Basant Maheshwari and BruceSimmons, CRC for Irrigation Futures andUniversity of Western Sydney

The Cooperative ResearchCentre for Irrigation FuturesSystem Harmonisation programhas developed a project titledWater and Irrigation StrategyEnhancement through RegionalPartnerships (WISER) toestablish a system harmonisationprocess in Western Sydney, NSW.The project is about working withregional irrigation partners toincrease profitability and reducethe environmental footprint ofirrigation systems. Here weprovide an overview of theSystem Harmonisation Programand a case study of the WISERproject in Western Sydney.

System harmonisationSystem harmonisation is one of twomajor research programs within theCooperative Research Centre forIrrigation Futures (CRC IF).

The program recognises thatirrigation is part of a changingcomplex social-ecological systemthat requires new approaches basedon integrating science, policy,management and communities todeliver on long-term sustainabilityobjectives.

The program promotestransdisciplinary approaches toimproving communication betweenorganisations as well as transparent,objective decision-making tosupport planning and managementof irrigation within a catchment. Atits core is working with regionalirrigation partners to improvemanagement of surface andgroundwater resources and satisfyenvironmental and consumptivedemand in catchments.

The WISER project While water scarcity and climatechange are driving issues inWestern Sydney, management ofcurrent water supplies isfragmented and fails to take intoaccount all water resources andproductive and environmentalopportunities. The WISER projectaims to help irrigation- and water-dependent activities by establishingan integrated water resourceplanning framework andimplementation process. This willenable the region’s water resourcesto be managed more efficiently forenvironmental protection andirrigation while maximisingcommercial opportunities andsocial benefits.

Dealing with the hard stuffSystem harmonisation is dealingwith the high risk, ‘hard stuff’ that everyone says is needed but no one is doing. It is working at the interfaces; the socio-economic-ecological, surface water-groundwater, water

quantity-quality, and the land-water interfaces. It recognises thatthe whole is more than the sum ofthe parts, and is dealing with thecomplexity and uncertainty of thecatchment system which includesirrigation.

System harmonisation is alsohelping organisations andcommunities question why thingsare being done the way they are,and encouraging new and differentapproaches to create a better future.

Some of the key questionscommunities associated withirrigation are faced with include:• Do we have the right policies and

institutions in place?• Are we using appropriate

economic models that accountfor impacts on the environmentto support long term decisionmaking?

• If current trends in population,water demand and energy usepersist, where will we get ourwater and food from?

• Should we encourage more localfood production through careful

28 IRRIGATION AUSTRALIA

REGIONAL PARTNERSHIPSADDRESS WATER SECURITY INWESTERN SYDNEY

WISER team leaders discuss future water cycle scenarios with local councilrepresentatives.

IRRIGATION AUSTRALIA 29

design of peri-urban zones thatmaintain ‘horticultural precincts’within an overall mosaic structure?

• Are we thinking about ‘systems’and ‘long-term’ for the benefit offuture generations?

Working together for water securitySystem harmonisation hashighlighted that the core challengesbeing faced by irrigation in particularand society in general cannot besolved in isolation.

A systems approach and strongcollaboration across a broad range ofpartners is needed to secure waterinto the future.

Experience shows that this is noteasy, especially when many of ourapproaches to date have been basedon ‘competition’.

Collaboration, by contrast, requiresa change in attitude, commitmentand hard work, and takes time tobuild the necessary trust. Effectivecollaboration is ultimately aboutrelationships based on genuine caringand alliances that share risks andsolutions, and is essential to helpcreate a better future for all.

Regional irrigation partnershipsThe System Harmonisation Programestablished key regional irrigationpartnerships across Australia toground its work in a range ofdifferent irrigation issues. Theseinclude the Ord near Kununurra, theKatherine-Douglas-Daly area, thelower Burdekin southeast ofTownsville, Macintyre Brooksouthwest of Brisbane, WesternSydney, Coleambally near Wagga-Wagga, and southeast SouthAustralia.

Challenges for the WISER projectin Western SydneyThe population in Western Sydney isset to increase significantly over thenext 20 years. Proposed northwestand southwest growth centres willadd about 600,000 people to the400,000 already living in the SouthCreek Catchment, which includessignificant areas of Blacktown,Camden, Hawkesbury, Liverpool andPenrith councils. Along with naturalincreases within existing land usezones, this will place greater pressureon water that is available for non-potable uses. This poses a threat tocommerce, industry and, mostimportantly, agriculture. Also at riskare recreational sites, such as playing

fields and reserves, which require alot of water for maintenance.

Water is the single most importantfactor in maintaining futuresustainability of the South CreekCatchment, in particular water forirrigation and river health. There istherefore a need to investigate andtap alternative non-potable supplies.

This is where the CRC IF’s WISERcomes in. A team of multi-disciplinary researchers is workingclosely with relevant stakeholdersand local and State governmentagencies to provide key informationthat may help in planning access tothese additional regional waterresources and the on-ground actionsnecessary to activate the plans.

Based on the existing potable watersupplies and current water usepractices, a macro analysis for theSouth Creek Catchment indicatesthat about 27 GL a year of potablewater is being used indoors andanother 14 GL a year for outdoorpurposes (on backyards/gardens,playing fields and inagriculture/horticulture).

This is in addition to about 12 GLsourced from other areas for outdooruse.

By 2030, when the two growthcentres are fully developed, thedemand for water for non-potable useis estimated to be more than 40GL/yr. This increase will representadded pressure on currentlyidentified potable water supplies.

The WISER project will contributegreatly to moving the balance

towards alternative water sources(such as recycled and storm water),indoor and outdoor, which do notrequire drinking water quality. In thisway, the study will complement andsupport the Western Sydney RecycledWater Initiative and the NSWGovernment’s actions to secure watersupplies for greater Sydney in generaland Western Sydney in particular.

Commenting on the achievementsof WISER, Chairman Kevin Rozzolisaid, “The WISER project has unitedagencies in Western Sydney toaddress the major problem of longterm water security, with all itscollateral impact on quality of life,employment and catchment health.It makes all the effort worthwhile.”

In researching systemharmonisation in peri-urban areas, asillustrated in the case of WesternSydney, there has been a realisationof the differences in water cyclemanagement to rural or urbansituations alone.

This aspect is further beingexamined within the CRC IF’s SystemHarmonisation Program and willcontribute to ongoing discussionsand planning.

InformationMore information on the CRC IF’s SystemHarmonisation Program can be found onthe CRC IF’s website atwww.irrigationfutures.org.au. Forinformation on the WISER project, visitwww.irrigationfutures.org.au/wiser orcontact Basant Maheshwari, on 02 45701235 or b.maheshwari@uws.edu.au.

CRCIF

Changing Land Use in the South Creek Catchment, Western Sydney.