addressing the threats posed by invasive species is essential for maintaining the health and biodiversity of aquatic ecosystems. Environmental water management strategies may include monitoring and controlling invasive species populations, restoring native vegetation to outcompete invasives, and implementing biosecurity measures to prevent new introductions.

6. Integrated Watershed Management: Recognizing that water quality and ecosystem health are influenced by land use practices and activities throughout entire watersheds, environmental water management adopts an integrated approach to watershed management. This involves coordinating efforts across sectors to address pollution sources, manage land use, and protect critical habitats upstream of water bodies.

7. Climate Change Adaptation: Climate change poses significant challenges to water resources and ecosystems, including altered precipitation patterns, increased temperatures, and more frequent extreme weather events. Environmental water management integrates climate change adaptation strategies such as enhancing water storage capacity, promoting water-efficient practices, and restoring natural buffers to mitigate the impacts of climate variability and enhance ecosystem resilience.

8. Stakeholder Engagement and Collaboration: Effective environmental water management requires collaboration among diverse stakeholders, including government agencies, Indigenous communities, water users, non-governmental organizations, and the public. Stakeholder engagement fosters shared decision-making, builds consensus, and promotes collective action to achieve common water management goals.

9. Adaptive Management: Adopting adaptive management approaches allows for flexible and iterative decision-making based on monitoring, evaluation, and learning. This enables managers to adjust management strategies in response to changing environmental conditions, new scientific information, and stakeholder feedback, ensuring the effectiveness and sustainability of water management efforts over time.

Overall, environmental water management seeks to balance human water needs with the conservation and restoration of aquatic ecosystems, recognizing that healthy ecosystems are essential for sustaining water resources, supporting biodiversity, and providing valuable ecosystem services to society.