#hydrology

Policy and regulatory aspects of water banking in the Murray-Darling Basin, Australia and California, USA

This project investigates the policies and rules that influence the ability and motivations to store river water in underground aquifers for use during drought. The expected outcome is information that can be used to design policies and regulations that allow greater uptake of water banking techniques. These practices can provide cost effective water supplies during drought conditions for Murray-Darling Basin communities, irrigators, First Nations peoples, and the environment.

Enhanced resilience of irrigated agricultural floodplain landscapes of the Murray-Darling Basin

This project investigates the functional response of floodplain vegetation to environmental drivers at multiple scales in the Murray-Darling Basin. The expected outcome includes a series of tools for prioritising the management of floodplain vegetation communities across the landscape of the Murray-Darling Basin at multiple scales and identifying thresholds for environmental watering. The potential benefits are spatial data and new knowledge that will guide future environmental flow management for the benefit of iconic floodplain vegetation communities and related ecosystem services, especially those important to irrigated agricultural, such as water quality.