Integrated Water Resources Management System

Integrated Water Resources Management System

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  climate land use cities irrigation dams & weirs ecological assets eWater’s single integrated modelling system benefits: Source enables: • flexible enterprise level modelling • integration of policy, management and science • customisation to suit user needs • configuration for typical IWRM situations • building upon existing approaches • use with existing hydrological models • contributions to the wider knowledge pool. eWater Source is Australia’s first river basin-scale water modelling system. It is an enterprise platform which enables organisations to make a step change improvement in their approach to Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM). eWater Source allows users to build on, rather than replace, existing models. It effectively integrates each organisation’s existing models, with a holistic approach to water management including human and ecological impacts. It has been developed to address water sharing and savings for entire river and connected groundwater systems including cities, agricultural and environmental demands. Its groundbreaking capability links science, policy and management allowing decision makers to consider future scenarios and alternative management options for catchments, urban environments and rivers systems.
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  May 2012 ©eWater For the first time, policy makers and operators can plan and manage the sharing of water for human and ecological use ranging from local urban systems to an entire river basin. Source provides a strategic decision-making capability for sustainable water efficiency and operational management. It encourages systems-based thinking, leading to exploration of alternatives and effective policy-making. It enables organisations to address the interplay of water use for both human and ecological benefits within a policy and governance setting. Users can track individual ownership of water throughout a river system; trade water between owners; optimise irrigation supply; manage urban and ecological demands for water, and assess climate impacts. Source is open and flexible so that each stakeholder can reproduce what they are doing now, but with new and enhanced features that allow extension of analysis within the same modelling environment, without reworking older studies. Source provides a single adaptable environment that recognises the practical political and technical issues in developing water policy and the need for transparency and sustainability. It can easily be customised by users to address specific local problems, or can be pre-configured for typical IWRM situations such as: • irrigation supply management (including conjunctive surface/groundwater use) • river systems operations • city water supply management (small scale through to bulk water and head-works) • catchment (watershed) management • ecological (environmental flows) and water quality management. New science and learning can be incorporated seamlessly and added to the existing knowledge base. As new partners and stakeholders use Source they can contribute to the wider modelling knowledge pool for the benefit of the community. It allows for scalable solutions to be developed and addresses the impact that uncertainties in models and inputs have on the outcomes. Source encourages collaboration and provides an environment where third parties can bring their modelling tools and capabilities into the framework. Source was developed by a team of leading hydrologists from Australian research organisations and industry. Contact us Phone: 1300 5 WATER Fax: +61 2 6206 8644 [email protected] www.ewater.com.au Source is a product of the collaboration of government, industry and research. Development was accelerated by Australian Government funding support from the Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities (formerly DEWHA), and the National Water Commission. Want to know more? For more information, please send an email with ‘Source’ in the subject line, and your contact details, to [email protected] This has been underpinned by core funding from the Commonwealth’s Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, via its Cooperative Research Centres (CRC) Program, to eWater CRC since 2005. eWater CRC partners also contributed substantial funding and in-kind support. Who is involved “...a consistent national modelling platform that will be able to be implemented across the jurisdictions.” James Cameron, CEO National Water Commission.