Water resources
Counting every drop: Measuring evaporation in dams
Australia is one of the sunniest places on the planet. That means we lose large volumes of water from our reservoirs through evaporation. Our scientists have created a way to measure evaporation rates with expert precision, helping to better manage water resources.
How science found liquid gold in the desert
Researchers have teamed up to uncover an ancient buried water source in South Australia.
Uncertainty: The X factor behind more reliable streamflow forecasts
A new national forecasting service is giving dam operators, river managers – even kayakers – a clearer picture of river and stream flows up to a week in advance. Paradoxically, uncertainty is a key to more reliable forecasts.
Pandemic prompts need for more water security in South Asia
Access to clean water has never been so important in South Asia. But for millions of residents it continues to be a daily struggle.
The challenge at the end of Australia’s mighty Murray-Darling system
Management of the Lower Lakes system in South Australia has been informed by extensive science. Understanding the impacts of climate change and adaptation remain future challenges for the region and the Murray-Darling Basin as a whole.
Locating the hotspot for groundwater arsenic pollution
A new computer model to predict arsenic pollution will help to support water management decisions and develop new arsenic remediation strategies.
Day Zero and pathways to water security for regional towns
Day Zero marks the day when residential taps are turned off — a reality for some regional and rural towns across Australia. When this current drought breaks, we can’t lose sight of the fact that another drought will inevitably come. We have to prepare for water security now.
Understanding water pressures
With many surface water storages, such as reservoirs, empty or critically low, groundwater (underground aquifers fed by rainfall and found in cracks or pores in rock) supplies are critical for many Australian communities and industries.
Can water banking guard against a future ‘Day Zero’?
As the water count down continues to 'Day Zero' in regional centres in New South Wales and Queensland, how can science provide greater water security into the future?