Catchment water management planning

Management of water balance presents many risks and opportunities that need to be addressed across the NRM program. The Centre for Ecohydrology will use priority catchments, selected by DAFWA regional groups, to collect data, calibrate models and develop tools and methods for planning strategic investment to target hydrological threats and opportunities.

Testing the application of these methods in developing catchment water management planning will provide the basis for ensuring that sustainable farming systems preserve the natural resource base that rural communtities require for their long term sustainability.

This project will begin in 2008 with the final stage - development of predictive scenario analysis and decision support tools - taking 3-5 years.

Activities

• Development of Risk Analysis tools to assist in identifying and prioritising investment to target hydrological threats and opportunities in catchments.
• Training DAFWA staff in methods of spatial risk analysis of hydrological threats
• Develop water management plans for priority catchments
• Monitoring and evaluation of intervention strategies and their impact on modulating hydrological threats and optimising on-farm profitability.
• Development of predictive scenario analysis and decision support tools for planning and evaluation that will aid NRM investment, optimisation of farming systems, and deliver economic, environmental and social outcomes at farm and catchment scales.

Selected Catchments

Northern Region: Ingra Lakes
South West: Daping Creek
South Coast: East Mount Barrow and Yerritup Creek
Central Region: under negotiations

Contact

Associate Professor Neil Coles