Leader:
Ass Prof Basant Maheshwari
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Project Description:
We all need water but, without water security, we risk the health of the Hawkesbury-Nepean river system, the productivity of Sydney’s ‘food bowl’ and a poorer quality of life.
The WISER - Water and Irrigation Strategy Enhancement through Regional Partnership - Project has been developed to address these vital issues.
Through WISER, we hope to help stakeholders and agencies work from a common platform with a shared water vision matched to regional sustainability, jobs and prosperity. We also aim to help them develop long-term solutions and strategies for total water cycle management with community engagement at all levels of the water cycle.
The project will use a harmonised systems approach to identify the opportunities for improved river health and to understand the rapidly changing hydrology of Western Sydney as influenced by the growing population, the Metro Water strategy, and water use by irrigators and other businesses. We also intend to understand the current water policies and institutional barriers and identify changes that may improve water use and governance.
Importantly, we will assist the stakeholders and agencies integrate this into a Regional Water Resources Planning and Management Framework with an analysis of options for water use, future infrastructure development and cost-benefit analysis.
The project focuses on working with state agencies, water cycle managers, community and business users to help them collectively optimise water management, investment decisions and risks within a triple-bottom-line framework.
Ultimately, we look forward to developing a generic model, processes and tools for integrated water resources planning and strategy development in a complex urban landscape, adaptable across urban
Australia and beyond.
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Events:
Upcoming Events
2009 WISER Community Forum
Click Here to See The Program
Click Here for Parking Recommended Parking near Penrith Council
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The forum aims to unite broad community groups to achieve greater sustainability of water resources, local food production and improved river health in peri-urban landscapes. The day will include five short and thought provoking presentations to help us understand the challenges we face in securing river health, peri-urban farming and community health and well being.
Community members will have the chance to learn about the highlights of research conducted by the WISER project and initiatives being undertaken by the Local Councils and State agencies.
To Register On Line please click here:
On Line Registration
If you wish to download the registration brochure please click here:
PDF Registration Brochure
2009 Guest Speakers & The Panel
Our Master of Ceremonies this year is Kevin Rozzoli
Click Here to See Kevins Bio
Our Guest Speakers this year are:
Click Here to See The Guest Speakers Bio’s
Our Facilitator for the Q&A Session this year is Ticky Fullerton
Click Here to See Ticky's Bio
On Our Panel this year for the Q&A Session will be:
Click Here to See The Panels Bio's
Past Events
Over 100 people attended the recent community forum ‘Water for Western Sydney – Who will miss out?’ organised by the Cooperative Research Centre for Irrigation Futures and the University of Western Sydney. [more...]
WISER Project members Basant Maheshwari and Bruce Simmons recently made a presentation to the National Water Commission in Canberra. Titled ‘System Harmonisation: Peri-urban Experience of Water Cycle Management’, the presentation highlighted the complexity of peri-urban water cycle management and the tools that are being developed by the researchers in the WISER project. [more...]
A one-day participative workshop on the Application of Peri-urban SIMHYD Model for Water Management in Council Areas and Catchments was held at the University of Western Sydney Hawkesbury Campus on Wednesday 12 August 2009. [more...] |
Research:
- Water Cycle Management
- Markets and Productivity
- Social, Cultural, Institutional and Policy Frameworks
- System Harmonisation Integration and RIBPs
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Publications:
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Researchers:
Ass Prof Basant Maheshwari Mr Bruce Simmons Prof Hector Malano Dr Bandara Nawarathna Dr Yun Chen Dr Ranvir Singh Dr Harsharn Singh Grewal Mr Gavin Beveridge
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Postgraduate Students:
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Steering Group:
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Partners:
Working within the Cooperative Research Centre for Irrigation Futures (CRC IF), the core research organisations in this four-year project are the University of Western Sydney, University of New England, University of Melbourne, the NSW Department of Primary Industries and CSIRO Land & Water. A number of stakeholders and agencies are involved in this project, and the Blacktown, Hawkesbury, Liverpool and Penrith Councils and relevant NSW Government agencies form the core project group. |
