Asia-Australia Water Learning Week 2019

Sharing Australian water management expertise

Every second year, the Australian water sector hosts the Asian Development Bank (ADB) Asia-Australia Learning Week. The Learning Week is a collaboration between the ADB and the Australian Water Partnership. It brings together team leaders and water specialists from the ADB and ADB project representatives from the bank’s Developing Member Countries (DMC) governments. The focus is for the participants to share knowledge and experience and to learn from Australian water sector specialists and institutions.

The 2019 Learning Week was facilitated by eWater, the International Water Centre (Griffith University) and Alluvium. The week was structured around the theme of the use of decision support tools in water policy development, investment planning and on-ground management of water resources. Nine ADB staff and 17 representatives from DMC governments (from 14 Asia-Pacific countries) participated. The theme was decision support tools to guide water policy development, investment planning and on-ground management of water resources.

The week showcased the use of decision support tools at all scales, from local to catchment and in rural and urban settings. Participants heard from government agencies, water researchers, water utilities and water associations, including:

  • Murray-Darling Basin Authority
  • Bureau of Meteorology
  • Geoscience Australia
  • CSIRO
  • the Australian Rivers Institute
  • University of Queensland
  • Melbourne Water
  • Water Services Association of Australia
  • WaterNSW (field trip to Burrinjuck Dam)
  • Goulburn-Murray Water (field trip to irrigation infrastructure)
  • Yarra Valley Water (field trip to Waste to Energy plant)

Descending Burrinjuck Dam wall