In January 2025, a delegation of officials from Thailand’s Royal Irrigation Department (RID) and Griffith University visited Vietnam to learn about ‘AquaWatch’, a world class integrated water quality monitoring and forecasting system designed by Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO). The group had the opportunity to discuss inland water quality issues and challenges common to Vietnam, Thailand and Australia, and the tools required to address them.
AWP has been working with RID to support the improvement of procedures and practices related to reservoir water quality management in Thailand since 2022. There are 25 large-scale reservoirs across Thailand and 412 medium-scale reservoirs which are crucial in supporting agriculture, energy production, household consumption, industrial demand, and ecosystem conservation. Many external factors, including climate and land-use change are impacting the quality and quantity of water in these reservoirs.
In particular, Thailand faces challenges with managing water quality in many of its reservoirs due to pressure from agricultural, domestic, and industrial pollution coupled with urbanisation, increasing demand and climate change.
The field trip was part of an AWP Phase III activity, ‘Technical support to improve reservoir water quality in Thailand’ led by Griffith University, which builds on previous AWP support to RID on the improvement of reservoir water quality management practices and strategies.
“The visit to observe a working hydra spectra unit from CSIRO’s Aquawatch program for water quality monitoring in Vietnam demonstrated the excellent reliability with low maintenance of the unit in South East Asian conditions,” said Kelvin O’Halloran, Adjunct Associate Professor at Griffith University.
“This field trip was a unique opportunity for trilateral cooperation and learning between Australia, Vietnam and Thailand,” noted Sarah Ransom, General Manager at AWP. “The delegation was able to see Australian expertise in action through CSIRO’s AquaWatch technology and consider the potential for deploying new solutions for managing water quality.”
The goal of the continued knowledge exchange is to strengthen cooperation, enhance water quality monitoring practices and explore tools and a strategy for climate change adaptation.
In Vietnam, the team was hosted by the Vietnam National Center for Water Resources Planning and Investigation (NAWAPI) who partner with CSIRO through the AquaWatch program to study the pilot site in Vietnam.
Featured image: Demonstration of the HydraSpectra unit which communicates with CSIRO satellites to monitor water quality.