This $700K, two-year collaborative research project into integrated resource planning (IRP) for urban water was a collaboration between the National Water Commission, the Institute for Sustainable Futures, CSIRO, Brisbane City Council, Wagga Wagga City Council, Riverina Water and the Water Services Association of Australia (WSAA). The project relied on knowledge transfer and capacity building, and facilitated a series of workshops in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Townsville and Perth to showcase the research to stakeholders.
ISF developed resources and tools to assist practitioners in the urban water sector to deal with emerging issues in supply-demand planning. The resources aim to help urban water service providers and government agencies determine more accurately how much water is used in their region, how much water is available (while protecting environmental and social values) and how they can best provide water services in the future. The resources, based on the principles of IRP, built on a guide, model and training developed for the Water Services Association of Australia. They include: an update and expansion of the Guide to Demand Management and Integrated Resource Planning previously developed for WSAA; a series of resource papers dealing with issues such as climate change, demand forecasting, monitoring and evaluation and sustainability assessment; and two case studies demonstrating the application of IRP and the integrated supply-demand planning (iSDP) model.
This Integrated Supply-Demand Planning (iSDP) model is an urban water supply-demand planning tool. The tool allows the development of detailed water demand forecasts based on either disaggregated end uses, (e.g. showering, toilet flushing) or sectors (e.g. residential, commercial, industrial) and the modelling and assessment of both demand and supply options. It provides a means for analysing and presenting portfolios of options to support supply-demand decision-making. The iSDP model was originally developed by Sydney Water Corporation and then up-dated by CSIRO and ISF under the auspices of WSAA. As part of this project, the iSDP model was significantly updated. The new version has additional features and is now much more user-friendly with an intuitive interface. This makes it more useable for mid-size and smaller utilities as well as current users in major metropolitan centres.
Researchers
-
John McKibbin -
Associate Professor and Research Director -
Director, ISF
Year
- 2010
Location
- Australia
Client
- National Water Commission
Partners
- CSIRO
- Brisbane City Council
- Wagga Wagga City Council
- Riverina Water
- WSAA
