Sydney Water Engineering Panel

EA Eminent Speaker: Dr Kate White

The following is a cross post from Engineers Australia National Committee on Coastal and Ocean Engineering

PRESENTATION TITLE: CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION FOR WATER RESOURCES:MOVING FROM SCIENCE TO POLICY

EMINENT SPEAKER: Dr Kate White PhD, PE
Senior Lead for Global and Climate Change, US Army Corps of Engineers

Date: Tuesday 8th May 2012
Time: 5:30pm for 6:00pm start
Venue: Zenith Theatre and Convention Centre
Corner McIntosh and Railway Streets, Chatswood, NSW

TO REGISTER to attend online, please use the below link:
http://www.engineersaustralia.org.au/eminentspeaker/

Opinion Piece from the Conversation

Over at The Conversation Dr Ian Prosser, Science Director for the CSIRO Water for a Healthy Country National Research Flagship, has published an opinion piece on the Murray-Darling plan.

One of the big challenges around the Murray-Darling Basin Authority’s Proposed Basin Plan is to work out just how much the basin’s environment would benefit from the plan.

When the Guide to the proposed Basin Plan was released in 2010 there was plenty of information to fuel debate about the costs to irrigated agriculture and communities of reduced water use. However, there was less information on the benefits to Australia of returning river environments to a healthier state.

…

The full report is available at The Conversation.

ARR Editor in the SMH

James Ball managed to get himself (and ARR) into the Herald. Its actually a short simple overview of the ARR process and outcomes.

EEA 2-day workshop – Stormwater Management

While this is not a Panel organised event it may be of use to members on our lists.

A 2-day Workshop entitled “Stormwater Management (source control)” has been organised by EEA (Engineering Education, Australia) for Thursday/Friday 3/4 May in Sydney. The Notes provided in the course are based on content of the award-winning manual “WSUD: basic procedures for ‘source control’ of stormwater – a Handbook for Australian practice” edited by Professor John Argue (University of South Australia). This document is endorsed by Stormwater Industry Association (SIA), Australian Water Association (AWA) and by Dept of Water, Western Australia. The Notes have been regularly updated since first publication in 2004.

If you are interested please contact EEA or Professor John Argue (John.Argue@unisa.edu.au) directly. John has provided an overview flyer as well.

Hydrology and Water Resources Symposium 2012: Abstract Reminder

Over on the HWRS2012 website there is a reminder that the call for abstracts is now open and that they will close on the 19th March 2012.

On behalf of the Hydrology and Water Resources Symposium (HWRS) 2012 Organising Committee, I would like to remind you that the call for abstracts for the Symposium is now OPEN. A flyer with further information including important dates for the Symposium is attached to this email.

HWRS 2012 takes place from 19 – 22 November 2012 at Dockside, Sydney, NSW, Australia.

Abstracts can be submitted via the Symposium website www.hwrs2012.org.au on the ‘Abstract Submission’ page. Please note that the closing date for abstract submission is MONDAY, 19 MARCH 2012.

ARR Update February 2012

This is a repost of a newsletter from the ARR team.

ARR Seminars

This announcement is a repost from the AR&R team.

Speaker: Grantley Smith, UNSW Water Research Laboratory (WRL)

Grantley Smith is a Senior Engineer at the University of New South Wales Water Research Laboratory. He has over 20 years’ experience in hydrological processes as they relate to flow forecasting floodplain hydraulics, and floodplain management. Prior to joining the WRL in 2009, Grantley was NSW State Manager for DHI Water and Environment where he helped pioneer the use of 2D hydrodynamic models for floodplain inundation. He is currently Chair of the Water Panel for the Sydney Division of Engineers Australia.

Project 15: 2D Modelling in Urban Areas

The presentation will provide an overview of recent research undertaken as part of Project 15 of the Australian Rainfall and Runoff Revision and funded by the Federal Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency and WRL. The research project investigated the application of 2D models in urban areas, with a particular focus on the representation of buildings and other floodplain flow obstacles in numerical models.

A PDF flyer is available.

Project 10: People and Vehicle Stability in Floods

This presentation reviews the early work, collates and discusses subsequent experimental testing, empirical expressions and safety guidelines derived from these studies. The entire data-set of relevant experimental results is re-analysed and tolerable flow conditions related to human and vehicle safety and safe working conditions are presented.

A PDF flyer is available.

Perth
Date: Monday, 13 February 2012
Time: 12.00pm
Place: Auditorium Engineers Australia
712 Murray St, West Perth
RSVP: Not Required
Cost: Free

Hobart
Date: Tuesday, 13 March 2012
Time: 12.15pm (light lunch provided)
12.30pm to 2.00pm Seminar
Place: Old Woolstore Theatrette
1 Macquarie Street, Hobart
RSVP: To Catherine Reading 6234 2228 or creading@engineersaustralia.org.au by no later than
Tuesday, 6 March 2012

Brisbane and Melbourne Seminar dates to be advised

7th International Conference on WSUD

The final annoucements and details are going around for the 7th International Conference on Water Sensitive Urban Design but as its scheduled for the 21-23 February 2012 you’d better check it out quickly.

Understanding the nexus between sustainable urban water management and the vitality, liveability and prosperity of urban communities is one of the most significant challenges of the 21st Century. Many urban communities are now faced with rising temperatures, longer and more severe droughts, more frequent and devastating floods and increased levels of water borne pollutants; all of which diminish the liveability of our urban areas and degrade our natural environments.

Our cities and communities need to become water sensitive; where water is managed within our urban areas to provide maximum value for a range of functions and users, including the natural environment. A water sensitive city is resilient and is able to cope with extended periods of drought and intense rainfall. A water sensitive community appreciates the scarcity and value of potable water supplies and supports the use of other water sources to enhance amenity, minimise heat island effects and improve their quality of life.

Building a water sensitive community cannot be achieved with traditional urban water management approaches alone. To meet to this challenge, an integrated approach is necessary; we should strive to effectively link the myriad design and implementation cultures of the different disciplines involved in urban water management.

2012 Darcey Lecture: Confirmed for February 23

The Panel is pleased to announce that, once again, it is co-hosting the travelling Darcy Lecture Series with the NSW Branch of the IAH. The date of the presention is set for Thursday 23rd February 2012 in Sydney City with the final venue details to be confirmed closer to the event.

This year’s lecture will be given by S. Majid Hassanizadeh, Ph.D professor of hydrogeology, Faculty of Geosciences at Utrecht University and will talk on either “Capillarity in Porous Media, on Micro- and Macroscale, Revisited” or “Transport of Viruses in Partially Saturated Soil and Groundwater”.

MDBA Has Released the Draft Plan for Comment

The Murray-Darling Basin Authority last night released its draft plan for comment, which is available at:

http://www.mdba.gov.au/draft-basin-plan/draft-basin-plan-for-consultation

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