Water Quality Research Australia

Water Quality Research Australia Limited (WQRA) is a national research centre established to succeed the CRC for Water Quality and Treatment when the CRC ended on 30 June 2008.

WQRA undertakes collaborative research of national application on drinking water quality, recycled water and relevant areas of wastewater management. The main focus of the research program is on urban water issues related to public health and acceptability aspects of water supply, water recycling and aspects of wastewater management. WQRA also has an Education Program, utilising the most successful elements of the CRC Program.

The report of the George River Water Quality Panel into water quality in the St Helens area of Tasmania has been released (Tuesday 29h June 2010) and may be viewed at http://www.georgeriverwater.org.au/index.aspx?base=4486
The George River Water Quality Panel of eminent and independent scientists (including Prof Michael R Moore and Prof John McNeill) produced this report following issues raised in ABC's Australian Story program, and has passed the findings to the Premier of Tasmania, David Bartlett. The Final Report and the Summary Report are available for download at the site above.
The full media release on the 29th of June is also available: http://www.georgeriverwater.org.au/index.aspx?base=4500

Health Stream Newsletter
Issue 58 includes coverage of a major main break near the US city of Boston that led to a boil water alert affecting almost 2 million people, and the 10th anniversary of the fatal waterborne outbreak in the Canadian town of Walkerton. Plus news items and summaries of recent literature on a range of water quality topics.

WQRA Newsletter
Issue 25 (June 2010) outlines recent WQRA activiities and provides information on forthcoming workshops. Recent publications are highlighted. Updates on our research and education programs are included. There is a called for nominations for the inaugural Willie Grabow Young Investigator Award. The success of three WQRA projects in the recent ARC funding round is reported as well as a call for expressions of interest for the next ARC Linkage round.

Call for Summer, Honours and PhD Project Proposals
WQRA is calling for Member organisations to submit proposals for Summer, Honours and PhD Projects. The closing date for proposals is 30 July 2010. See the Education page for links to forms and details.

WQRA ARC Linkage Support - November 2010 call for projects from Member organisations
WQRA members are invited to submit Expressions of Interest seeking WQRA funding support for the November 2010 ARC funding round. To be considered for WQRA support, applicants will need to submit an expression of interest using the WQRA template by 9 July 2010. The template includes important information regarding the guidelines that support this funding call. The guidelines and template can be found here. Late submissions will not be accepted.

2010 National Cyanobacteria Workshop
WQRA is supporting the National Cyanobacteria Workshop in Melbourne on 2-3 August 2010. Registrations have now closed. Further details.

Community Water Planner Field Guide
The Community Water Planner Field Guide is a package to assist water managers, service providers and Indigenous organisations working with remote communities to plan and implement water management programs for settlements with small water supplies. The National Water Commission created the project to develop opportunities for collaborative work surrounding provision of potable water supply to remote Indigenous communities. Water Quality Research Australia and research member, the Centre for Appropriate Technology led the project. The field guide was tested during field trials and reviewed by Australian water industry experts.

Research Reports
A range of Occasional Papers and Research Reports is available free to download in PDF format. Recent additions include:
• Report 55 Development of a Dissolved Organic Carbon Detection System for Size-Exclusion Chromatography PDF
• Report 80 Advanced Characterisation of Natural Organic Matter (NOM) in Australian Water Supplies PDF
• Report 74 Management Strategies for Cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) and their Toxins: a Guide for Water Utilities PDF