Message from the Director

The release last week of the Murray report, the final regional assessment for the Murray - Darling Basin Sustainable Yields (MDBSY) project, is significant for several reasons; it marks the culmination of what may be regarded by many of us involved in water research as one of the most significant projects ever undertaken for the purposes of informing water management in southern Australia. For the first time we have a complete assessment of all surface and groundwater in Australia’s most ‘stressed’ and economically significant regions.
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Gene Likens – a scientist before his time

Since the 1960s Dr Likens, a distinguished US scientist has been a leading pioneer in the study of acid rain. Now he is visiting Australia to assist in the work of the Water for a Healthy Country Flagship. Read more...

Ecological research on icon site reveals decreasing biodiversity

Scientists studying one of Australia’s most significant water systems, the Coorong, Lower Lakes and Murray Mouth, have revealed that the current drought and lack of water inflows is changing state of the region’s ecology. Read more...

Adelaide Coastal
Waters Study

More than 60 scientists from research organisations across Australia have brought their expertise to a $3 million, six year research program investigating the mysterious decline of Adelaide’s coastal seagrasses. Read more...

Rescuing the
Barmah Forest

A powerful collaboration between research, catchment management, indigenous, national parks and government working groups is combining knowledge to restore a precious native river habitat. Read more.... [PDF 1.1MB]

SEQ residents respond to recycled water plan

Nearly three quarters of surveyed residents in South East Queensland are prepared to accept the addition of purified recycled water to drinking water supplied from Wivenhoe Dam. Read more...

Mapping the waters of the Murray-Darling Basin

The first ever audit of surface and groundwater resources in the Murray-Darling Basin now being undertaken by the CSIRO is testament to the vital role science plays in addressing our nation’s toughest challenges. Read more...

Understanding surface water – ground water interactions to help manage wetlands

Water for a Healthy Country Flagship scientists are working to provide the knowledge and tools to support the management, protection and restoration of important water ecosystems. Read more...

Fighting the rise of
salt in Australia

Scientists have developed a new approach to help farmers fight the environmental impacts of rising salt levels in Australian landscapes.. Read more...

Sensors monitor water efficiency of dairy industry

CSIRO’s Tasmania ICT Centre (TasICT) is carrying out a project in Northern Tasmanian to explore water use efficiency in the dairy industry as part of the Water Resources Observation Network (WRON). Read more…

Monitoring water quality for improved
land management

A new water-quality monitoring project in Tasmania will help explain the links between land-use management and the impact on water ecosystems. Read more...

Improving knowledge about water in Australia’s north

Research to provide a better understanding about irrigation and the water systems of northern Australia has been released at the recent Irrigation Australia conference in Melbourne. Read more...

Hydro-climate challenges under the spotlight

The challenges in predicting climate and the potential impacts of future climate on Australia’s hydrology and water resources are discussed in a summary paper now available. Read more...

Snippets

• Gnangara Taskforce on board
  Staff from the WA State Government’s Gnangara Taskforce have re-located to CSIRO’s Centre for Environment and Life Sciences at Floreat in an effort to secure the Gnangara groundwater system’s future.
• Merredin groundwater mission achieved [PDF 448KB]
  The Water for a Healthy Country Flagship is helping solve problems faced by country towns in Western Australia. Rural Towns – Liquid Assets is a collaborative project designed to investigate and address salinity problems in 16 Western Australian Wheatbelt towns. The Merredin project is demonstrating how to control townsite salinity and turn locally saline groundwater into a resource for the community by delivering desalinated groundwater for road construction and saline water for dust suppression on the Great Eastern Highway.
• Social assessment surveys completed [PDF 568KB]
  A three year program of surveys of community attitudes and community profiling to water use options and salinity management has been completed for 16 towns in the Western Australian Wheatbelt. The surveys were conducted by a team from the Water for a Healthy Country Flagship who are investigating the social and economic cost-benefits from improving water management in rural towns as a part of the Rural Towns – Liquid Assets initiative.
• WAter Innovation Conference
  Hosted by the Western Australian Department of Water, the WA Water Innovation Conference showcased some outstanding results from CSIRO Water for a Healthy Country projects for the Premier's Water Foundation.
• Mike Annable – groundwater innovator
  International groundwater expert Professor Mike Annable has joined forces with the CSIRO Water for a Healthy Country Flagship to develop innovative ways to measure groundwater and pollution fluxes in soil and groundwater environments.