Integrated Urban Water Assessment and Management addresses the multiple interlinkages between hydrology, urban and infrastructure planning, environmental engineering, sustainability science, and systems-thinking. In this 12-hour course you will learn about the philosophies, principles and techniques of Integrated Urban Water Assessment and Management (IUWAM). There will be opportunity for discussion of key issues such as climate-resilient solutions, triple-bottom line impacts (social, economic, environmental), water security and adaptation.
Learning will be achieved through lectures, discussion sessions, optional videos, practical exercises and case studies. Participate in a new integrating activity the “Design Challenge”. This scenario-driven, transdisciplinary, team-competition won a national teaching and learning excellence award (AAUT 2024) and industry award (Australian Financial Review 2023). The Design Challenge places participants in realistic decision contexts involving climate risk, competing objectives, and institutional constraints, mirroring the pressures faced by industry and government professionals. The course combines quantitative analysis with governance, economic, and decision‑making perspectives, ensuring technical insights are translated into actionable decisions.
Issues addressed
- Climate risk, extremes, and adaptation pathways
- Integrated urban water planning for growth, risk, and service outcomes
- Investment appraisal, business cases, and funding trade‑offs
- Governance, accountability, and who decides what
- Water security and diversification strategies
- Regulation, policy, and compliance under change
- Social outcomes, equity, and community acceptance
- Using models, data and AI to inform (not replace) decisions
- From technical analysis to real decisions
Skills developed
- Learn to assess existing and future urban systems (cities, regions, precincts, sites) with quantitative tools spanning the whole water cycle including piped and natural flows, with architectural, engineering and nature-based solutions. Increasingly this integration is key for addressing key risks of security and flooding, while creating liveability and resilience.
- Learn to use tools to quantitatively evaluate a range of design (technology, architecture, landform configurations), undertake triple-bottom-line analysis and understand the water-energy nexus.
- Understand principles, objectives and constraints for integrated urban water management (analysing interactions and conflicts between components) and systematic performance analysis.
- Overview of the range of IUWM methods and techniques, encompassing both structural and non-structural tools (e.g. lot-scale structural measures such as water efficient appliances, greywater recycling.
- The role and functioning of different components of urban water systems, their interactions and scale of application (on-site through to catchment).
- Tools to assess the entire water balance analysis (eg CRC Water Sensitive Cities tools SUWMBA and Scenario tool released in 2021).
- Introduction to the water-energy-greenhouse gas nexus.
- Triple Bottom Line analysis and institutional considerations for improved Integrated Urban Water Management.
What do you get
- Access to world leading practitioners, researchers, publications and course resources.
- Excellent information on principles of integrated urban water assessment and management.
- Frameworks, analytical approaches and decision-support tools that can be directly applied to business cases, strategic plans, option assessments and policy advice.
Who should attend
This course is designed for professionals involved in urban water planning, infrastructure investment, policy, and regulation who are navigating climate risk, constrained budgets, institutional complexity, and increasing public scrutiny.
It is relevant for professionals working in water utilities, local and state government, consulting, infrastructure planning, regulation, sustainability, and urban development. Participants will explore how integrated urban water approaches interface with land‑use planning, growth management, climate adaptation policy, and infrastructure affordability.
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