Raising National Water Standards Approved Projects
These projects address three critical areas of water reform under the Raising National Water Standards programme advancing the National Water Initiative, improving integrated water management and improving knowledge of our water resources.
On this page:
- Projects* funded to advance the implementation of the National Water Initiative
- Projects* funded to improve integrated water management
- Projects* funded to improve knowledge of Australia's water resources
* where a service provider is not identified for these activities, the National Water Commission will secure services through its Expert Panel or other appropriate process as per the Raising National Water Standards Guide
Implementing the National Water Initiative:
Water accounting
Investments in national systems, practices and standards for data collection, metering, monitoring and accounting of water, including hydrological modelling.
- Development of an ACT hydrological and salinity model - competitive grants pathway - May 2007
- Victorian State water register - commissioning pathway - May 2007
- Developing national water accounting - commissioning pathway - March 2007
- Resolution of knowledge gaps for irrigation metering installation and verification requirements for Australian standards - competitive grants pathway - February 2007
- Murray-Darling Basin sustainable yields project - commissioning pathway - November 2006
- Improving in-field verification of non-urban water meter accuracy - commissioning pathway - September 2006
- Development of National Water Meter Standards - commissioning pathway - June 2006
Emerging water markets
Investments to improve the specification, registration and trading of titles, water pricing and service provision in water markets
- Water utilities performance reporting - improve data collection systems - commissioning pathway - September 2007
- Facilitating improvements in the specification, registration and trading of water entitlements - commissioning pathway - September 2007
- Improving market confidence in water intermediaries (PDF) - Waterlines document - July 2007
- Improving water pricing to support better water management and more efficient water usage - commissioning pathway - May 2007
- Improving market confidence in water brokers - commissioning pathway - March 2007
- Monitoring the impacts of water trade - commissioning pathway - March 2007
- Water utilities performance reporting - commissioning pathway - March 2007
- Developing pricing principles for recycled water and stormwater re-use - commissioning pathway - March 2007
- New water entitlements - commissioning pathway - September 2006
Water planning and management
Investments to achieve more effective planning and management on the ground, including greater involvement by the community, including indigenous communities, in water planning in rural/regional and metropolitan areas.
- Indigenous Water Planning Forum - June 2008
- Methods to accurately assess water allocation impacts of plantations - May 2008
- Australian Hydrological Modelling Initiative – Catchment Water Yield Estimation Tool - May 2008
- Baseline review of activities that intercept surface and/or groundwater - May 2008
- Water management and the electricity generation sector - May 2008
- Strategy for improving environmental sustainability in water planning - May 2008
- Water planning processes: lessons, gaps and adoption- commissioning pathway – September 2007
- Guidelines and best practice documentation translation—water services in remote Indigenous communities - commissioning pathway – September 2007
- National risk assessment—water services in remote Indigenous communities - commissioning pathway – September 2007
- Australian hydrological modelling initiative: River system management tool - competitive grants pathway - May 2007
- Water planning practices and lessons learned - commissioning pathway - September 2006
- Baseline Assessment of Water Governance Arrangements - commissioning pathway - June 2006
- Knowledge and capacity building activities - commissioning pathway - June 2006
Knowledge and capacity building
- National water education partnership with Questacon: a touring exhibition, outreach program and water education exhibit - June 2008
- Water Stewardship Initiative – Preparation of options paper and water stewardship forum - May 2008
- Graduate Course in Water Planning - A Consortium Approach - commissioning pathway - March 2008
- National Water Sector Skills Project - commissioning pathway - March 2008
- National Water Skills Resource Project - commissioning pathway - July 2007
- Australian Groundwater School Review of Teaching Resources Project - commissioning pathway - July 2007
- National Water Commission Fellowship Programme - commissioning pathway - July 2007
Improving Integrated Water Management across Australia:
Irrigation and other rural water
Investments to achieve more effective and efficient management of irrigation water, including irrigation system water and on-farm water, and other rural water.
- New technologies to reduce evaporation from large water storages - June 2008
- The Dookie Farm Project: Farms, Rivers and Markets: A Whole-of-System Approach to Doing More With Less Water - June 2008
- Spatial Algorithm for Mapping ET (SAM-ET) for Water Productivity and Vegetation Health in the Australian Agro-Ecosystem - commissioning pathway - August 2007
- Measuring Water Use at the Catchment Scale: Solving the Great Unknown in Water Accounting - commissioning pathway - August 2007
- Measurement, Monitoring and Reporting Systems for Improved Management of Regional Water Resources at Farm to National Scales in Australia - commissioning pathway - August 2007
- Improving Irrigation Efficiency in the Cotton Industry – a Grower-led approach - competitive grants pathway - August 2007
- Measurement to Improve Water Efficiency of On-farm Storages in the Cotton Industry - competitive grants pathway - August 2007
- Identification of factors that potentially influence uptake of SMART metering technology - competitive grants pathway - February 2007
- Irrigation farm water use and management: scoping work for data collection - commissioning pathway - September 2006
Water-dependent ecosystems
Investments to achieve more effective and efficient management of environmental water, including the conservation of high value water ecosystems.
