Sydney Water Engineering Panel

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WSRG: Stormwater Harvesting, Reuse and Water Strategy

The Western Sydney Regional Group of EA is running a technical presentation that may be of interest to members of this list. It is titled: Stormwater Harvesting, Reuse and Water Strategy and will be given at the University of Western Sydney (Kingswood Campus), 2pm to 5pm on 30th November 2011. A map of the venue, together with full details, is available in PDF format.

There will be two speakers, namely:

Mr. Geoff Douglas, Project Manager CBD Works Willoughby City Councils
Dr. Bhakti Devi, Manager – Water Strategy, City of Sydney Council

Who will speak on:

(1) Chatswood Integrated Stormwater Management Scheme
Chatswood Integrated Stormwater Management Scheme was developed for a number of reasons including leading the community in water savings, reducing the impact of flooding, to provide a source of non potable water for local businesses, and in providing a possible first step in a council vision for a non-potable ring main around Chatswood. This project has major local and global significance in proving that significant potable water savings can be made by using available stormwater for office building and other business needs.

(2) City of Sydney Water Strategy
City of Sydney is currently developing a water strategy which is comprehensive in scope and scale. The strategy is therefore called Decentralised Water Master Plan. The master plan aims to identify all opportunities that exist within City of Sydney council area for improving water efficiency, improving stormwater quality and increasing the use of recycled water. Dr Devi’s presentation will provide the context and an overview of the master plan. It will also cover the baseline mapping which forms its foundation and the opportunities that can be seen emerging from it.

Panel AGM Confirmed for Ventuno, Hickson Road Walsh Bay

The Sydney Division Water Engineering Panel is please to confirm that its Annual General Meeting will be held at:

Ventuno
Hickson Road Walsh Bay
Evening
6th December 2011

Reservations are essential for this venue.

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November Presentation: Downscaling Climate Projections for Impact and Adaptation Applications in NSW

The November presentation of the Sydney Division Water Engineering Panel has been confirmed for the 22nd November 2011, 5:30 for a 6pm start with light refreshments and alcoholic and non-alcohoic beverages available. The presentation is titled Downscaling Climate Projections for Impact and Adaptation Applications in NSW and will be given by Dr Jason Evans of the UNSW Climate Change Research Centre.

The abstract for the presentation is:

Ongoing climate change means that the historical record is no longer sufficient information for future infrastructure planning across multiple sectors. Climate projection information is derived primarily from Global Climate Models that operate at large spatial scales (100s km) that are inappropriate for most impact and adaptation work. Downscaling this information to an appropriate scale can be done using either “statistical” or “dynamical” approaches. In collaboration with the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage, the UNSW Climate Change Research Centre is producing dynamically downscaled climate projections as part of the NSW/ACT Regional Climate Modelling (NARCliM) project. This presentation will discuss downscaled climate projections, in particular the NARCliM project and its relevance for future water engineering across multiple scales.

NARCliM is producing climate projections over south-eastern Australia at ~10km spatial resolution, and one to three hourly temporal resolution. In addition to the usual climate variables, NARCliM will be tracking sub-daily precipitation and wind gust extremes down to the maximum 5 minute events. NARCliM outputs cover a wide range of climate variables relevant across many sectors and will provide a basis of climate projection information at scales appropriate for activities ranging from urban flood hydrology up to large water resource reservoirs.

A PDF printable flyer for the event is also available.

2D Modelling In Urban Areas – September Presentation

The September Water Panel presentation is titled 2D Modelling In Urban Areas and will be presented by Grantly Smith, senior Engineer at the UNSW Water Research Laboratory. The presentation will be held at the Chatswood Engineers Australia Auditorium on 27th September 2011, 5:30pm for 6pm start. Drinks and nibbles will be available prior to the event. The abstract of the talk is:

Flood events in Newcastle in June 2007 and most recently in South East Queensland’s Lockyer Valley in January 2011 have highlighted the importance of robust planning guidelines and building stability criteria for floodplains. These floods have also highlighted a requirement for accurate representation of flood hazard behaviour to support land use and flood evacuation planning documentation.
Currently, two-dimensional (2D) hydrodynamic (numerical) models have become the de-facto standard for baseline flood planning and management, especially in urban areas. Investigations addressing flood behaviour definition have typically followed a scope devised and refined over many years by government agencies to meet statutory requirements. However, the development, application and calibration of numerical models is open to considerable interpretation.

Individual agencies and the specialist consultants servicing these agencies have developed various techniques and methods to address overland flooding using 2D numerical models. However, in many instances, these methods are quite different and produce significantly different outcomes in terms of the generated flood behaviour characteristics.

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 obstacles flow obstacles in numerical models.

A PDF Flyer with all the details is also available.

Understanding Floods Q&A

Queensland’s Chief Scientist, Dr Geoff Garrett, release a short while back a report Understanding Floods: Questions and Answers which attempts to explain the key scientific and engineering concepts of floods to the community. It appears to have had extensive input from scientific and engineering professionals and could be well worth a look. It is available as a PDF download from the Chief Scientists website at: http://www.chiefscientist.qld.gov.au/publications/understanding-floods.aspx.

