Integrated Resource Planning for Urban Water

The new website for the Integrated Resource Planning for Urban Water Project has been recently launched. The project is an 18 month collaborative research project, commissioned by the National Water Commission, and led by the Institute for Sustainable Futures (ISF), part of the University of Technology, Sydney.

The project, which commenced in June 2008, aims to develop resources and tools to assist urban water service providers and government agencies across the country to understand:

• how much water is used in their region
• how much water is available and
• how they can best provide water services to their region in the future

The project will build on existing resources already available and develop additional new resources for the broader national water industry. The existing body of work has been developed by the Institute for Sustainable Futures (ISF) and individuals within the Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) for the Water Services Association of Australia (WSAA).  Key resources include:

• the Guide to Demand Management - a step-by-step guide to demand management in the broader context of urban water planning
• the integrated supply demand planning (iSDP) model - a water demand forecasting and options model, currently used by a number of large utilities across Australia to aid in supply-demand planning, and
• the End Use and Demand Management Training Package - training material on the iSDP model and broader best practice water planning

These three resources are all based on the internationally recognised best practice water planning framework of “Integrated Resource Planning”.

Case Studies

In addition, two key studies will be undertaken:

• Wagga Wagga – This case study will trial the application of integrated resource planning (or IRP) in a major inland city dealing with a range of inland city issues such as river allocations, limited groundwater sources, groundwater salinity and receiving water nutrient limitations.
• Brisbane – This case study will develop and trial a public benefits assessment (or PBA) framework for urban catchments and its application in assessment of sustainable urban water management options as part of the IRP framework.

Find out about the Integrated Resource Planning for Urban Water Project here