Water Management

The aim of this course is to provide an understanding of issues and methods in water resources management, and is set especially within the framework of total, or integrated, catchment management. The course gives an introduction to the unique hydrology of Australia, major issues of water resource management, the implications of past water management practices, the principles of integrated catchment management and sustainability, and current management tools and strategies. Topics will include: the components of the hydrological cycle; impacts of land and water management on water quantity and quality; water demand and allocation among users, including the environment; the institutional and policy aspects of Water Resource Management (WRM); on ground strategies of WRM; and integrated modelling of water and land resources. The course emphasises the interdisciplinarity of water resource management and examines integrated assessment, which is a method that seeks to solve water management problems by investigating the physical, economic, social and institutional components of a problem. Water ethics is a key theme that underpins and links many components of the course. Honours Pathway Option Subject to the approval of the course convenor, students taking this option will be expected to complete enrichment learning activities that build leadership skills and support higher level engagement across the water sector. Students taking this option will be expected to include discussions with key decision makers/researchers, chairing and being the secretariat at meetings, or leading discussion in-class or online with water sector specialists. Students undertaking the HPO will engage with LO1, LO2 and LO4. The HPO is open to all students. Students opt-in to the HPO through the option sign-up in Wattle by Friday Week 3.