The impact of stormwater management on local wetlands and urban design will be the main focus for review as State and local governments, business, industry and The University of Western Australia prepare to launch new research that will guide water management reform in Western Australia. 

 

At a meeting to discuss the challenges of managing and recycling urban water supplies, the group worked toward identifying specific urban water management issues confronting WA ahead of the official launch of the WA node of the Cooperative Research Centre for Water Sensitive Cities (CRC-WSC) in November.

 

The WA node, led by Professor Anas Ghadouani, from the School of Environmental Systems Engineering, has been established with the aid of a $30 million federal grant awarded as part of the Australian Government's Cooperative Research Centres program.

 

"What we learn from this research centre will be important to ensuring Western Australia and Australia as a whole adapts its urban design to address the pressures of population growth and becomes more resilient to the impacts of climate change," Professor Anas Ghadouani said.  

 

The aim of CRC-WSC is to revolutionise water management by delivering urban water policies, socio-technical solutions and education and training programs, along with active engagement with industry and community.

 

"This CRC will guide capital investments of $100 billion by the Australian water sector and more than $550 billion of private sector investment in urban development over the next 15 years," CEO of the CRC-WSC, Monash University Professor Tony Wong said.

 

UWA, Monash University and the University of Queensland will lead the nine-year $120 million nation-wide project with research support from the UWA Faculties of: Engineering, Computing and Mathematics; Science; Architecture; Landscape and Visual Arts; Law; and the Schools of Humanities and Population Health.  The international collaboration involves 74 participating bodies, including organisations from afar afield as The Netherlands, Austria, Denmark and Singapore.

 

"This is an exciting and unique initiative, linking researchers and participants from a wide range of industries, set to deliver transformative change to the way we think about designing our cities and towns in Australia," Professor Ghadouani said.

 

City of Subiaco Mayor Heather Henderson said the CRC-WSC was beneficial to local government and will assist the city to further its local water conservation and quality goals.

 

"By transitioning to a water sensitive city, we will be able to improve our ability to maintain streetscapes, parks and wetlands to a high level in a drying climate," she said.

 

For more information visit CRC-WSC