The Project Advisory Group (PAG) is playing a central role in shaping the updated Gellibrand River FLOWS study, ensuring that community values and concerns are at the heart of environmental flow recommendations. At the recent PAG meeting held on 19 June 2025 in Kawarren, members were briefed on the latest progress by Barwon Water’s consultants, Alluvium, and the Environmental Flows Technical Panel (EFTP).

Building on the preliminary work and site visit undertaken by Alluvium and the EFTP, which helped align desktop research of previous studies with on-ground observations, the PAG was invited to provide critical input. Members identified key community values associated with the river and flagged potential threats to these values across various reaches. This feedback has been documented and is available in the document library.

The PAG’s insights are now informing the development of the Site Paper, which will further build on the outcomes from the EFTP preliminary site visit, where the team assessed the suitability of previous study sites, identified potential new study sites, and determined if updated flow recommendations would be required. The Site Paper will outline the rationale for selection of the river reaches and study sites to be included in the updated FLOWs study and consolidate current understanding of the river system.

The work completed to date has also confirmed that the FLOWS study should be updated to account for:

• Changes in the methodology to developing FLOWS recommendations since the previous study
• Changes in water policies and strategies since the previous FLOWS study
• Additional data collected since the previous FLOWS study

Later this year, the PAG will join the EFTP for a site visit to see the research being undertaken and gain a stronger understanding of the FLOWS study process. This will then inform the development of environmental flow objectives.