This week in water, a national plan update outlines environmental progress under the Basin Plan, the unprecedented algal bloom in South Australia is highlighted as a significant risk, while states ramp up efforts to connect communities with Country, protect biodiversity and explore smarter ways to manage infrastructure.
From student-led planting and native species relocations in Victoria to wastewater-powered hydrogen in Melbourne and mangrove mischief in Queensland, innovations and environmental care go hand-in-hand.
Internationally, researchers are mapping river basin ecosystems and forecasting future runoff shortfalls affecting hundreds of millions.
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Basin Plan update highlights next steps for restoring rivers
The Australian Government has released the July 2025 Implementation Plan Update for delivering the 450 GL under the Basin Plan.
The update covers progress on three key programs: the Resilient Rivers Program, Voluntary Water Purchase, and the Sustainable Communities Program.
A public webinar will be held on Thursday 14 August to share the latest insights, with representatives from the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water in attendance.
This is the third update since July 2024 and outlines how the government is advancing its commitment to healthy rivers, thriving communities and sustainable water use.
Algal bloom poses risk to marine life and infrastructure
A Monash University expert has described the algal bloom off South Australia’s coast as “unprecedented in scale, severity and duration” and is becoming an issue of national significance.
Dr Arash Zamyadi said the bloom is killing marine animals and threatening critical infrastructure like desalination plants.
“These blooms are becoming more frequent and more intense due to warming oceans, nutrient runoff, and marine heatwaves intensified by climate change,” he said. “This won’t be the last one, and it may not be the worst.”
Zamyadi’s team is developing early warning systems using satellite imagery and AI to help detect harmful blooms before they cause widespread damage.
Students grow connection to Country at Moondarra
Gippsland Water and Kurnai College have teamed up to plant native lomandra grasses at Moondarra Reservoir’s new gathering place.
“It’s helped to strengthen the First Nations students’ connection to Country while providing them with a valuable, hands-on learning opportunity outside of a classroom,” said Acting Managing Director Nic Moss.
Students raised the plants from seedlings over the past year. Now part of the landscape, the grasses support biodiversity and provide habitats for local species.
Endangered species relocated during Warragul works
As part of a major sewer upgrade in Warragul, Gippsland Water has successfully translocated two Warragul Burrowing Crayfish and several Flinders Pygmy Perch. Both species are listed as threatened under Victoria’s Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988.
The relocation was carried out by licensed ecologists and reflects the utility’s commitment to environmental stewardship. Gippsland Water said the work aligns with its Caretakers for Tomorrow campaign and highlights how infrastructure projects can also deliver biodiversity outcomes.
Mangrove odour mistaken for wastewater issue
Unitywater has traced recent odour complaints from residents in Bli Bli, Redcliffe and other coastal suburbs to an unlikely source – mangroves.
“One of the causes when it’s not our assets has been confirmed as mangroves or other environmental factors,” said Executive Manager Customer Delivery Rhett Duncan.
“Mangroves drop their seeds, bacteria helps breakdown the organic matter, producing a sulphur reaction, which creates sulphide gas and the associated odour.”
The smell – often described as ‘rotten eggs’ – is more noticeable during cooler months when sulphide gas disperses less easily.
Call for proactive approach to tree root damage
Researchers from the University of South Australia are urging cities to rethink how they manage tree roots in sewer pipes. The UniSA team is calling for predictive analytics and smarter planting to prevent costly sewer damage, noting that SA Water reported 30,000 root intrusions in a single year.
“Tree roots are the most common cause of pipe failures in many cities around the world,” said Professor Chris Chow.
“The challenge is that cutting roots or applying chemicals are not permanent solutions. The chemicals can contaminate the soil, and the roots often grow back more aggressively.”
Contaminants help speed up green hydrogen production
RMIT University researchers have developed a method that turns wastewater’s high contaminant load into an advantage for producing green hydrogen.
The team’s approach harnesses some of the contaminants in wastewater to speed up hydrogen production and overcome high contaminant loads that normally makes wastewater unusable.
Collaborating with the University of Melbourne, UNSW and the Australian Synchrotron, the researchers hope the technology could reduce reliance on freshwater in hydrogen production, offering a dual environmental benefit.
NSW launches recycled water roadmap
The NSW Government has unveiled its first Recycled Water Roadmap to improve drought resilience and water efficiency.
The plan outlines 14 actions to boost water recycling across the state over the next two years, including changes to policy, regulation, coordination and economic frameworks.
UNSW supports conservation in Africa’s Okavango Basin
UNSW Sydney researchers have joined a global effort to protect the Cubango-Okavango River Basin (CORB) across Angola, Namibia and Botswana. The basin feeds the UNESCO-listed Okavango Delta and supports over a million people.
“By mapping every habitat, from river channels and floodplains to savannah woodlands and even groundwater microbes, we can develop a standardised jigsaw‑style blueprint for the basin,” said Professor Richard Kingsford.
The research applies the Global Ecosystem Typology to the entire basin, supporting collaborative management and biodiversity protection across national borders.
Global runoff declines could affect 850 million people
New research from Northeastern University warns that declining runoff in the world’s major rivers could impact 850 million people by the end of the century.
“What (Das) found is that some of the more skillful models seem to project the worst conditions in terms of the impact of water scarcity,” said Professor Auroop Ganguly.
“Population estimates are important because they give policymakers an idea of what to expect in terms of the availability of food, water and energy,” added lead author Puja Das.
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