Getting into Integrated Water Management

What is Integrated Water Management?

Integrated Water Management (IWM) is a collaborative approach to managing water. IWM is about working together to manage water in smarter ways. Instead of focusing on one problem at a time, IWM looks at the whole system and how everything is connected. Planning for the future while improving life today. It considers the interconnected nature of water and land systems together alongside the social, cultural, economic, and environmental aspects of water management. It is closely aligned with several areas, including:

• Water Sensitive Urban Design
• sustainability
• recycled water use
• liveability
• climate change
• stormwater management.

Finding solutions

Climate change, population growth and rapid urbanisation put surface and ground water resources under pressure. This then affects liveability of urban areas. There is rising community interest for green public spaces. These are spaces that provide refuge, cooling, and local flood solutions as rainfall  intensifies with climate change.

The IWM approach to water management addresses these challenges and community interests by finding solutions that deliver multiple benefits.

Areas that IWM connects to include:

• water quality and supply
• waterways and the bodies of water they discharge into
• surface water storages
• stormwater management, stormwater harvesting and infiltration
• nuisance flooding
• groundwater resources
• desalination
• sewage treatment and recycled water
• flooding
• ecology
• greening and cooling
• peri-urban agriculture
• cultural values of water
• recreational and tourism amenities.

Collaboration

IWM also seeks to integrate the values of local communities and Traditional Owners in decisions about water use and infrastructure development.

This collaborative approach enables better decision making about water. This includes thinking about all aspects of water resource management (including competing uses) when making decisions. This is very important for interconnected systems because what happens in one place can have a major impact on other places downstream. To build a healthier landscape we must consider all users. It is also a great way for the community to get involved. This way, you can ensure your area is doing what it can to combat water challenges.

Stephanie Brown is a Senior Project Manager with the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA). In this video she talks about how Integrated Water Management is everywhere we look and how her study path led to a career turning the community's ideas into reality.

Photo essay

Further resources

Below you can find a variety of resources to further research and understand Integrated Water Management.

Return to the school water education resources home page.

Page last updated: 11/08/25