Royal Irrigation Department Study Tour to Australia

Water Sensitive Cities Australia (WSCA) recently hosted a delegation of 20 representatives from Thailand’s Royal Irrigation Department (RID) on a study tour to Victoria. The visit forms part of an ongoing collaboration to co-develop strategies that integrate conventional engineering with nature-based solutions (NbS), strengthening resilience to climate change and enhancing water security in Thailand.

The study tour provided RID delegates with first-hand experience of Australian approaches to urban water management and showcased NbS in practice. Insights gained will directly inform strategies to be applied in Thailand and further reinforce the strong partnership between Australia and Thailand in addressing shared water and climate challenges.

Tours such as this one also help strengthen the long-standing cooperation between Australia and Thailand on water security and climate resilience.

Day 1 – Geelong Fishways

The tour commenced with Charles Sturt University and the Corangamite Catchment Management Authority, who led site visits around Geelong. Delegates explored the Tidal Barrage Weir and Cone Fishway/Elver Ramp on the Barwon River and Buckleys Falls. These sites demonstrated how research-driven fishway design enables native fish to bypass barriers such as dams and weirs, prompting discussions on how similar innovations could be adapted for Thailand.

Days 2 & 3 – Regional Victoria

Over the next two days, delegates visited a range of conventional and NbS infrastructure across regional Victoria, including:

• Coliban Main Channel, Faraday – a state-of-the-art trash removal system.
• Wartaka Wanyarra Dum, Bendigo – frog ponds blending Traditional Ecological Knowledge and water-sensitive design to restore cultural, social and environmental values to a degraded creek.
• Lake Eppalock – a multipurpose reservoir supporting irrigation, domestic water supply, recreation, and environmental flows.
• Kennedy Farm – showcasing drip irrigation systems and Rubicon Water’s digital water ordering technology.
• Goulburn Weir – Australia’s first major irrigation structure, still vital for supply, recreation, and amenity.

The group presented their successful water ordering pilot program utilising IrriSAT, a relatively low-cost weather-based irrigation scheduling and crop benchmarking tool. It uses remote sensing to provide system-specific crop management information across large scales. RID is looking to mainstream implementation across Thailand.

Day 4 – Melbourne NbS demonstration sites

On the final day, WSCA hosted RID delegates at NbS demonstration sites across Melbourne, including:

• A stormwater harvesting system in one of Melbourne’s oldest parks, where wetlands provide irrigation, toilet flushing, biodiversity benefits, and urban amenity.
• A dual-purpose flood management site that doubles as valuable community open space and wildlife habitat.
• A private development incorporating NbS to reduce flooding risk, support biodiversity, and enhance property and community value.

Strengthening partnerships

Our thanks to all partners who contributed to this successful tour including Amber Clarke, Sarah Holland-Clift and Denis Lovric (Corangamite CMA); Prof. Ivor Stuart, Prof. Lee Baumgartner and Tisi Tukuniu (Charles Sturt University); Rob Rendell and Charles Thompson (RMCG), and representatives from Coliban Water Dja Dja Wurrung Enterprises Pty Ltd Kennedy Farm and Goulburn-Murray Water.