Water Kit - Hunter Water

managing water supply sustainably
worksheet 3
background
The demand for a reliable and safe
water supply brings with it a number
of impacts. Environmental, social and
economic considerations must be
taken into account when managing
water supply. Sustainability can be
achieved by following Ecologically
Sustainable Development (ESD)
principles and objectives that ensure
the maintenance of ecological
processes and systems. The core
objectives of the National Strategy for
ESD are to:
• Ensure economic well-being that
safeguards the welfare of future
generations (‘intergenerational
equity’)
• Enhance the individual and
community well-being within
and between generations
(‘intragenerational equity’)
• Conserve and protect biological
diversity and essential ecological
processes and life-support
systems
This worksheet involves students in
research, reflection and problem-solving
in response to a hypothetical situation
concerning sustainable management of
water supply in the Hunter.
THE CURRENT SITUATION
Hunter Water is responsible
for supplying the Lower Hunter
community with a reliable and healthy
supply of water. This includes urban
residents and industry in Newcastle,
Lake Macquarie, Maitland, Cessnock
and Port Stephens. To meet the
water demands of its customers,
Hunter Water extracts water from
four main sources: Chichester Dam,
Grahamstown Dam, Tomago Sandbeds
and the Tomaree Sandbeds, located
in either the Williams River or Port
Stephens catchments. The population
of the Lower Hunter region is steadily
growing, placing extra demand on the
area’s water supplies. Some action
will be needed to meet the additional
demand, but every option has specific
costs and benefits. These options must
be fully considered in terms of ESD
principles if we are to ensure sustainable
management of the water supply.
The hypothetical options
Let’s say there are two main options to
help address the growing demand on
the Hunter’s water supplies:
• Introduce widespread and
effective water conservation
measures in the Lower Hunter
• Build a dam across the Tillegra
River, on gently sloping land that
is a mix of grazing, dairy, native
forests
The activity
Choose one or both of the hypothetical
options outlined above and get your
group to:
• Discuss how population increases
and lifestyle changes impact on
water supply. Understanding what
causes increased demand can
help in developing preventative
measures to manage demand on
water supplies.
• Identify the major elements of
each hypothetical option. For
example: What kind of measures
to conserve water could be
implemented? What would
construction of a new dam
involve?
• Identify the key stakeholders
associated with the option. For
example: Who would be involved
in the decision-making? Who will
be affected by the option and
therefore need to be consulted?
• Identify the different viewpoints of
stakeholders and assess whether
they would generally be for,
against, or neutral regarding the
option.
• Investigate the possible
environmental, social and
economic impacts of the option.
• Propose possible alternatives
to address conflict surrounding
the option and address (ESD)
principles.
• Convene a public meeting (ie
role play) where the proposal
can be outlined and the views of
the various stakeholders shared.
Classroom consensus could be
sought to determine whether
or not the option has merit and
therefore whether it should be (i)
implemented, (ii) modified, or (iii)
overturned.
Water kit . ssS . 001 . april 2010
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