Australian integrated resource planning framework and manual
Project details
| Objective: | To develop resources and tools to assist urban water service providers and government agencies to determine more accurately how much water is used in their region, how much water is available and how they can best provide or support water services for their region in the future. |
| Funding: | Up to $700,000 plus applicable GST |
| Jurisdiction: | National |
| Commenced: | June 2008 |
| Completion: | September 2009 |
Read about the project's progress. Link to the project's external website .
About the project
The project will provide the tools and guidance material to balance water demand and supply while accounting for the full social, economic and environmental costs and benefits in a water cycle management context. The Project will be based on the internationally recognised best practice framework of integrated resource planning (IRP) and build on a body of IRP work already developed by ISF and CSIRO in collaboration with the WSAA and include:
- a step-by-step guide to demand management in the context of IRP which provides guidance on demand management and IRP which can be used by water service providers, private sector and other government agencies looking to build their capacity to use various models and tools
- a water demand forecasting and options model and an integrated supply demand planning (iSDP) model
- training material on the iSDP model and a broader best practice IRP framework
- a national end use database (NEUD) to collate data on end uses and demand management in the urban water sector
- expand and enhance the suite of current resources and tools to enable them to be used by a broader national water industry audience and to deal with important emerging issues such as climate change
- investigate and document two new case studies and approaches to integrated resource planning
- ensure maximum national water industry integration and benefit from the resources and tools developed by having a strong focus on knowledge sharing and capacity building.
The Project is a partnership involving Brisbane City Council (BCC), Wagga Wagga City Council and Riverina Water, UTS (represented by the Institute for Sustainable Futures, ISF) and CSIRO.
Wagga Wagga City Council and Riverina Water will be involved in the first case study, which will trial the application of IRP on a major inland city. BCC will be involved in the second case study, which will develop and trial a public benefits assessment (PBA) framework for urban catchments and its application in assessment of sustainable urban water management options.
The PBA framework will provide both inputs into the IRP supply/demand process and allow for a stand alone framework for the assessment of externalities and avoidable costs from a broader urban water cycle decision making process.
Project benefits
The program will make a significant contribution towards the National Water Initiative by facilitating better water use efficiency and encouraging recycling and innovation in water supply and demand planning.
The Project will develop resources and tools to assist urban water service providers and government agencies to determine more accurately how much water is used in their region, how much water is available (while protecting and delivering environmental and social values), and how they can best provide or support water services (through water use efficiency, source substitution, supply options) for their region in the future.
It will address primarily the balancing of water demand and supply while accounting for water cycle impacts and interactions as well as the full social, economic and environmental costs and benefits in a coherent manner. The Project will be based on the internationally recognised best practice framework of integrated resource planning (IRP).