University of South Australia

UniSA has a long association with water research that is focused on industry and government requirements. The SA Water Centre for Water Management & Reuse was established in 2004 with seed funding form SA Water Corporation and UniSA to establish a key centre on aspects of water quantity (optimising existing use, alternative supply and future supply estimates, aka climate change predictions) and quality (optimising treatment processes and monitoring of quality).

The centre also contains within it the Australian Irrigation and Hydraulics Testing Facility, a commercial NATA and ISO accredited facility that performs routine testing, consultancy and research related to water delivery systems. The CWMR has a wide range of partnerships in the Indo-Pacific region and further details can be found at: http://www.unisa.edu.au/Research/CWMR/ The Centre has also plays a major part in the training of water professionals for Australia and the surrounding Indo-Pacific countries at undergraduate, masters and PhD levels. UniSA also hosts the Centre for Comparative Water Policies and Laws (CCWPL) in the School of Law. Research includes water law reform, focusing on developing regulatory models for the management and allocation of water between competing uses and jurisdictions, and developing protocols to deliver sustainable development.

Organisational Capability

• Policy
• Governance
• Economics
• Infrastructure planning
• Alternative water supply
• Advanced water treatment technologies
• Climate Change predictions
• Assessing water quality
• Food and water
• Water sensitive urban design

Projects

Improving Water Resource Management in India’s Agriculture: Search for Effective Institutional Arrangements and Policy Framework
This was a collaborative project involving La Trobe University, Indian Institute of Management - Ahmedabad, Deakin University and University of South Australia. It was funded by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research. The objective was to identify institutions and policies that will promote the efficient and sustainable management of water resources in India. The project employed an empirical approach in India and explored the performance of a range of organizational forms across three Indian states – Maharashtra, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh. The institutional forms covered both surface and groundwater users and included Water User Associations, canal cooperatives, tube well partnerships and tube well cooperatives.
Groundwater Governance in Asia: Capacity Building through Action Research in the IndoGangetic (IGB) and Yellow River (YRB) Basins.
This was a training program sponsored by the International Water Management Institute. The purpose was to address the deficiencies in human capacity for managing groundwater in the two large basins of the world: (1) Indus-Gangetic Basin (2) Yellow River Basin. As part of this program two separate delegation of high level academics and senior government officials from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Nepal and China visited University of South Australia to attend a two-week training program and see the State’s groundwater management policies at work. The training program included presentations by leading UniSA water experts, representatives from the SA Department of Environment Water and Natural Resources (DEWNR), and filed visits.
Urban Wastewater Reuse for Agriculture: Governance Paradigms and Institutions in Australia and India.
This was a PhD research project and it examined different governance models for urban wastewater reuse in Australia and India. The study analysed the role of different societal sectors-public, private, and the community in provision and use of wastewater for irrigation. It encompassed three case studies (2 in South Australia and 1 in India) representing different models of governance: (1) Virginia pipeline scheme built on the BOOT model, (2) Willunga pipeline scheme built on the divesture model, and (3) Musi irrigation scheme representing the case of unsupported community wastewater reuse.
Establishment of Joint Water Science Research laboratory with RCEES, Beijing, China
This joint laboratory was established 10 years ago to permit water relevant research to be conducted between the Research Centre for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, and the CWMR, UniSA. It has been very successful with joint projects, staff and student exchanges and several publications coming from the collaboration.
China Australia Centre for Sustainable Urban Development (CAC-SUD)
Established 2 years ago this is a joint centre between Tianjin University in China and UniSA. It seeks to build collaboration and outcomes in the area of sustainability in urban environments related to construction, operation and ecosystem services and has a considerable water component. 7 projects have so far been awarded funding status. See: http://www.unisa.edu.au/Research/China-Australia-Centre-for-Sustainable-Urban-Development/