Optimal scheduling of urban bulk water systems under uncertainty. This project will develop a new optimisation framework for planning and operation of urban bulk water systems that incorporates flexibility to adapt to changing circumstances. Population growth in major Australian cities, coupled with a potentially drying climate, is putting pressure on existing water supply. To avoid the risk of overinvesting and losing future flexibility, water utilities have to develop plans for the future, a t ....Optimal scheduling of urban bulk water systems under uncertainty. This project will develop a new optimisation framework for planning and operation of urban bulk water systems that incorporates flexibility to adapt to changing circumstances. Population growth in major Australian cities, coupled with a potentially drying climate, is putting pressure on existing water supply. To avoid the risk of overinvesting and losing future flexibility, water utilities have to develop plans for the future, a task made difficult by uncertainty about future climate and demand. The framework is intended to explicitly deal with uncertainty about future demand and climate change, to ensure that solutions can cope with plausible but unexpected futures. The project will apply this framework to the bulk water supply for Sydney.Read moreRead less
Combining transient micro-reflections and multi-sensor arrays for condition assessment of buried pipes. This project will develop an accurate and reliable approach for assessing the condition of pipelines. This new approach will reduce costs and save considerable amounts of water each year, as it will assist utilities in preventing major failures such as pipe bursts, and performing strategically targeted maintenance, replacement and rehabilitation.
Closing the Gap in Pipe Condition Assessment using Hydro-Acoustic Waves. Worldwide, the deterioration of water distribution pipeline infrastructure is driving an unsustainable explosion in maintenance and repair costs. In collaboration with industry leader Detection Services, this project will develop new methods to detect pipe condition faults at a scale and precision not currently possible. The outcome will be an advanced, yet practical, technology that provides critical information on pipe co ....Closing the Gap in Pipe Condition Assessment using Hydro-Acoustic Waves. Worldwide, the deterioration of water distribution pipeline infrastructure is driving an unsustainable explosion in maintenance and repair costs. In collaboration with industry leader Detection Services, this project will develop new methods to detect pipe condition faults at a scale and precision not currently possible. The outcome will be an advanced, yet practical, technology that provides critical information on pipe condition using new innovative active hydro-acoustic signal generators and sensors, combined with state-of-the-art signal analysis methods. The unprecedented cost-effectiveness of the technology will ensure a broad use in the water industry for targeted and efficient action, creating jobs and saving costs.Read moreRead less
Erosion of embankment dams and dam spillways. In excess of $250M is spent annually to maintain, upgrade, improve safety and monitor performance of Australian dams. Improved methods for assessing both spillway and internal erosion, the cause of 50 per cent of embankment dam failures and incidents requiring repairs, will be developed, maximising dam safety and minimising maintenance expenditure.
Water availability and demand: better forecasts, better management. This project aims to improve Australia’s capability in the provision and use of water forecasts for managing water resources. The current water forecasts are not fully utilised by water agencies as they are not sufficiently comprehensive and advanced. This project expects to achieve a step change in the uptake and utility of hydro-climate forecasts through an extensive partnership of leading researchers and operational agencies ....Water availability and demand: better forecasts, better management. This project aims to improve Australia’s capability in the provision and use of water forecasts for managing water resources. The current water forecasts are not fully utilised by water agencies as they are not sufficiently comprehensive and advanced. This project expects to achieve a step change in the uptake and utility of hydro-climate forecasts through an extensive partnership of leading researchers and operational agencies of hydro-climate forecasting, with federal, state and regional water agencies.Read moreRead less
Adapting catchment monitoring and potable water treatment to climate change. Adapting catchment monitoring and potable water treatment to climate change. This project aims to make the water industry capable of foreseeing and managing adverse raw water organic matter quality from the catchment to the treatment plant. It will research the triggers for organic matter excursions that compromise treatment plant performance and affect public health. The project will develop and deploy innovative senso ....Adapting catchment monitoring and potable water treatment to climate change. Adapting catchment monitoring and potable water treatment to climate change. This project aims to make the water industry capable of foreseeing and managing adverse raw water organic matter quality from the catchment to the treatment plant. It will research the triggers for organic matter excursions that compromise treatment plant performance and affect public health. The project will develop and deploy innovative sensors to detect targeted water quality changes at the molecular level in situ and real time, and improve operating strategies for robust and reliable performance of existing treatment plants. This catchment to plant approach is expected to make existing treatment assets more productive and defer additional treatment costs.Read moreRead less
