CSIRO has reported the completion of powerful modelling techniques to aim to better understand the full impact of flooding that occurs when dams collapse.

The research has been helping China’s disaster management authorities better understand the full impact of the catastrophic flooding that would occur if one of China’s biggest dams collapsed.

Working with China’s Satellite Surveying & Mapping Application Centre (SASMAC), CSIRO scientists have modelled the effects of a catastrophic failure of the massive Geheyan Dam in China’s Hubei province. They have simulated the impact of flooding on the surrounding region and its infrastructure if the dam suddenly released its 3.12 billion cubic metres of water.

Penrice Soda Holdings Ltd and General Electrics have struck a deal to provide the coal seam gas (CSG) industry with a new process to remove brine from wastewater.

The Victorian Government has announced it will be establishing a regional advisory group that will be tasked with providing input and advice into the development of the Murray Darling Basin Plan.

The Federal Government has announced nearly $3.8 million in funding for Cairns Regional Council’s Water Demand Management Program for its Port Douglas and Mossman Recycled Water Scheme project.

The Federal and South Australian governments have jointly announced a $86.7 million package for a Riverine Recovery Project that  aims to improve the environmental health of the Murray River and its wetlands and floodplains from the Victorian border to Wellington, with works to start within the next two months.


The National Water Commission has released a new report, Strengthening Australia’s Water Markets, which calls on governments to improve and coordinate the operation of water markets in Australia with the aim of increasing efficiency and providing for future developments.

The $54 million Highlands Source Project has stalled after the Goulburn Mulwaree Shire Local Council has been denied access to five properties.

South Australian irrigators along the Murray are set to receive 100 per cent of their water entitlements for the first time since drought conditions severely restricted allocations in 2002.

Australia’s first Desal Discovery Centre will be unveiled in Western Australia in September, showcasing water security and desalination science to school groups, policymakers, industry and the general public.

The Centre for Water Research has warned that Perth dams may run dry by the end of next summer in its latest report.

Following meetings in Adelaide over the weekend, the Murray-Darling Basin Ministerial Council have agreed to push the starting date to 2019 for all communities in the Murray Darling Basin to adjust to diversion limits.

Western Australian Nationals leader Brendon Grylls has defended the state’s decision to pump recycled water into one of Perth’s main water sources, the Gnangara Mound aquifer.

South Australian Green MP Mark Parnell has announced his opposition to the proposed desalination plant at BHP Billiton’s Olympic Dam site, saying that its construction would pose a major risk to local marine life.

A new report that sets out three reform options to ensure Australia's water sector has been released by the National Water Commission.

The Murray Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) has reported that it will require $38 million in funding this financial year while new research shows that less than 3000 gigalitres will be required for environmental flow.

Researchers have begun a project to create the first global tool to forecast how changes in wave patterns and rising sea levels will affect beach erosion. 

The Victorian Government has released its first ‘Living Melbourne, Living Victoria’ roadmap for urban water usage and reform.

Coliban Water have announced the commencement of major sewer pump station upgrades to “increase capacity and improve reliability of sewer operations” in the Echuca area.

Federal Minister for Primary Industries and Water Bryan Green has launched the first major irrigation site under Tasmania’s $400 million water development strategy.

The Queensland State Government has issued over 73 transitional environmental programs to mining companies to remove substantial amounts of water from their operations and into rivers and waterways.

The Murray-Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) has promised to consider the findings of the Windsor Inquiry after it was announced the findings will be delayed from its original May release date.

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