Innovative approaches to managing and understanding taste and odour in drinking water systems. Taste and odour (T/O) problems resulting from Cyanobacteria can change consumers' perception of product safety, resulting in many complaints, soaring management and treatment costs, and large financial losses, yet little is known about how they arise.
This project will provide the Australian Water Industry with cost-effective, sensitive, specific, rapid and practical tools for managing and understandi ....Innovative approaches to managing and understanding taste and odour in drinking water systems. Taste and odour (T/O) problems resulting from Cyanobacteria can change consumers' perception of product safety, resulting in many complaints, soaring management and treatment costs, and large financial losses, yet little is known about how they arise.
This project will provide the Australian Water Industry with cost-effective, sensitive, specific, rapid and practical tools for managing and understanding T/O episodes, and will also benefit the aquaculture and food sectors, and the research community. An improved ability to manage geosmin in drinking water, will also have positive repercussions on the Australian environment, by eliminating the need to use environmentally controversial control methods such as copper sulphate dosing.
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Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR0354804
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$10,000.00
Summary
ARC Research Network on Degraded Environment Assessment and Remediation. There are over 80,000 contaminated sites in Australia and >750,000,000 hectares of land impacted by soil acidity, sodicity, heavy-metals, nutrients and agricultural chemicals. The research network advances assessment, management and remediation of degraded environments (land, water, and air) through collaboration of the research programs developing sustainable solutions. The collective focus is minimising disposal and impac ....ARC Research Network on Degraded Environment Assessment and Remediation. There are over 80,000 contaminated sites in Australia and >750,000,000 hectares of land impacted by soil acidity, sodicity, heavy-metals, nutrients and agricultural chemicals. The research network advances assessment, management and remediation of degraded environments (land, water, and air) through collaboration of the research programs developing sustainable solutions. The collective focus is minimising disposal and impacts of contaminated soil and wastes, and land remediation. By facilitating communication, the network enhances national and international research coordination, interaction with regulators, end-users, industry, and other stakeholders, achievement of critical mass for new initiatives, enhances research training and contributes to a critical National Priority.Read moreRead less
Innovative Approach to the Optimal Management of Water Resources and Application to the Upper South East Region of South Australia. This project will increase Australia's capacity to manage water resources in an integrated and sustainable manner. The outcomes of this project will also provide significant economic, social and environmental benefits to the Upper South East region of South Australia, as well as the broader Australian community. The project is expected to result in a significant red ....Innovative Approach to the Optimal Management of Water Resources and Application to the Upper South East Region of South Australia. This project will increase Australia's capacity to manage water resources in an integrated and sustainable manner. The outcomes of this project will also provide significant economic, social and environmental benefits to the Upper South East region of South Australia, as well as the broader Australian community. The project is expected to result in a significant reduction in the economic and social costs associated with dryland salinity and flooding whilst simultaneously increasing the environmental benefits associated with the maintenance and rehabilitation of the ecological value of the some of the region's approximately 200 wetlands.Read moreRead less
Heavy metal phytotoxicity in long-term contaminated soils: Implications for the development of Australian regulatory guidelines and realistic environmental risk assessment. Heavy metal contamination is a serious global environmental problem. There are >80,000 potentially contaminated sites in Australia alone with many of these sites in the urban environment and former mining areas. The current guidelines for phytotoxicity testing (National Environmental Protection Measure 1999) are based on tota ....Heavy metal phytotoxicity in long-term contaminated soils: Implications for the development of Australian regulatory guidelines and realistic environmental risk assessment. Heavy metal contamination is a serious global environmental problem. There are >80,000 potentially contaminated sites in Australia alone with many of these sites in the urban environment and former mining areas. The current guidelines for phytotoxicity testing (National Environmental Protection Measure 1999) are based on total metal concentrations that do not take into consideration of bioavailability and wide ranging Australian soil types. Serious concerns have been raised on the applicability of these guidelines and their protective limits in ecological risk assessment. This project aims at developing phytotoxicity guidelines applicable to a wide range of soil types common to Australia.Read moreRead less
Tracing Past and Present Pollution Sources in the River Torrens, South Australia. The Torrens River is the principal water supply to 500,000 South Australians. Since early in European settlement it has suffered the impacts of eutrophication and high rates of sedimentation. The Catchment Management Board is seeking to prioritise rehabilitation resources to maximise water quality improvements. This will be informed by the revelation of the principal sources of sediment and nutrients over time.
