Michael Stewardson wins Eureka Prize for water research

News, Research, Slideshow — By Jennifer Thomas on September 7, 2011 3:38 pm

Dr Michael Stewardson, from the Department of Infrastructure Engineering, at the University of Melbourne, has won the 2011 Eureka Prize for Water Research and Innovation, along with colleagues from the Crawford School of Economics and Government at the Australian National University, Professor R. Quentin Grafton, Dr Hoang Long Chu and Professor Tom Kompas.

The research team has developed a dynamic river flow model, which will be used to manage river systems to achieve the right balance between the demands of agricultural irrigation and the health of river ecosystems. The model determines the optimal amount of water that can be extracted by irrigators and the right volume that can be used without damaging the environment.

The model is the first in the world to allow decision-makers, in real time, to allocate water while considering the state of the river system. Factors that the model accounts for include, level of water storage, current and past weather patterns, flooding history and environmental effects. The amount of water that can be used for irrigation extraction and environment releases is then calculated to maximise ‘social return’, taking into account net profits from irrigated agriculture and the environmental impact or cost of drought, ensuring both economic and environmental returns.

Dr Stewardson, who completed his BE (Civil) (Hons) in 1991 and PhD in 2000 at Melbourne, said that it has been a tremendous opportunity for him to work with some top researchers from different disciplines.

“This project links economics, ecology and water resource management. The innovation has been in aligning these different disciplinary perspectives of the Murray-Darling Basin into a single system for analysis,” Dr Stewardson said.

“We have developed a practical solution to achieving a better balance between environmental and irrigation use of water,” he said.

“Winning the award is a real boost for us to extend this work and drive its adoption for sustainable water management in Australia and overseas. We already have Stage II in the pipeline and plans beyond that.”

The National Water Commission Professor Peter Cullen Eureka Prize for Water Research and Innovation is awarded to an individual, team or organisation for research and innovation that has made or has the potential to make an outstanding contribution to the sustainable use and management of Australia’s water resources and that can lead to a substantial change in the way Australia uses and protects its water resources, particularly in rural Australia. The prize is sponsored by the National Water Commission. The prize is part of the annual Australian Museum Eureka Prizes, the most prestigious awards in Australian science.

Prize winners were announced at an award ceremony on September 6, 2011.

Read “The cost of rivers running free” by Stephen Matchett, The Australian, Sept 7, 2011.

Read “River Flow Model Tests the Water for Farms and Planet” on the Eureka Prize web site for more details.

(Featured blog slideshow image courtesy of River Murray online, photography by Shane Strudwick.)

Tags: infrastructure engineering, MSE, research