The Role of Science in Water Management A Basis for Action¡ or an Afterthought? A Joint Workshop of the Canberra College of Advanced Education and The Australian Water and Wastewater Association Editors: Norrie R. Sanders and William A. Maher INTRODUCTIO N The water industry in Australia is currently undergoing major structural chan ges. It seems timely to cons ider the nature of thi s restructuring a nd its effects o n the role of scie nce in the management of o ur water resources. The workshop proceedings described here was not on ly an attempt to discuss this theme, but also to bring together a wide range of disciplines for informal int erchange. In particular, there was an opport unit y fo r those already part of the industry to sha re their views with water scie nce student s who may well shape it s futu re. The A ustra li a n Water a nd Wastewater Association includes engineers, chemi sts, biologists, hydro logists, managers, town planners and students. Allied to the presentations of a number of invited speakers, the works hop provided a forum for the mixing of viewpo ints and t he formulation of new ideas .
SUMMA RY A recurring th eme of th e workshop was that the water indu stry is in
a state of flux, particularly at the ma nagement level. There are a number of forces driving this reorganization . A major o ne is the growing emphasis on improving water q uali ty as new water resources become more scarce. The reorganization is based on functiona l lines rather than the traditional disciplinary groups. Scientists mu st adjust to the cha ngin g scene whi ch may resul t in less resea rch funding in traditional areas and expa nsion s in a reas which probably received less emphas is, including public participation, economic evaluations of water quality and social aspects of water resources. There may be some boosts to research funding as quality deteriorates a nd problems become more freque nt a nd more 'visible'. H owever , thi s is by no means certa in . Strategies for scienti sts to increase participation in ma nageme nt are difficult to define. However, the emphasis will be o n adap tation to new management goals a nd pract ices, communication wit h management, wit h members of other disciplines (sociologists, econom ists) and with th e public. Debates within the sc ienti fic commun ity abou t concepts such as the ¡ pro mulgatio n o f water quality sta ndards and t he defi niti on of assimilative ca pacity , will co ntinu e. The emphas is may shift from Australia-w ide water qu ali ty crieteria to loca l cr iteria for indi vidua l syste ms. An aspect of the debate whi ch remained covert was the seemingly fundamental question of the definitions of science and management. Many of the participants appeared to assume that science did not include enginee rin g technol ogy an d therefore that engineers were not scientists. In fact, there was so me feeling that engineers were the managers, a lt ho ugh ot her viewpoi nt s cast bureaucrats a nd admini strators in t he management role, wit h engineers and scientists . relegated to problem-solving . Discussion of these concepts was not an
No rrie R. Sanders, BSc(ANU) M icrobiologist, Department of Housing and Construction. Currently undertaking an MSc degree at the Water Research Centre, Canberra CAÂŁ. Research interests include nutrient cycling in wetlands and eu trophicalion . William A. Maher, MAppSc(Melb), PhD(Southhampton) Lecturer in Limnology and Oceanography, Canberra CAE. Research interests include biogeochemical cycling of trace elemen ts and hydrocarbons in marine and f resh water environments. Th e workshop was conducted at the Water Research Centre, Applied Science School, Canberra Co llege of Advanced Education, 17- 18 May 1985. 12
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explicit aim of the workshop. Participants tended to adopt a more pragmatic sta nce, concentra ting o n what scienti sts have achi eved in the past and what th ey should do in th e future. In his opening address, David Garman suggested that economic rationali zation, allied to deteriorating quality were primary factors in t he reorganization of sta te water a uth orities. Sc ienti sts may need to change their o utl ook cons id erab ly to avo id being N. Sanders left in t he rush . Brian Button o utlined the basic compo nents of water resource management from a quantity perspective . He argued that sho rtages and unreliability of water supplies have resulted from in co nsistent a nd ad hoc policy form ul a tion . A more systemati c, integrated and comprehensive approach is ca lled for so that a ll water reso urces , including surface and gro und water, can be managed as part of a single, dynamic physical sys tem. Ia n Smalls highlighted the importance of W. Maher water qualit y co nsidera ti o ns in management. At the same time as water quality need s to be impro ved in response to pro li ferating standards, the qua lit y of new supplies is deteriorating and non-returnab le costs a re esca lating. He arg ued the case for use of environ menta l quality objectives and emphasized the need fo r scient ists to mainta in an active a nd innovative involveme nt in ma nagement. Ia n Lawrence presented three case studie1t-which challenged the "accepted" role of science in water management. He clai med that the process of prob lem-solving is not a rational one in that the driving force for change is usuall y poli tical, and t hat scienti sts rarely have the luxury of sufficient time to comp lete the necessa ry research. Co nsequently, th e scie ntifi c met hod has limited predictive capab ility a nd we are forced to adopt engineering 'fixes' as a seco nd best approac h . Science is restricted to evaluating the efficacy of the solution . Norm Mackay cha llenged an aspect of the scientific method itself. The very notion of 'quality' involves a va lue judgement which scientists are not equ ipped to hand le . The concepts of assimi lative capacity and water quality standard s a re futile attem pt s to apply scientific sta ndard s o n a global scale to largely local pro blems. Dav id Ga rman' s conclusions identified bot h a model for wa ter management in t he future and potential roles for sc ientists withi n thi s framework. He was optim istic that sc ientists cou ld adapt to th e changing work env ironment, and that they had a part to play as managers themselves , rat her than merely as data-providers. The panel di sc ussion which concluded the proceedings, related to both the uses of scientific data by management and the public role of scientists. There was general agreement that science should be used as a means of defining options and not simply as an afterthought. Scientists them selves need to be actively involved in disse minating information and promoting debate in the public arena.
INDIVIDUAL PRESENT A TIO NS INTRODUCTIO N: DA VID GARMAN
(Head of the Research Branch, Water Quality Section, NSW Water Resources Comm ission) It is an und erstatement that the water indu stry is in a state of