A Framework for Conjunctive Water Management
A general process can be followed when taking a conjunctive water management approach regardless of the size and nature of a catchment and the water issues that need to be addressed. A simple framework has been developed to provide a consistent approach to conjunctive water management in Australia in line with the principles of the National Water Initiative. The steps of the process as outlined below, follow the philosophy of adaptive management where policies and practices are continually improved by learning from the outcomes of previous work. The intent is that the process is iteractive and aspects of the management process are revisited and reviewed. These steps also follow the general guiding principles for conjunctive water management.
Identify Management Setting - Identify the key features that define the management of land and water resources in the catchment.
Investigate and Assess - Acquire the baseline information to describe the characteristics of surface water and groundwater systems of the catchment, and their interactions, both spatially and temporally.
Understand and Predict - Summarise the current understanding of the processes, dependencies and impacts on the water resource in a conceptual model. This can be used as the foundation for a mathematical model that can be used as a predictive tool.
Set Management Targets - Identify the goals and objectives to be achieved for water management in the catchment.
Develop and Implement Management Options - Evaluate and implement appropriate mix of policy and on-ground investment options for conjunctive water management.
Monitor and Review Performance - Undertake monitoring of key indicators and use this as the basis to review catchment conditions and the performance of conjunctive water management.
As part of the framework, resources have been collated to help water managers, water authorities, policy makers, catchment groups, industry groups and others implement a more integrated approach to water management. These resources include:
- information on data sources for the key catchment datasets required for conjunctive water management decisions;
- tools for stakeholder engagement;
- a schema for categorising connectivity;
- assessment tools to investigate groundwater-surface water interactions;
- conjunctive water management options in terms of policies or on-ground works that link groundwater and surface water resources; and
- an outline of the potential roles and responsibilities associated with conjunctive water management.
Relevant Links
Murray Darling Basin Commission Guiding principles for sustainable groundwater management
NHT Towards a national framework for managing the impacts of groundwater and surface water interaction in Australia
