Special feature
Catchment audit protocol (Urbanwater.info)
This audit process will lead you through identifying the main issues and main stakeholders in your catchment or subcatchment. In the process, it will help you explore how you can work with the others to manage your catchment. (Catchment management always multiiple organisations and groups, so negotiation always has a key role.)
Scoping Tools
Brainstorming
Brainstorming: a short introduction from a human rights context
Brainstorming: a short introduction from a useability assessment context
Six great ways to ruin a brainstorming session
Focus Groups
Focus Groups: an introduction from Washington State University.
Checklists
Ways stormwater quality can affect aquatic ecosystems (Stormwater Industry Association)
The SIA's Systems and Techniques page includes a useful summary of ways in which poor stormwater quality can affect aquatic ecosystems.
Catchment management case studies
Catchment studies from other locations in Australia include lists of issues that can be used in scoping the issues in one's own area.
Analytical Tools
Systems analysis
Systems analysis (Urbanwater.info)
Stormwater modelling
Catchment Pollution Calculators (Urbanwater.info)
"Back of the envelope' calculations (actually using spreadsheets) of the contributions of particular land uses to pollution loads, and of the relative cost-effectiveness of different strategies to reduce the pollution loads imposed on water bodies.
Stormwater models (Urbanwater.info)
Risk assessment
Comparative Environmental Risk Assessment Method (Australian National University) (html)
The Comparative Environmental Risk Assessment Method (CERAM) uses an assessment matrix to determine relative levels of environmental risk. The matrix takes both timing of risk as well as severity of risk into account. This site contains links to case studies where the CERAM has been used.
Multi-criteria analysis
An estuary management perspective:
Using a Multi-Criteria Matrix Approach to Prioritise Estuary Management Options from a Multitude of Management Plans
Tools for costing water cycle management options
Economic Scale of Greywater Reuse Systems (CSIRO 2000)
Life Cycle Costing of Urban Water Systems (CSIRO 2000 - research summary)
Leveraging Scientific Research
see Ecology
Using science in natural resource planning
A paper outlining a Central Queensland Case Study which used science to improve stakeholder understanding of sustainability issues and provided a common basis for negotiating regional agreements (The Regional Institute Ltd)
Decisions, ecological science and the precationary principle
This paper explores how ecology can be used to help environmental decision making (Ecological Impacts of Coastal Cities - University of Sydney)
Knowledge and Diplomacy: Science Advice in the United Nations System (e-book)
Case studies of tool use
Integrating spatial models and decision support systems for improved catchment planning
A report on using a catchment model and a computer based decision support system in central Queensland:
(i) the model: "the Soil and Water Assessment Tool [...] developed during the 1990’s by the US Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service", and
(ii) the decision support tool: "the Facilitator decision support system [...] developed by the Queensland Department of Natural Resources and Mines and the US Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service to improve resource planning and allocation of natural resources".
