Qld scientists probing key water issues to ensure supply

Queensland scientists are leading research into the purification of our drinking water, researching community reactions to recycled waste and understanding how to influence people to see water conservation as a way of life.

These are just some of the areas explored this week at the two-day Urban Water Security Research Alliance (UWSRA) Scientific Forum at The University of Queensland.

UWSRA director Don Begbie said the forum was designed to increase awareness of the research emerging across the Alliance, which has 14 projects underway and is Australia’s largest regionally focused urban water research program.

“We hope that the information we’re gaining through our research projects will be able to be fed into the future planning of water supply options in South East Queensland, whether it be recycled water or how we plan for use of different sources of water,” Mr Begbie said.

“It’s about trying to provide greater confidence in the quality of our future water supplies among those involved in planning future water options, and in the general community.

“Our research will help better identify potential perceived health risks and the treatment options that are required to deal with this so that SEQ has a safe drinking water supply that’s well managed.”

Mr Begbie said the forum demonstrated some “really pleasing” results and valuable outputs from work done to date, although some projects were in their early stages.

“The feedback from people was that they really appreciated the breadth of the work that’s being done, and the extent of the research program,” he said.

“We are just one player in the field of groups researching water solutions, but we’re coordinating and cooperating with those groups to avoid duplication of effort and to ensure we address the important issues in delivering water safely and efficiently to our communities.”

The Urban Water Security Research Alliance (UWSRA) is a $50 million partnership over five years between The University of Queensland, the Queensland Government, CSIRO’s Water for a Healthy Country Flagship, and Griffith University.

UQ Vice-Chancellor Professor Paul Greenfield was a keynote speaker at the forum.

Media inquiries: Don Begbie, UWSRA Director — 07 3247 3006
Carmen Myler, Niche Consultants, 0400 791 148 or 02 6679 5614