Great Lakes DSS and Water Quality Improvement Plan (WQIP)

The Great Lakes DSS has been developed as part of the Great Lakes Coastal Catchment Initiative (CCI), a federally funded program. Water Quality Improvement Plans (WQIPs) for each of the Myall, Smiths and Wallis Lakes systems have been developed. The Great Lakes DSS has been developed to underpin the development and implementation of the WQIPs. This DSS integrates several modelling outputs that have been developed by other partners:

• The AnnAGNPS model of catchment scale runoff of pollutants;

• The MUSIC model applied to several existing and potential urban areas considering pollutant runoff and response to various management actions;

• An estuarine response model developed to consider the impact of changes in nutrients and sediments on estuary concentrations of chlorophyll-a, light attenuation and seagrass extent.

This DSS has been used as part of a facilitated process of development of the Water Quality Improvement Plan. In addition to being project leader of the ANU component of this project, Dr Kelly developed the underlying concept of the Great Lakes DSS in conjunction with other ANU team members and was responsible for facilitating discussions with the project Advisory Committee (consisting of key catchment stakeholders) to develop catchment and estuary targets and management strategies for achieving these. This project has involved a full range of activities from technical issues of model design and coding, data analysis, to interface and DSS design, to negotiation support, facilitation and assisting with the implementation of the community engagement process developed by the Great Lakes Council.

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