Water management strengthened through new climate projections

A new guide has been published to help scientists, planners and decision-makers manage Australia’s most precious resource, using up-to-date climate projections and approaches.

The guide was developed by hydroclimate technical experts at the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation (DWER). It was reviewed by the Bureau of Meteorology, CSIRO, Water Corporation, the National Environmental Science Program’s Climate Systems Hub and the Victorian Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action.

Western Australian Water Minister, Simone McGurk, said the State Government has been accounting for climate change impacts for decades, facilitated by earlier guidance informed by technical expertise.” said .

“The new guide reinforces this State Government’s efforts to tackle the impacts of climate change on our water resources and makes the best use of the most up-to-date science.”

The step-by-step decision support tool outlines a modernised framework for practical climate assessments.

Water planners, modellers, managers and investment decision-makers require a contemporary direction to account for potential climate futures across Western Australia, and the new guide will support their technical assessments for water management.

“One of the biggest benefits of the guide is that it can be applied widely to climate projections, making this an enduring and important resource,” Ms McGurk said.

“The guide helps us choose climate adaptation actions today that will assist key decision-makers with determining Western Australia’s water needs into the future.”

The guide describes how to analyse a water system, choose a process for using projections, assess possible climate change consequences for a water system and communicate findings.

Skilful use of climate projections is essential to many projects, such as identifying new water sources, developing irrigation schedules and determining priority areas for ecological restoration.

The comprehensive guide is part of a State Government initiative delivering up-to-date climate science resources for Western Australia’s water community. It supports vital directions outlined in the Climate Adaption Strategy.

Research also demonstrates that delaying investment in adaptation responses will increase the costs of managing future impacts. Thus, the new guide will help the water sector adapt to climate change impacts sooner and with reduced costs.

More information on the published guide is available at: http://www.wa.gov.au/service/science/climate-change-and-water-western-australia

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