The skyline of Perth, WA above the Swan River - our research is helping Australian cities to become more water efficient.

South-West Western Australia: supporting state water management strategies

Flagship research aims to increase water benefits across South-West Western Australia – from farms, towns and catchments to the complex water systems of Perth.

• 1 December 2005 | Updated 14 October 2011

Overview

• Sustainable water sources
• Innovative water research
• Research projects
• Partners in science

Sustainable water sources

The Water for a Healthy Country Flagship supports the Western Australian government’s State Water Strategy through research into the sustainable supply of water for South-West Western Australia.

This science will underpin water investment and management decisions that are crucial to the region's future.

South-West Western Australia is one of the most water challenged parts of the country, experiencing Australia’s highest rates of climate change and dryland salinity amid rapid population growth and associated development.

May-to-July rainfall has decreased by 15 per cent since 1975 and run-off into metropolitan dams has decreased by more than 50 per cent.

The region also has a unique water supply, collection and distribution system where an extensive integrated water supply scheme distributes captured surface water and groundwater from the coastal strip inland to metropolitan, agricultural and mining areas.

The wheatbelt, supplying half of Australia’s grain has 70 per cent of Australia’s secondary salinisation.

Sediment, salt and nutrients drain from a catchment the size of Tasmania into the Swan Canning Estuary, which is also under pressure from urban development.

Innovative water research

The Water for a Healthy Country Flagship is tackling these challenges by carrying out research to:

• increase water use efficiency and water reuse on farms and in urban areas
• understand whole water systems and their interdependencies
• use this whole-systems approach as a basis for investment and management
• identify and use excessive saline groundwater as a supplementary resource
• plan and develop new water sources
• incorporate social and economic issues into water management to enhance sustainability and facilitate adoption
• improve the management of current water resources in a drying climate.

Research projects

Research being carried out in South-West Western Australia is focusing on two areas:

• urban futures
• rural futures.

Urban futures research projects include:

• Perth water systems: improving management of Perth’s water systems
• Water reuse technologies: finding acceptable ways to reuse water
• Swan futures: understanding how movement of water and nutrients through the Swan catchment, including urban areas, affects the health of Perth’s rivers
• Potable water quality: determining the effectiveness of biofiltration and other treatment options for preventing the deterioration of water quality between the treatment plant and the customer.

Rural futures research projects include:

• Rural town water management: tackling urban salinity and waterlogging
• Wheatbelt drainage evaluation: evaluating the impact of on-farm and arterial drainage systems
• Farm water futures: helping people to manage water flows on farms and the broader landscape
• South-West water: improving irrigation systems for increased productivity, profitability and social wellbeing while minimising downstream impacts
• Avon River basin 2050: exploring alternative future landscapes for the wheatbelt of Western Australia.

Partners in science

Partnerships and collaborations are fundamental to our ability to deliver improved water benefits to all Australians. In Western Australia, CSIRO partners with federal, state and local government, water service providers, industry, research providers and community groups to provide scientific solutions to the state’s water challenges.

Our partners include:

• Western Australian Departments of Environment, Agriculture, Health and Premier and Cabinet
• Western Australian Water Corporation
• University of Western Australia
• Curtin University
• Murdoch University
• Armadale Redevelopment Authority.

Find out more about the work of CSIRO Land and Water.