Land and Water Link

Issue No. 11, December 2001

Inset Simon Toze; front row L to R: Nabil Gerges, Karen Barry, Kevin Dennis, Russell Martin, Bryan Harris; back row L to R: Zac Sibenaler, Peter Dillon, Paul Pavelic, Phil Patterson

CSIRO Land and Water scientists' work on water 'banking' has been honoured internationally with the awarding of the inaugural UNESCO International Water Prize for Innovation in Water Resources Management in Arid and Semi-Arid Areas.

The prestigious US$20,000 prize, named 'The Great Man-Made River International Water Prize' has been awarded to an Australian research group studying aquifer storage and recovery - a joint venture between CSIRO Land and Water and the Department of Water, Land and Biodiversity, South Australia.

Dr Peter Dillon, Research Group Leader from CSIRO Land and Water, flew to Paris to accept the award on behalf of the group.

The research explores the use of aquifers to store urban stormwater and use of reclaimed water for re-use in irrigation.

While aquifer storage and recovery is not a new concept, what is unique about the work is the quality of the water injected. Scientists have been injecting water that is undrinkable into brackish and saline aquifers and from that, producing water that is suitable for irrigation.

The research group already has six sites of aquifer storage and recovery operating in the vicinity of Adelaide and several international-scale research projects on water banking with reclaimed water and drinking water underway.

The group has already run training courses in several countries and will host ISAR 4 - an international symposium on 'management of aquifer recharge for sustainability' in Adelaide from 22-26 September 2002.

For further information: Contact

Dr Peter Dillon
Ph: (08) 8303 8714
Peter.Dillon@csiro.au