The ACT Government has released the refreshed ACT Water Strategy 2025-2045 – reinforcing the Territory’s long-term commitment to healthy waterways, water security and sustainable water management in a changing climate.
The Strategy guides how water is supplied, managed and protected across the ACT. It incorporates current information, aligns with national priorities, addresses local challenges, and strengthens implementation to minimise the impacts of climate change, population growth, and urbanisation.
The Strategy also takes important steps to strengthen partnerships with Traditional Custodians and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in caring for water, ensuring cultural values are recognised alongside ecological priorities.
Minister for Climate Change, Environment, Energy and Water, Suzanne Orr, said the updated Strategy ensures the ACT’s approach to water management remains fit for purpose as Canberra grows and climate pressures increase.
“The refreshed Water Strategy sets a clear, long-term framework to balance water security, waterway health, and the needs of a growing city, now and into the future,” Minister Orr said.
“It also affirms that the ACT’s waterways hold deep cultural significance to Traditional Custodians and those with connection to country, welcoming the need for Aboriginal Waterway Assessments and Cultural Flows in line with our Closing the Gap targets."
An implementation plan is being developed to set out specific actions, responsibilities and timeframes and will support an adaptive management approach through identifying monitoring, accountability, and capacity across the water sector. This approach ensures we respond effectively to emerging risks while continuing to protect our rivers, lakes, and catchments.
Alongside the Strategy, the ACT Government has released the Water Resources Environmental Flow Guidelines 2026, which set out the quantity, timing and quality of water flows needed to sustain healthy freshwater ecosystems and the environmental, social and cultural values that depend on them.
“Healthy rivers and streams are the lifeblood of our landscapes. The updated Environmental Flow Guidelines help ensure our waterways remain resilient for wildlife, for the community, and for future generations,” Minister Orr said.
“Together, the refreshed ACT Water Strategy and Environmental Flow Guidelines provide a strong foundation for sustainable water management, supporting healthy ecosystems, resilient communities and a secure water future for the ACT."
Community and stakeholder feedback helped shape both documents, with engagement undertaken with the water sector, catchment groups, Traditional Custodians, and the broader community.
For more information and to read the ACT Water Strategy 2025-2045, visit www.act.gov.au/open/act-water-strategy
The Environmental Flow Guidelines 2026 are available at www.act.gov.au/environment/water/water-resources
