CRCWSC researchers at the 61st annual Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics conference
The CRC for Water Sensitive Cities (CRCWSC) had a strong presence at the 61st annual Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics conference, held in 2017 in Brisbane, QLD, on 8–10 February. CRCWSC researchers hailing from a range of locations from around the country joined to contribute water sensitive insights to workshops and presentations during the 3 day meeting, which centred on the theme of Transformations in Food, Energy and the Environment. Sayed Iftekhar and Maksym Polyakov (both based at the University of Western Australia) organised a well-attended mini-symposium on the economics of urban water. Sayed also shared the results of an evaluation of amenity value of water sensitive urban infrastructure. Dr Anke Leroux (Monash University) presented a model of optimal water supply portfolios and consumption patterns, for use when practitioners are faced with uncertainty surrounding reservoir inflows and rainfall.
The University of Queensland’s Professor John Quiggin discussed efficiency and equity in urban water pricing. Dr Sorada Tapsuwan (CSIRO) talked about economic aspects of managed aquifer recharge. The presentations were discussed by the expert panelists, Professor David Pannell and Associate Professor Sarah Wheeler (University of Adelaide). Other CRCWSC research was presented in regular conference sessions. For example, Sayed discussed equity and efficiency considerations of water allocation strategies to manage groundwater resources in Western Australia, while Associate Professor Ben White (also University of Western Australia) presented results of modelling the urban management of nonpoint source nutrient emissions in the Canning River.