Water

Water
Download MI water flyer (PDF, 2 MB)
CAPABILITY STATEMENT
Effective water management shapes our ability to survive and thrive in response to challenges such as urban expansion and climate change. Monash University is committed to water research and the development of scientific resources that protect and enhance sustainable environments at the local, national and global level.
Focus areas

- Wastewater treatment and recycling
- Energy and nutrient recovery from wastewater
- Drinking water supply and quality control
- Pathogens monitoring and control
- Water Sensitive Urban Design
- Flood protection
- Integrated water modelling
- Water pipe asset management
Monash Infrastructure water theme coordinator
Professor Xiwang Zhang
Research capabilities
Monash University is one of leading global research institutes with a strong reputation of technology innovation for water, which is demonstrated by Monash water researchers' track record in technology development, publication, international patents, and commercialisation. We have expertise in passive green technologies which use natural, renewable energy, low maintenance techniques to remove pollutants from wastewater, greywater and stormwater for water recycling/harvesting.
These multifunctional green systems not only reduce the negative impact to environment and eliminate water shortage, but also provide amenity and cooling benefits in our urban environment.
Our researchers have expertise in membrane technology innovation for drinking water production, wastewater recycling, seawater desalination and new methods for recovering resources such as nutrients from wastewater and lithium from brine. Additionally, they have rich experiences in electrochemical and photocatalytic oxidation processes to further polish a wide range of urban water sources.
Monash has developed multiple techniques to enumerate pathogens and to track sources of faecal contamination in water systems, enabling our industry partners to better estimate pathogen risks posed to end-users and to help identify where to focus their mitigation efforts.
We also have expertise in city-scale modelling which is enabling city planners to harness all available water resources in an integrated manner to deliver multiple benefits to the community.
An interdisciplinary approach to delivering sustainable urban water infrastructure
MI works across Monash University, integrating research from the Faculties of Business and Economics, Art Design and Architecture, Arts, Engineering, Science, Information Technology and Monash Sustainability Development Institute.
Case study

Green technologies for water treatment
Monash University engineers, led by Associate Professor David McCarthy, are helping cities around the world adopt a more sustainable system of water management. Monash engineers have designed biofilters, wetlands and green walls to treat stormwater, greywater and groundwater.
Membrane technologies for resource recovery from wastewater
The research team led by Professor Huanting Wang and Professor Xiwang Zhang have developed a number of innovative membrane technologies which can achieve energy-efficient recovery of soluble substances from water at molecular level. These patented technologies have promising potential application for resource recovery from wastewater. For instance, the highflux ultra-filtration membrane achieves excellent acid recovery from mining wastewater; the integrated forward osmosis technology can efficiently recover nutrients from municipal and food wastewater; and the solar steam membrane achieves 100% salt recovery from saline water.