New program targets better water and waste use

A new program at The University of Queensland (UQ) Gatton is arming resource managers from Australia and abroad with the knowledge needed to tackle the world’s most challenging water and waste management issues.

Program coordinator Jim Sands said population growth and economic development was continuing to exert more pressure on scarce water supplies, prompting an urgent need to tackle issues such as salinity, water quality, organic waste management and water recycling.

He said the Water and Waste Management (major) equipped graduates with the scientific, technological and problem solving expertise to introduce sustainable water use systems and safe organic waste usage in both urban and rural landscapes.

The issue is of equal interest overseas, with a group of 30 senior administrators from China’s Henan province currently studying components of the program at UQ Gatton.

“There has been a lot of mistakes made in the past that today’s generation now has to deal with,” Mr Sands said.

“Population and economic development pressures and the scarcity of fresh water supplies in many areas mean we cannot continue making those mistakes. We have to develop and apply better ways of using those supplies not just once or twice but many times over.

“The study program we have developed is designed to provide current and future managers of our water and waste systems with the ability to fix the problems of the past and introduce new technologies to ensure we don’t repeat them again.

“We don’t want to create new problems either. The trend to waste re-use, reduction and recycling prompts the need to manage those processes to ensure waste resources* are used beneficially and don’t lead to other problems such as contamination.”

Mr Sands and other experts will be available at UQ Gatton’s Open Day from 9.30am on Sunday August 22 to provide further advice on the Water and Waste Management (major) and other study programs available at the University.

* Australian agriculture generates over 2 million tonnes of manures per year while urban areas produce over 600,000 tonnes of bio-solids every year.

For more information, contact Brad Henderson on (07) 5460 1229 or 0409.265.587