20 Oct 2009
The International Centre for Water for Food Security (IC Water) at Charles Sturt University (CSU) will host a seminar by the head of Murrumbidgee Irrigation this week as part of its mission to work closely with key stakeholders to find solutions to national and international water problems. Murrumbidgee Irrigation Managing Director, Mr Brett Tucker, will present Murrumbidgee Irrigation's take on the current water situation in Australia: Reinventing century old schemes at Wagga Wagga on Wednesday 21 October. Mr Tucker said there’s little doubt that the face of irrigation in the Murray-Darling Basin has changed with the prolonged drought, combined with changes to climate patterns, leading to unprecedented low water availability. “In this environment the key challenges for Murrumbidgee Irrigation include the integrated management of water and energy, and developing effective strategies for mitigating diversification and investment risk,” he said. IC Water is leading a SAM-ET project, funded by National Water Commission, in the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area to map out actual water, soil moisture and land use and land cover classification using high spatial resolution satellite imagery.

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Media Officer	: Kate Roberts
Telephone	: 02 6933 2207

Media Note: The International Centre of Water for Food Security at CSU holds monthly seminars with national and international water experts invited to discuss the emerging issues and policies dealing with sustainable management of water resources for food security. Mr Brett Tucker, Managing Director of Murrumbidgee Irrigation, will speak in the conference room at the Wine & Food Industry Training Centre, McKeown Drive, CSU at Wagga Wagga on Wednesday 21 October from 3.30pm to 5.30pm.