What we do at eWater Group
The eWater Group exists to improve water management and give decision-makers accurate and trustworthy information that is easy to use.
We provide stewardship, management, development, enhancement, skills-building, research, access and transparency relating to Australian water management tools and services in the interests of its government members, stakeholders, clients and customers and on behalf of the Australian people who have invested in us.
As the eWater Group has developed, other governments, organisations and water managers internationally have come to rely on our products, tools, expertise and international development program management capabilities, including in their pursuit of integrated water resource management objectives and poverty reduction.
From our beginnings to our future
From our beginnings as part of Australia’s Cooperative Research Centres (CRC) Program, eWater Limited was established to safely steward and take forward the hydrological modelling capabilities developed over decades, involving the expertise of government agencies, scientific research institutions, technical experts and policy professionals, and keep these capabilities contemporary, current and responsive to new circumstances, demands and challenges.
Concurrently, eWater was driven to grow and diversify, both through a need to earn revenue to support and develop its products and services, but also to serve the needs and interests of Australian governments keen to make Australian excellence in water resource management better known and accessible to an international audience, especially to developing countries facing water security challenges in their battles to reduce poverty and achieve sustainable development and greater prosperity for all their citizens.
What we deliver and provide to our stakeholders
The software systems and professional support that eWater provides to its core Australian clients, and to governments and organisations internationally, underpins what eWater exists to do.
No other organisation is in a position to ensure the safe custody and wise ongoing development of these critical national assets.
Fundamentally, our core focus and commitment is to provide the information and systems, underpinned by quality data and knowledge, to enable those tasked with the sensible and sustainable management of Australian water resources to make high-quality, informed, confident, transparent, equitable and wise decisions.
eWater Group’s functions are at the heart of the National Hydrological Modelling Strategy, updated in late 2022, and eWater Source as Australia’s agreed National Hydrological Modelling Platform. This and other eWater products are used widely throughout agencies, businesses, organisations and institutions concerned with surface water management. We have a responsibility to ensure that plans and models developed using our tools and data are accessible, usable and shareable. As technology improves, we aim to make eWater tools more capable, simpler and more efficient to use, and more adaptable for a wider span of users with different levels of expertise.
In support of our traditional business operations – and backed by our expertise in managing water scarcity in Australia – we expanded our operations internationally and established ourselves as a reliable and flexible manager of international development initiatives spanning the whole spectrum of water management and climate change resilience challenges in developing country contexts across the Indo-Pacific region and beyond. It is this expertise and these capabilities which have led the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water to entrust the management of our international development flagship, the Australian Water Partnership to eWater Group.
We need to generate revenue to recruit and retain the span of skills we need to do our work, and to re-invest in improving our products and services. Our current business model remains focussed on doing this prudently, not on generating profits beyond these requirements.
eWater is strongly committed to reconciliation between Australia’s First Nations and those who have made their homes and lives in Australia more recently. This commitment includes a dedication to advancing the ambitions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the more sustainable and harmonious management of water resources, and the recognition of the cultural significance of water and waterways to indigenous people wherever our products and services are deployed.
Where it is welcome, we will enthusiastically facilitate the expression of Australian indigenous perspectives on water management internationally, as we continue to do in relation to other aspects of Australia’s water management story and the special range of expertise that this experience has granted us as a nation.
The next phase of eWater Group’s development will be both exciting and challenging.
Learn more about eWater Group’s Strategic Plan which sets the direction, ambition, and tone of this next phase between 2023 and 2028 > https://ewater.org.au/strategic-plan-2023-28/