Water security and environmental pollution

This unit will provide you with the knowledge and perspectives to manage groundwater and surface water resources for human consumption, recreation and ecological values. The unit will commence by covering the basics of the hydrological cycle and the factors controlling groundwater and surface water availability.

Fundamentals of water quality and pollutants and their behaviour including, metals, organic contaminants, nutrients and algal blooms, pathogens and water treatment will also be addressed. Application of this knowledge will then be applied to case studies of contaminated systems, their assessment and remediation approaches.

Finally the unit will cover the policy approaches used to manage water resources around the world including local and international examples of the development of water quality guidelines and frameworks. Current approaches used to balance the needs of ecological values and human water needs, will also be discussed with global and local examples.