Ensuring a sustainable future water supply for the people of South-East Queensland.
CSIRO's research is focused on the following:
Australia’s rapid population growth and urbanisation are increasing the demand for water, energy, and food, as well as the generation of waste streams, stormwater runoff, and the flow of nutrients and contaminants into our waterways. These pressures will be exacerbated by climate change.
To keep providing high quality urban water services while maintaining water ecosystems and reducing our carbon footprint, we need more integrated urban water management, which harnesses water, wastewater and stormwater sources.
Australia’s large cities are currently investing more than A$30 billion in new water supplies, and most are diversifying their supplies away from rainfall-dependent storages to include desalination, decentralised supplies and some form of recycling.
CSIRO is providing science and technology solutions to enable the transition to sustainable cities that maximise the environmental, social and economic benefits from urban water management and ensure water security.
Our urban water researchers engage with water planning agencies to provide underpinning science for decisions on optimal configurations of future water services, to make major capital investments more effective, to manage greater planning uncertainty, and to develop new technologies and integrate them with existing infrastructure, all while ensuring that public and environmental health is maintained.
Read more about Urban Water: addressing Australia's urban water challenges.
