With the emergence of climate change, the Australian water sector faces considerable challenges in maintaining a reliable supply of water for urban and rural users. A more variable climate will call for robust planning, efficient water markets, and prudent investment in infrastructure and water saving technologies.
Synergies has been at the forefront in advising the water sector on regulatory and economic matters for many years. Our consultants contributed to the design of water market reforms and related pricing reforms in the late 1990s and have maintained a very active practice to this day. We understand the regulatory frameworks governing the sector (across all jurisdictions) and the history of those arrangements. Nowadays, our engagements include business cases for new water infrastructure, advising utilities on drought management plans, assessing the economics of integrated water management, water competition issues, and pricing reviews.
Case study
The Port of Abbot Point and Townsville have both been identified as prospective hubs for the largescale production and export of green hydrogen by the Queensland and Commonwealth Governments. Acknowledging the significant technical hurdles that must be overcome for Australia to develop a commercially viable green hydrogen export industry, effective infrastructure planning is a critical requirement to facilitate the growth of the green hydrogen and other emerging energy industries.
The North Queensland Water for ...
Case study
Synergies was engaged by the Department of Local Government Water and Volunteers to develop a cost allocation model to inform the setting of prices for the Toowoomba to Warwick Pipeline, a pipeline that is to be constructed to alleviate drought risk for communities in the Southern Downs Regional Council in addition to providing additional urban water security for Toowoomba Regional Council. First principles cost allocation principles informed the development of the model, which was applied ...
Case study
After a sustained period of strong performance, the last five years in the Nogoa Mackenzie WSS has been characterised by relatively poor availability of Medium Priority water entitlements for agricultural users. Compounded by the removal of the inflatable bag from Bedford Weir, this period of poor reliability has coincided with strong performance in most other water supply schemes throughout Queensland.
This has significantly impacted irrigation users in the scheme, which includes largescale cotton producers ...
Case study
The Dawson Valley Water Supply Scheme has exhibited significant growth in agricultural water use over the past five years, driven by the increased uptake of water entitlements by largescale cotton growers. The significant demand for the temporary leases of the Strategic Water Infrastructure Reserve, administered by the Queensland Government, is evidence of the significant demand that exists in the scheme and the opportunity for additional water supply to generate significant direct and flow-on economic benefits.
Case study
Synergies undertook the economic analysis component of the North Pine Dam Staged Strengthening Options Analysis and Dam Improvement Project Preliminary Business Case for Seqwater. The project involved undertaking a cost-benefit analysis of several options for addressing the dam failure risk, noting North Pine Dam was assessed as non-compliant with the ANCOLD Dam Safety Guidelines. The Staged Strengthening project involved the analysis of early works to partially address the dam’s non-compliance, while the Dam Improvement Project ...
Case study
The Rookwood Weir project represents a transformational piece of water supply infrastructure for the Lower Fitzroy region. The $568.9 million project, which was completed in late 2023, has a yield of 86, 000 ML (Medium Priority-equivalent) and has significantly increased the volume of water available for irrigated crop production in the Lower Fitzroy region, in addition to providing for a significant improvement in water security for urban customers in the Livingstone Shire Council and major ...