ENS5330 Water security and environmental pollution
Faculty of Science
ENS5330 Water security and environmental pollution is a level 5, 6-credit-point, postgraduate unit from the Faculty of Science, offered in 2025 in Semester 2 at Clayton. It has no prerequisites.
- Credit points
- 6
- Offered in 2025
- Semester 2
- Clayton
- Assessment
- No exam
- 6 tasks
- Workload
- 144 hours
- per semester
This is the 2025 handbook entry. See the 2027 entry.
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Requisites
Before ENS5330
No prerequisites or corequisites besides the enrolment rules below.
After ENS5330
No unit lists ENS5330 as a prerequisite in the 2025 handbook.
Enrolment rules
PREREQUISITE: : This is a specialist core unit for the Environmental Security specialisation. Non-cognate students in this specialisation must complete preparatory studies (Part B) or ENS5010 prior to undertaking this specialist unit. If you are undertaking this unit as an elective within other specialisations you must consult with the unit coordinator about assumed foundational knowledge and preparatory material.
Students enrolled in S6004 Master of Food Science and Agribusiness will require manual enrolment.
Overview
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.
Offerings in 2025
| Teaching period | Campus | Mode |
|---|---|---|
| Second semester | Clayton | On campus |
Assessment
- Online quizzes and in-class assessmentsQuiz / Test30%
- Assignment 1: Water allocationWritten15%
- Assignment 2: Water quality assessmentWritten15%
- Assignment 3: Wastewater treatmentWritten15%
- Assignment 4: ContaminantsWritten10%
- PostersPresentation15%
Learning outcomes
When you finish this unit, you should be able to:
- 1
Articulate the key aspects of the hydrological cycle that control surface and groundwater availability and evaluate approaches used to quantify and predict this.
- 2
Describe and understand the key physical, chemical and biological threats to water quality, including the key classes and behaviour of pollutants such as metals, organic contaminants, nutrients and acidity.
- 3
Understand, apply and design water quality guidelines to protect different water uses and purposes.
- 4
Design management strategies to maintain, improve and remediate water availability and quality in surface groundwater and marine systems.
- 5
Effectively communicate the key issues associated with water quantity and quality to the public and policy makers.
Workload and teaching
- Workshops48 hours
- Practical activities6 hours
- Teaching approachEnquiry-based learning
- Teaching approachOnline learning
- Teaching approachCase-based teaching
- Teaching approachActive learning
Total 144 hours over 12 weeks, which includes:
- Contact hours, within the seminar component, equate to 4 hours per week
- A 1-day field trip
- Additional self-directed learning activities
Where it fits
ENS5330 is part of 3 areas of study in the 2025 handbook.
Contacts
- Chief Examiners
- Dr Andrew Frierdich
- Unit Coordinators
- Dr Andrew Frierdich
Common questions
What are the prerequisites for ENS5330?
ENS5330 has no prerequisites, but enrolment rules apply.
When is ENS5330 offered?
In 2025, ENS5330 runs in Semester 2 at Clayton.
How much work is ENS5330?
The handbook expects about 144 hours of study across the semester. No students have rated its difficulty yet.
Does ENS5330 have an exam?
No. ENS5330 has 6 assessment tasks and no exam.
Which majors and minors include ENS5330?
ENS5330 is part of Atmospheric science, Earth science and Environmental security.