Indigenous Responses to Water Policymaking in Australia

Willis, Eileen; Pearce, Meryl; McCarthy, Carmel; Ryan, Fiona; Wadham, Ben

doi:10.1057/dev.2008.30

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…Water supply choice in regional and remote communities is often limited and seasonally unreliable, impacting on delivery infrastructure, the function of household stock, and the health and well-being of residents Beard et al (2011). Despite this, many Australian Indigenous communities have very high (>700 litres) per capita water consumption (Beard et al 2011, Hoverman andAyre 2012) and often require energy intensive water supply systems for providing reliable potable water (Grey-Gardner 2008, Willis et al 2008. For example, most Torres Strait Islanders rely solely on energy intensive desalinated water, powered by diesel generators, to supply their community needs, resulting in significant economic and environmental impacts (Richards andSchäfer 2003, Werner andSchäfer 2007) The need for improved management of essential services (water and energy) in Indigenous communities is well acknowledged (Hoverman andAyre 2012, Fisher et al 2011, and gaining a good understanding of the typical baseline energy and water flows within such communities is a critical first step (Beal et al 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modelling the impacts of water efficient technologies on energy intensive water systems in remote and isolated communities

Beal

Gurung

Stewart

2016

Clean Techn Environ Policy

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Essential service providers face unique challenges that are specific delivering a secure and safe water and energy supply to remote communities such as islands and isolated mainland townships. Many remote communities rely on energy intensive water supply systems which are inherently costly to operate. Water demand management programs such as retrofitting households with water-efficient devices and appliances are one way of reducing the water-energy costs in these communities. This paper presents modelling results from a comparison between business as usual and a scenario where water efficient strategies were retrofitted in households in three remote communities in Northern Australia. The modelling demonstrated considerable savings to both the water and energy average daily consumption and associated economic costs though reduced reliance on desalination plants and bore pumping. The retrofit scenario was shown to reduce water demand by between 14 and 39 ML/y and total energy demand in off-grid communities by between 83 and 208 MWh/y. Cost reductions for delivering treated water to households ranged between around AUD$11,000 and AUD$70,000 per year, depending on uptake rates of the retrofit program by each community. This paper forms part of Stage 1 of the Remote and Isolated Communities Essential Services (RICES) project. Stage 2 will confirm many of the assumptions underlying the modelling and build on the smart metering datasets and community engagement process currently underway in Stage 1. The overall outcome of the RICES project is to ensure that such strategies are practical to implement on a broader scale to ultimately achieve more sustainable water and energy efficient off-grid communities.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modelling the impacts of water efficient technologies on energy intensive water systems in remote and isolated communities

Beal

Gurung

Stewart

2016

Clean Techn Environ Policy

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Drinking water security: the neglected dimension of Australian water reform

Howey

Grealy

2021

Australasian Journal of Water Resources

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Identifying and Overcoming Barriers to Collaborative Sustainable Water Governance in Remote Australian Indigenous Communities

Jackson

Stewart

Beal

2019

Water

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Collaboration between government agencies and communities for sustainable water governance in remote Indigenous communities is espoused as a means to contribute to more equitable, robust, and long-term decision-making and to ensure that water services contribute to broader considerations of physical, social, and economic prosperity. In Australia, the uptake of collaborative water governance in remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island contexts has been slow and few examples exist from which to inform policy and practice. This study identifies barriers to uptake of collaborative sustainable water governance, drawing from qualitative interviews with water practitioners working in remote Indigenous Australia and analysis of key project documentation. Thematic analysis revealed discrete barriers across five key categories: (1) governance arrangements, (2) economic and financial, (3) capacity and skills, (4) data and information, and (5) cultural values and norms, with many barriers identified, unique to the remote Indigenous Australian context. The paper provides insights into how to address these barriers strategically to create transformative and sustainable change for Indigenous communities. The results contribute to the greater body of knowledge on sustainable and collaborative water governance, and they are of relevance for broader water management, policy, and research.

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Indigenous Responses to Water Policymaking in Australia

Cited by 3 publications

References 0 publications

Modelling the impacts of water efficient technologies on energy intensive water systems in remote and isolated communities

Modelling the impacts of water efficient technologies on energy intensive water systems in remote and isolated communities

Drinking water security: the neglected dimension of Australian water reform

Identifying and Overcoming Barriers to Collaborative Sustainable Water Governance in Remote Australian Indigenous Communities

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