WIRADA: Water Information Research and Development Alliance
We’re working with the Bureau of Meteorology to deliver water information products that improve the management of Australia’s water resources.
The Water Information Research and Development Alliance (WIRADA) is a critical partnership between the Bureau of Meteorology and CSIRO that delivers the innovation required to improve Australia’s water information, and make water data more reliable and accessible.
WIRADA brings together our expertise in water and information sciences and the Bureau’s operational role in hydrological analysis and prediction, to deliver value-added national water information products and tools.
Investment
WIRADA was established in 2008 in response to new legislated responsibilities for the Bureau under the Water Act 2007. The initial $50 million investment during 2008 to 2013 delivered significant scientific and research innovation required by the Bureau to fulfil its national water information mandate.
Further investment of $20 million from 2013 to 2016 built on the science and translation of the science to operations, leading to operational products on water information, water accounting and assessment and water forecasting now routinely delivered by the Bureau of Meteorology to support water resources management and planning.
Innovation
WIRADA’s quality science underpins a number of products that support the provision of national water information. These include:
- a national water information system (AWRIS) to collect and hold water data from formerly disparate sources that helps to standardise, organise, and deliver high quality national data and information to end-users
- periodic assessments of the status of water resources in Australia
- the annual National Water Accounts (NWA)
- water forecasting and prediction services.