Smart Irrigation: integrating UAV soil moisture maps & variable rate sprays. This project will develop a state-of-the-art precision irrigation system for optimising water use and crop yield. Specifically, a novel UAV soil moisture mapping system based on passive microwave satellite remote sensing technology at L-band will be developed for near-surface soil moisture mapping at accuracies and spatial scales currently not attainable. These soil moisture maps will then be merged with irrigation wate ....Smart Irrigation: integrating UAV soil moisture maps & variable rate sprays. This project will develop a state-of-the-art precision irrigation system for optimising water use and crop yield. Specifically, a novel UAV soil moisture mapping system based on passive microwave satellite remote sensing technology at L-band will be developed for near-surface soil moisture mapping at accuracies and spatial scales currently not attainable. These soil moisture maps will then be merged with irrigation water delivery models to calibrate for spatial variation in soil properties and/or correct errors in spatial variation of rainfall and evapotranspiration inputs. Ultimately the water balance predictions will be used for implementation of variable rate irrigation control at scales hitherto unattainable.Read moreRead less
Assessing future drought risk for water resources system management. The project aims to develop a new method for understanding drought drivers in eastern Australia and how well these are portrayed by climate models. The intended outcome of the project is to provide a framework for evaluating climate models on their representation of drought drivers and then use this information to develop improved downscaling schemes. Traditional downscaling approaches do not capture changes in variability in r ....Assessing future drought risk for water resources system management. The project aims to develop a new method for understanding drought drivers in eastern Australia and how well these are portrayed by climate models. The intended outcome of the project is to provide a framework for evaluating climate models on their representation of drought drivers and then use this information to develop improved downscaling schemes. Traditional downscaling approaches do not capture changes in variability in rainfall and evaporation at interannual and interdecadal timescales. This project aims to address this problem by providing a comprehensive drought downscaling framework which will provide inputs to water sharing plans that can be used to assess the future risks of droughts in catchments across New South Wales.Read moreRead less
A robust integrated streamflow forecasting framework for Australian water information and management agencies. This project aims to deliver an accurate and reliable seasonal streamflow forecasting system for Australian water users by developing a flexible rainfall-runoff modelling approach integrated into a Bayesian inference and prediction framework. These scientific developments aim to significantly advance the operational capabilities of the Australian Bureau of Meteorology to deliver robust ....A robust integrated streamflow forecasting framework for Australian water information and management agencies. This project aims to deliver an accurate and reliable seasonal streamflow forecasting system for Australian water users by developing a flexible rainfall-runoff modelling approach integrated into a Bayesian inference and prediction framework. These scientific developments aim to significantly advance the operational capabilities of the Australian Bureau of Meteorology to deliver robust streamflow forecasts to water agencies such as South East Queensland Water and others across Australia. Accurate predictions of future water flows are of tremendous value to urban and rural Australian communities whose economic prosperity, water security and social well-being depend on reliable estimates of water availability.Read moreRead less
Developing a truly intelligent water meter through advanced data analytics. Developing a truly intelligent water meter through advanced data analytics. This project aims to develop intelligent pattern recognition algorithms using international data sets to autonomously categorise household water consumption data into end-uses (e.g. showers, leaks). Despite intelligent meters, big data chokes rather than enables decision making for customers and utilities. This project will resolve information sy ....Developing a truly intelligent water meter through advanced data analytics. Developing a truly intelligent water meter through advanced data analytics. This project aims to develop intelligent pattern recognition algorithms using international data sets to autonomously categorise household water consumption data into end-uses (e.g. showers, leaks). Despite intelligent meters, big data chokes rather than enables decision making for customers and utilities. This project will resolve information synthesis concerns using a combination of non-linear blind source separation techniques adapted from the pattern recognition, signal processing and decision science fields. Expected outcomes are that utilities will be leaders of sustainable water use in the information age, and that customers can use phones to access real-time data of water consumption.Read moreRead less