Proceedings of the 2005 International Conference on Simulation and Modeling V. Kachitvichyanukul, U. Purintrapiban, P. Utayopas, eds. ABSTRACT Water quality scientists in Australia are responding to the need from managers and politicians to predict the future of estuarine and marine systems. However, poor communica- tion between scientists and managers can hinder under- standing of each other’s needs. This can lead to inappropri- ate and ineffective use of monitoring and predictive tools in the decision making process. Furthermore, scientists in- volved in this process generally have expertise in only one area: monitoring or modeling. This Cooperative Research Centre for Coastal Zone, Estuary and Waterway Management (Coastal CRC) project aims to develop a tool to educate and direct decision mak- ing on monitoring and modeling. The PC-based education tool will be a knowledge-driven decision support system (DSS) that will hold a series of knowledge bases (a collec- tion of facts, rules, and procedures) including: basic con- cepts and definitions, classification of models, types of monitoring, data requirements for modeling and informa- tion on linking water quality models to catchment informa- tion. The tool will be designed in the first case to assist a specific management issue, the licensing and regulation of wastewater treatment plants, and will be trialed with a tar- get user group. This paper will present an overview of the project concept, the support tool structure, and examples of knowledge base content. 1 INTRODUCTION This project aims to develop a water quality decision sup- port system (WQDSS) for decision makers. The idea for the WQDSS evolved from the concept that management, modeling and monitoring in coastal waters can be better integrated in Australia. Initial examination of the links be- tween management, modeling and monitoring revealed that one of the weakest links appears to be in the area of model- ing, despite an increasing management need to better pre- dict outcomes. The use of modeling appears to be largely ad-hoc, opportunistic and under-utilized. The area of mod- eling can be highly technical and modeling expertise can be scarce or perhaps limited to particular software or model types. Furthermore, communication between deci- sion makers and modelers is often poor. Although similar issues are relevant for water quality monitoring, more monitoring does occur and there are ar- guably large bodies of information available on water qual- ity monitoring. However, it can be difficult for decision makers to interpret and use this information in relation to their specific management needs given their limited re- sources. In many situations, monitoring work could be bet- ter targeted to management needs and better communi- cated, or tailored specifically for inputs into models. DEVELOPMENT OF A DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEM FOR WATER QUALITY MANAGERS: CONCEPTS AND STRUCTURE Claire Harris CRC for Coastal Zone, Estuary and Waterway Man- agement c/o The Centre for Water Studies School of Engineering The University of Queensland St Lucia QLD 4072 Australia Ian Ramsay EPA Building 80 Meiers Road Environmental Protection Agency, Queensland Indooroopilly QLD 4068 Australia Tony Howes Environmental Engineering School of Engineering The University of Queensland St Lucia QLD 4072 Australia