Clean Water and Sanitation
Off-Campus Water Conservation Support
The University of Newcastle supports practical water conservation beyond our campus boundaries through applied research, environmental restoration and partnerships with communities, governments and industry. In 2025, this included hands-on catchment monitoring, community-led restoration and planning activities in the Cook Islands, delivered through the University's ongoing partnership with the Cook Islands National Environment Service.
Protecting freshwater catchments in the Cook Islands
In 2025, University of Newcastle researchers Associate Professor Troy Gaston and Dr Alex Callen continued their ongoing collaboration with the Cook Islands National Environment Service (NES) as part of the Global Environment Facility's GEF7 Enhancing Nature's Unique Areas initiative.
During a 2025 catchment field visit to Rarotonga, University of Newcastle researchers Associate Professor Troy Gaston and Dr Alex Callen worked alongside NES staff to undertake catchment sampling and monitoring and met with local stakeholders including the Ministry of Marine Resources, Ministry of Agriculture, Cook Islands Tourism, Muri Environment Care and the Korero O Te Orau Environmental Education Centre.
The work focuses on four priority catchments - Avana, Turangi, Takuvaine and Avatiu - and supports practical management of freshwater and downstream ecosystems. Catchment audits collect information on water quality, nutrients, sediments and biodiversity so that pollution pressures can be identified, changes monitored and locally relevant responses developed.
Supporting catchment management plans
The Cook Islands National Environment Service's 2025 project update reports that University catchment audits in 2025 provided information to support Catchment Management Plans for the four priority catchments. These plans are intended to guide actions that improve catchment condition, water quality and ecosystem health, with community groups, landowners and government agencies contributing local knowledge to future planning.
Restoring stream health through native planting
The partnership also moved from monitoring into practical restoration. In November 2025, University of Newcastle participants joined the National Environment Service, Muri Environment Care and local volunteers to establish the Cook Islands' first 'tiny forest' on Rarotonga.
More than 30 volunteers planted 600 native trees and shrubs in a 200 m2 area. The dense planting is designed to stabilise soil, strengthen freshwater health and reduce pressures from erosion, nutrient runoff and waste entering waterways.
From monitoring to long-term conservation
The University's catchment work contributes scientific monitoring, ecological expertise and data that local partners can use to plan and implement conservation activities. By combining field science with community knowledge and on-ground restoration, the partnership supports healthier catchments and more resilient freshwater systems beyond the University.
Hydro Harvester: developing alternative water supplies
The University's Hydro Harvester technology provides another approach to supporting water conservation and water security beyond campus. Developed by University researchers, the Hydro Harvester uses solar thermal energy or waste heat to extract moisture from the atmosphere and produce drinking water. The technology is being developed as an alternative water source for drought-affected and water-scarce communities, potentially reducing reliance on conventional water supplies.
Supported through the Australian Government's Future Drought Fund, the research has progressed from an initial 20-litre pilot system towards a modular unit designed to produce up to 1,000 litres of drinking water per day.
To explore its potential applications, the research team has developed an interactive mapping tool covering 526 locations across Australia. Using historical rainfall and humidity data from 2000–2021, the tool allows users to investigate potential water production, energy requirements and electricity costs under different environmental conditions.
This research supports the development of alternative water supply technologies that could improve access to drinking water and strengthen resilience in communities experiencing water scarcity.
The team is working on a large-scale Hydro Harvester to produce up to 1000 L of water a day.
Understanding long-term water availability
In 2025, University of Newcastle researcher Associate Professor Danielle Verdon-Kidd, from the Centre for Integrated Resilience: Coasts, Water and Climate, led research investigating historical changes in water availability across Australian landscapes.
The project combined radiocarbon dating with advanced image enhancement techniques to identify annual growth markers in Eucalyptus trees. By examining how these growth features correspond with prolonged droughts and major flood events, researchers gained insights into historical climate variability and changing water conditions in the Murray–Darling Basin.
The research has also been extended to Queensland, using cypress pine tree cores to investigate longer-term environmental records.
These findings contribute to a better understanding of historical water cycles and climate extremes, providing information that can support future climate modelling and inform water resource planning in regional Australia.
Associate Professor Danielle Verdon-Kidd and colleagues in Queensland working to better understand water conservation.
Through freshwater ecosystem restoration, catchment monitoring and research into water availability and alternative supplies, the University contributes scientific knowledge and practical solutions that support water conservation and more resilient communities beyond its campuses.
The ripple effect of drought
Dr Priscilla Tremain, a Research Associate in the CINET team, explains some of the science behind the Hydro Harvester technology and it's potential impact in this Hippocampus article.
Read here
The University of Newcastle acknowledges the traditional custodians of the lands within our footprint areas: Awabakal, Darkinjung, Biripai, Worimi, Wonnarua, and Eora Nations. We also pay respect to the wisdom of our Elders past and present.