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In November 2012, the Goyder Institute for Water Research funded a research programme as a contribution to the building of a strong information base to inform debate on how best to underpin an efficient and sustainable water supply for metropolitan Adelaide, now and into the future, due to the likely impacts of a drying climate and population growth. Metropolitan Adelaide has multiple sources of water – surface water, groundwater, desalinated water, stormwater, roof or rain water, recycled water and the River Murray – that can be utilised and managed for supplying the city’s water needs. Using those sources in combination requires consideration of an appropriate balance across objectives such as supply security, economic cost, social preferences and environmental impacts. The research programme, project U2.2 within the Goyder Institute for Water Research’s urban water portfolio, was designed to explore these considerations through:
The project team was drawn from researchers at the Universities of Adelaide and South Australia, Flinders University, CSIRO and SA Water, with contributions from EPA, the SA Departments of Environment, Water and Natural Resources; and Planning, and the Adelaide and Mt Lofty Ranges Natural Resources Management (AMLRNRMB). The project concluded in early 2014.
The water sources that are available to manage water supply in the Adelaide’s metropolitan region include surface water, groundwater, desalinated water, stormwater, roof or rain water, recycled water and River Murray water. Determining an ‘optimal mix’ of water supply options requires considering the trade-offs between multiple objectives such as supply security, economic costs (financial and externalities), social preferences, and environmental impacts.
The tradeoffs analysis methodology that was developed provides a framework that could be applied to other cities/regions to inform the development of total water cycle management plans. The project is innovative because it is the first time that these methodologies to identify options and evaluate trade-offs have been applied at a city-wide scale. This project identified a range of water supply options and evaluated trade-offs at a city scale that best deliver these multiple objectives. The knowledge gained from this complex research project informed policy development and progression of a total water cycle management plan for Adelaide.
This project informed the development of an integrated water management plan for Adelaide in the following ways:
