Water for the environment | NSW Environment and Heritage

Water for the environment
                        Discover the vital role environmental water plays in improving the health of rivers, wetlands and floodplains across New South Wales.
                    

Discover the vital role environmental water plays in improving the health of rivers, wetlands and floodplains across New South Wales.

Explore your region

Choose one of the options below to learn more about your region.

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About water for the environment

Learn more about the role of water that is managed specifically to improve the health of rivers, wetlands and floodplains.
Murray and Lower Darling

The Murray and Lower Darling valleys include the world’s largest stand of river red gums and a 1700 kilometre stretch of Australia’s longest river, the Murray.
Murrumbidgee valley

The Murrumbidgee river is one of Australia’s most regulated river systems, which poses some unique challenges and opportunities for the management of water for the environment.
Lachlan valley

The Lachlan valley has an area of 90,000 square kilometres, extending from the Great Dividing Range to the Great Cumbung Swamp on the Riverine plains.
Macquarie valley

The Macquarie valley covers more than 75,000 square kilometres in the state’s north and extends from the Blue Mountains to the Barwon River Plains.
Gwydir valley

The Gwydir is home to a mosaic of wetlands, from marshes and shallow waterholes to broader floodplain woodlands inundated only during significant flooding.
Snowy and montane rivers

The Snowy River is the largest snowmelt river in Australia, naturally flowing from Mount Kosciuszko in New South Wales to the Southern Ocean at Marlo in Victoria.
Hunter-Paterson

The Hunter catchment supports a diversity of landscapes, from coastal dunes to sub-alpine forests and lowlands plains woodlands.
Intersecting Streams

The Intersecting Streams catchment is in north-western NSW and covers an area of 120,431 square kilometres.
Barwon-Darling

The Barwon-Darling River system is an iconic waterway connecting the river systems of the northern Murray-Darling Basin with those of the south.
Other valleys

Water for the environment is also delivered to other valleys in NSW in collaboration with relevant state and Commonwealth agencies.
Planning and reporting

We prepare annual watering plans, outcomes reports and long-term water plans.
We love our rivers - #iheartrivers

There are so many reasons to love our local rivers.
News, videos and publications

Stay up to date with water for the environment news, videos and publications.
Education resources

Explore our education resources, fact sheets and videos and learn about water for the environment and how this water is managed and used.

Stay up to date

Small striped birds by waterside

Murrumbidgee wetlands a hotspot for threatened waterbirds

Swans on a river, trees in background

How will water for the environment be used across New South Wales in 2024-25?

Several ibis taking off from lake surface

Birds flock to Gol Gol

Large grey fish

Water for the environment to support native fish in the Peel River

Close-up of foaming water as the Hunter River flows over a weir, with golden light and calm trees reflected in the river's shimmering surface in the background

Environmental water release buoys Hunter River's health and native fish

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