Pseudemydura umbrina lives in or near ephemeral winter-wet swamps with clay or sand over clay soils (Burbidge and Kuchling, 1994). It can be found in the Twin Swamps Reserve and the Ellen Brook swamps, which are located in the south west part of the Ellen Brook catchment. These wetlands are described as perched on alluvial soils at the base of the Darling Scarp receiving water from direct rainfall and short-distance runoff including from drains and surrounding farmland. Inundation of these wetlands is seasonal and the swamps dry out by mid October or November. Maximum water depth is 0.43 m (Smith and Shams, 2002).

The Ellen Brook catchment is located about 20 km north-east of Perth City and 25 km east from the coastline of Western Australia. The surface water catchment area of Ellen Brook, approximately 50 km long north-to-south and 20 km wide east-to-west, is 715 km2. The Ellen Brook flows south and discharges to the Swan River. Its waters are naturally stained and amongst the most highly coloured on the Swan Coastal Plain. Just like the majority of the water bodies within the Swan Coastal basin, the water in the Ellen brook is neutral ranging from 6.5 to 8.0 pH. Very high levels of phosphorus and moderate levels of nitrogen are consistently found in the Ellen Brook.