Saving Nemo: Reducing animal use in toxicity assessments of wastewater. Every day, Australians produce ~5 billion litres of wastewater, which contains a cocktail of chemicals. Industries that discharge wastewater are required to assess chemical risks to the receiving environments by conducting whole animal direct toxicity assessments (DTA), which are expensive and pose an ethical dilemma. Our preliminary research shows that new in vitro bioassays provide an ethical and cost effective alternative ....Saving Nemo: Reducing animal use in toxicity assessments of wastewater. Every day, Australians produce ~5 billion litres of wastewater, which contains a cocktail of chemicals. Industries that discharge wastewater are required to assess chemical risks to the receiving environments by conducting whole animal direct toxicity assessments (DTA), which are expensive and pose an ethical dilemma. Our preliminary research shows that new in vitro bioassays provide an ethical and cost effective alternative that could be incorporated into DTA programs if their ecological relevance can be demonstrated. This project will develop and validate a new and internationally significant suite of in vitro bioassays for incorporation into DTA programs, leading to more ethical, cost effective and improved environmental protection.Read moreRead less
Discovery Indigenous Researchers Development - Grant ID: DI110100028
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$198,824.00
Summary
Indigenous knowledge: water sustainability and wild fire mitigation. Sustainable management of the environment in Australia is currently informed by science. This project will create a space for cross-cultural translation between indigenous knowledge on environmental management practices and mainstream science practices.
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR180100005
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,225,000.00
Summary
Remediation of PFAS contaminated soil using soil washing and immobilisation. This project aims to assess the applicability of soil washing and immobilisation as cost-effective techniques for the remediation of per- and poly-fluroalkyl substance (PFAS) contaminated Australian soils. The project expects to establish the efficacy of the remediation of a range of PFASs, including many polyfluorinated precursors of perfluorinated, chemically-persistent legacy pollutants which are of concern. The proj ....Remediation of PFAS contaminated soil using soil washing and immobilisation. This project aims to assess the applicability of soil washing and immobilisation as cost-effective techniques for the remediation of per- and poly-fluroalkyl substance (PFAS) contaminated Australian soils. The project expects to establish the efficacy of the remediation of a range of PFASs, including many polyfluorinated precursors of perfluorinated, chemically-persistent legacy pollutants which are of concern. The project will provide a scientific basis for understanding the benefits and limitations associated with soil washing and immobilisation techniques and a more comprehensive understanding of future liabilities associated with formation of PFASs from precursors remaining in remediated soils. Collaboration with stakeholders will ensure benefits are captured both commercially and environmentally, as well as removing a potential and on-going health threat to communities exposed to these contaminants.Read moreRead less
Setting Geographic Priorities for Integrated Landscape Restoration in a Fragmented Agricultural Region. This research project aims to develop the theory and application of integrated landscape restoration in a fragmented agricultural region - the Mt. Lofty Ranges of South Australia. Spatially explicit priorities will be set for the type and location of habitat to be restored for the benefit of the natural biodiversity within a physical environmental, economic and social context. Heuristic and op ....Setting Geographic Priorities for Integrated Landscape Restoration in a Fragmented Agricultural Region. This research project aims to develop the theory and application of integrated landscape restoration in a fragmented agricultural region - the Mt. Lofty Ranges of South Australia. Spatially explicit priorities will be set for the type and location of habitat to be restored for the benefit of the natural biodiversity within a physical environmental, economic and social context. Heuristic and optimisation models will be created within a Geographic Information System (GIS) and assessed for their ability to set such priorities in integrated landscape restoration. The techniques will help sustain ecological, physical and human systems in many other over-cleared regions.Read moreRead less
Environmental Genomics: Mining, climate change, water, crime and health. The new Environmental Genomics approach will employ high-powered genome sequencing systems to perform some of the first detailed genetic studies of Australian environments. The resulting high-resolution data will comprise a genetic audit, providing essential information for the accurate measurement of climate and environmental change. This method will dramatically improve the speed, and power of environmental impact assessm ....Environmental Genomics: Mining, climate change, water, crime and health. The new Environmental Genomics approach will employ high-powered genome sequencing systems to perform some of the first detailed genetic studies of Australian environments. The resulting high-resolution data will comprise a genetic audit, providing essential information for the accurate measurement of climate and environmental change. This method will dramatically improve the speed, and power of environmental impact assessments, permitting responsible resource development with major benefits to industry and the economy. It will also create new tools to improve water management and quality, biosecurity, forensics/policing and human health, as reflected by the diverse range of industry partners supporting this project.Read moreRead less