WAter Innovation Conference

On May 29 the Western Australia Department of Water hosted the WA Water Innovation Conference. The conference attracted over 250 scientists, industry representatives, consultants, water providers, land developers and local and state government representatives, who heard a range of presentations about the importance of water science and innovation in Western Australia.

The Honourable Premier of Western Australia, and Minister for Science, Alan Carpenter, and the Honourable Minister for Water Resources, John Kobelke, provided keynote addresses. Guest speakers were drawn from the Premier's Science and Innovation Council, the Department of Water and from some of the exciting CSIRO Water for a Healthy Country research projects funded by the Premier's Water Foundation, many of which have already achieved outstanding results.

The WA Government established the Premier's Water Foundation through the State Water Strategy in 2003 to promote and enhance water-related research and development activities within Western Australia.

The Foundation provides grant funds for work where research and development gaps have been identified in the State Water Strategy. The grant supports research and development projects that challenge boundaries and investigate innovative ways of conserving water and maximising reuse of wastewater.

The first round of funding distributed $2.6 million to eight projects, leveraging $9.3 million of research funding. CSIRO Land and Water headed-up three of the successful projects and outcomes from these projects were presented at the conference. Presentations included:

• New bioreactor techniques for treating acid-saline water by Peter Franzmann
• Managing land use and shallow groundwater by Olga Barron
• Guidance for managed aquifer recharge by Simon Toze
• Predicting community reaction to water recycling proposals and developments by Blair Nancarrow

Naomi Arrowsmith, Strategic Project Manager for the Department of Water also outlined progress on the Water Science and Innovation Plan for Western Australia – which is due out at the end of July. Seven science themes identified were:

1. Groundwater as a critical resource for Western Australia
2. Understanding and adapting to the impacts of climate change on water systems
3. Encouraging innovation in desalination and other water technology
4. Managing water in the urban environment
5. Managing tropical water
6. Managing rural and regional water, with a focus on the south west agricultural zone
7. Water and society

An underlying theme was the shortage of skills in the water science area. With over one third of hydrogeologists in Australia being employed in Western Australia, the plan aims to identify the State’s science capacity and include strategies to build, better use and promote these skills.

Round two of the Premier’s Water Foundation is firing up and includes another four projects lead by CSIRO Land and Water researchers in Perth. This second round of funding distributed over $3 million in research grants to five projects, leveraging over $12 million of research funding for WA.

The Water for a Healthy Country Flagship projects will research the impacts of wastewater purification and risk factors affecting Perth's coastal water sources from seawater intrusion, develop technology and management strategies for safe economical and sustainable use of aquifer storage and recovery techniques within Perth's deep aquifer systems, and provide understanding of vegetation dynamics and catchment water yields under changing climate and management.

More information:

WA Water Innovation Conference presentations
Premier’s Water Foundation
State Water Plan