UC in the City Lecture Series - Water Clarity

Professor Jenny Webster-Brown (Waterways Centre for Freshwater Management) presents “Water Clarity: what do we really need to know to manage Canterbury water sustainably?”

Opinions have become polarised on how competing demands for freshwater should be met in Canterbury. No-one can contest that the water management challenges facing this region are significant and must be addressed, but they should not be perceived as insurmountable. The environmental factors affecting water availability and quality, and the requirements we have of freshwater resources, are not unique to this region, nor are they as complex or poorly defined here as some would lead us to believe.

In this presentation we will go beyond the rhetoric, to examine the processes that typically govern the amount, the cleanliness and utility of freshwater and how these apply in the Canterbury region. The critical environmental factors that need to be considered in a sustainable management strategy for a freshwater resource will be reviewed. These comprise the “bottom line” of any management strategy that seeks to balance the needs of the whole community, the health of the ecosystem, and cultural, aesthetic, recreational and wilderness values. Using regional data, as well as experiences from other dry climate environments, our state of knowledge with respect to this bottom line will be assessed.

Jenny Webster-Brown is a water quality scientist with 30 years experience and over 80 scientific publications. She holds a science degree (in geology and chemistry) from the University of Otago and a PhD from the University of Western Australia, and has worked with DSIR, ESR and the University of Auckland, and as a consultant water quality specialist. She has recently been appointed as the Director of the Waterways Centre for Freshwater Management, established in 2009 as a joint partnership between Canterbury and Lincoln universities. The Centre acts as a focal point for improving knowledge-driven water resource management in New Zealand, through teaching of water resource management and research using the resources of both universities.

The lecture is part of the 2010 UC in the City lecture series which showcases research coming out of the University's colleges, schools and research centres. Entry is free. As seating is limited, please arrive early to ensure your seat in the Philip Carter Family Auditorium.

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