The flow chart in Figure 2 depicts the overall process of eFlow management (Figure 2). The water available to the EFM (i.e. water available in account portfolios managed by the EFM) is calculated in the resource assessment and passed to the EFM. Water to be set aside in a reserve for later use or carryover (as specified by the user) is subtracted from the available water. The EFM manages all actions specified at EFNs that have been assigned to the manager. The EFM ranks the actions in priority order based on condition and an importance weighting specified for each action. The EFM then determines which actions are to be activated based on the cost (water requirement) of the action and the water available in accounts (see Figure 3, for more details). The Environmental Flow Nodes generate demands for actions activated by the EFM (see more detail at Figure 4). During the ordering phase, the EFN places orders for the eFlow demands, which are delivered during the flow phase. Subsequently, accounting for environmental flows is done through the EFM. The EFN assesses if actions have been successful and keeps track of time since last success, and condition. More details on the calculations and user specifications for each step in the process are provided in Table 1.
Figure 2. eFlow management process