From the media release:

Understanding Floods: Questions and Answers (UFQA) explains fundamental scientific and engineering concepts regarding floods, in clear and simple language. It provides balanced and authoritative information within the current state of knowledge, and focuses on three key themes: floods and their consequences; flood forecasts and warnings; and managing floods. It was written by the Queensland Floods Science, Engineering and Technology (SET) Panel, convened by the Queensland Chief Scientist, Dr Geoff Garrett, AO. The SET panel includes 25 Australian and international specialists with expertise across the range of flood-related disciplines. UFQA was developed in support of the Queensland Floods Commission of Inquiry, to build capacity and understanding of floods in general. UFQA will also educate our leaders, the media and the Queensland community at large on the complex, inter-relational factors impacting on floods. UFQA will facilitate informed decisions to help shape the way in which we can plan for and mitigate our level of flood related risk now, and in the future.

IAH Groundwater Symposium: Uncertainty in Hydrogeology

This is cross-posting is an announcement for the IAH Groundwater Symposium – Uncertainty in Hydrogeology – to be held at Dockside, (Sydney CBD) on 5-6 September 2011.

There is a reciprocal arrangement with a discount for EA members.

The announcement flyer is available and the conference website contains more information.

2011 Darcy Lecture

The next panel seminar, we are pleased to announce, will be the Darcy Lecture and will be a joint presentation with the NSW Branch of the IAH. The presentation is titled: Characterisation of a complex sole source aquifer system in Benin, West Africa and will be given by Dr Stephen E. Silliman, Professor of Civil Engineering and Geological Sciences at University of Notre Dame.

The presentation will be held at:
UTS Aerial Function Centre
5:30 for 6pm on the 16 August 2011

The Godomey wellfield is the only source of fresh water for Cotonou, Benin which has between 1.5 to 2 million population. This West African centre is located directly on the Atlantic coast and bordered to the south and west by the large shallow lake. Most production wells are pumping from the partially confined portion of the complex aquifer system and due to the proximity to the lake and coast this water source is under the threat from anthropogenic contamination and seawater intrusion. Collaboration between scientists and students from the United States and Benin has enabled the development of insight into this complex coastal aquifer system by using several different techniques such as numerical modelling, hydraulic testing, water quality characterisation and geophysical surveys.
A series of discussions on scientific and social issues undertaken during this research shows the value of close cooperation between the scientists and in- country collaborators both from technical and social background.

A printable PDF flyer is available.

Severn River Tidal Barrage Talk

Following the recent IAHR Biennial Congress in Brisbane we have managed to secure the incoming IAHR President, Professor Roger Falconer, to present a lecture on his work on the Severn River Tidal Barrage. Professor Falconer is the Halcrow Professor of Water Management and Director Hydro- environmental Research Centre, School of Engineering, Cardiff University.

The presentation is at UTS Broadway, Room CB01.04.06 and is scheduled for 5:30 for a 6pm start on the 12th July 2011. Refreshments and alcoholic beverages will be available for the event.

PDF Flier

Design Aspects of a SWRO Desalination Plant

This is a cross post from the Sydeny Mechanical Chapter as the topic may be of interest to the Water Panel’s membership.

Design of a major seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) desalination plant poses many challenges to engineers of various disciplines particularly those of process and mechanical backgrounds. These challenges include meeting or exceeding the contracted energy efficiency targets, addressing durability of materials in a seawater environment, ensuring safety of piping and equipment operating at high fluid pressures and design to meet sometime conflicting constructability, operability and maintainability requirements. This presentation will briefly outline the design aspects of pressure driven membranes, energy recovery, material selection for protection against corrosion and piping.

The recently completed Sydney Desalination Plant has provided Dennis Cho and Con Sikallos with valuable experiences and insights arising form their involvement for over three years in the bid, design delivery and commissioning phases. Dennis will review the basis of design of a desalination plant and Con will present some of the mechanical challenges.

Dennis is a senior process engineer at SKM and has completed his PhD at UNESCO Centre for Membrane Science and Technology at University of NSW. His work is based on over 10 years of engineering experience, largely in the water and wastewater industry.

Con has 20 years of experience in the water and wastewater industry and currently holds a senior mechanical engineering position at SKM. He has been involved in many engineering projects from detail design through to commissioning including the Sydney Desalination Plant.

Date: 16-06-2011
Starting: Light refreshments at 6.00pm for a 6.30pm start
Finishing: 7.40 to 7.50pm
Dinner Option: With the speaker at 8.00pm, at a nearby restaurant (at cost)
Venue: Engineers Australia Auditorium, Ground Floor, 8 Thomas Street, Chatswood

All contact to: Andrew Lowe would be appreciated, phone no (02) 9777 1111 or AndrewLowe@ShelstonIP.com.

Full details: PDF Flyer.

IAHR Conference Update

The following is an update from the Organisers of the 34th IAHR Conference:

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