- Development and implementation of the Framework for the Assessment of River and Wetland Health (FARWH) to rivers in Western Australia (with the exception of rivers in the Rangelands Region) – May 2008
- Development and implementation of the Framework for the Assessment of River and Wetland Health (FARWH) to rivers in the wet/dry tropics of northern Australia – May 2008
- National coordination of the Framework for the Assessment of River and Wetland Health (FARWH) trials – May 2008
- Testing the Framework for the Assessment of River and Wetland Health (FARWH) in NSW wetlands – May 2008
- Hydro-Ecological relationships and thresholds to inform environmental flow management and river restoration - commissioning pathway - September 2007
- Water-dependent Ecosystems, Part 1 - commissioning pathway - August 2007
- Water-dependent Ecosystems Part 2 - commissioning pathway - August 2007
- Community of practice for environmental water managers - commissioning pathway - August 2007
- Ecological outcomes of flow regimes - commissioning pathway - August 2007
- Case studies of sustainable levels of extraction and groundwater dependant ecosystems - commissioning pathway - August 2007
- Minimising environmental damage from wetland recovery from inland wetlands: Determining water regimes to minimise the impact of sulfidic sediments - competitive grants pathway - January 2007
- National water resource assessment using waterbirds: Ecosystem health and conservation importance of water dependent ecosystems and rivers - competitive grants pathway - January 2007
- Optimising environmental watering protocols to maximise benefits to native fish populations - competitive grants pathway - January 2007
- Additional trials to support development of a national framework for the assessment of river health - commissioning pathway - January 2007
- Surface water sustainability expert group - commissioning pathway - September 2006
Integrated urban water management
Investments to achieve more effective and efficient approaches to urban water demand management and supply planning, including water sensitive urban design.
- Quantifying water savings from smart water bills for residential customers - commissioning pathway - October 2007
- The Australian Integrated Resource Planning Framework and Manual - commissioning pathway - October 2007
- Green plumbers: best practice guidelines for installation of household stormwater and greywater recycling systems - commissioning pathway - September 2007
- A national approach to risk assessment, risk communication and management of chemical hazards from recycled water - commissioning pathway - September 2007
- Water Efficiency Labelling and Standards (WELS) Scheme - Phase 2 - commissioning pathway - September 2007
- Development of an ecotoxicity toolbox to evaluate water quality for recycling - competitive grants pathway - September 2007
- Recycled water quality standards - commissioning pathway - May 2007
- The potential of strata and community title to provide on-site solutions to water management in large urban developments - competitive grants pathway - May 2007
- Water efficiency plans for large and small enterprises - competitive grants pathway - May 2007
- Creating water smart gardens and gardeners across Australia - competitive grants pathway - May 2007
- Framework for the management of recycled water: Development of a methodology to assess implementation of the national recycling guidelines - competitive grants pathway - March 2007
- Information package to enhance public awareness about the use of recycled water for drinking purposes - commissioning pathway - March 2007
- Water sensitive cities – priority projects - commissioning pathway - March 2007
- Guidelines for comparing urban development proposals/options and assessing the likelihood of success in achieving Water Sensitive Urban Design - commissioning pathway - September 2006
- Reviewing institutional and regulatory arrangements and preparing best practice guidelines for achieving integrated urban water cycle planning and management - commissioning pathway - September 2006
- Water recycling via managed aquifer recharge - commissioning pathway - September 2006
- Urban resource planning and assessment project - phase 1 - commissioning pathway - June 2006
Improving Knowledge and Understanding of Australia's Water Resources:
Groundwater
Investments to improve understanding and management of groundwater resources and their connectivity with surface water.
- National Centre for Groundwater Research & Training, as part of the National Groundwater Action Plan - commissioning pathway - October 2007
- Knowledge and capacity building project for the National Groundwater Action Plan - commissioning pathway - September 2007
- Interconnection of surface water and groundwater systems - river losses from losing/disconnected streams - New South Wales - commissioning pathway - September 2007
- Strategic assessment and management of priority/stressed groundwater catchments - commissioning pathway - September 2007
- Water for Australia’s arid zone - identifying and assessing Australia’s palaeovalley groundwater resources - commissioning pathway - September 2007
- Improving knowledge and understanding of groundwater resources using GIS-based 3D visualisation and quantification tools - Victoria - competitive grants pathway - September 2007
- Sustainable management of coastal groundwater resources and opportunities for further development - New South Wales - commissioning pathway - September 2007
- Internet Groundwater Level Monitoring - competitive grants pathway - August 2007
- Development of a 3D Geological Mapping and Database Interface to Support Interconnected Groundwater and Surface Water Management - competitive grants pathway - August 2007
- Australian hydrological modelling initiative - Groundwater surface water interaction tool - competitive grants pathway - May 2007
- Facilitating recycling of stormwater and reclaimed water via aquifers in Australia - competitive grants pathway - March 2007
- Allocating water and maintaining springs in the Great Artesian Basin – South Australian and the Northern Territory - commissioning pathway - February 2007
- Sustainable groundwater allocations in the intake beds of the Great Artesian Basin in New South Wales - competitive grants pathway - February 2007
- Mapping potential surface water/groundwater connectivity - commissioning pathway - September 2006
- Strategic assessment and management of priority groundwater systems - commissioning pathway - September 2006
Northern rivers
Investments to improve understanding and management of Northern Tropical Rivers.
- Indigenous Community Water Facilitators Network - competitive grants pathway – September 2007
- Indigenous Water Policy Group - commissioning pathway – September 2007
- Northern Australia integrated water resource assessment – competitive grants pathway – September 2007
- Enhancing knowledge and understanding of river ecology and water-dependent ecosystems, including access to traditional knowledge in Australia's north - commissioning pathway - September 2006
National assessment of water resources
Investments to improve understanding of water resources across Australia and increase national capacity to assess the use, availability and state of these resources over time.
- Baseline Assessment of Water Resources - commissioning pathway - June 2006
- Collection of agriculture and water use census data - commissioning pathway - June 2006
Further information about the programme is available from the Raising National Water Standards publications section of this website.