Passive biofiltration processes for nitrogen removal from polluted waters. Traditional urban wastewater treatment is energy and resource demanding. By combining principles of Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD) with advanced pollutant removal processes, we will create necessary knowledge to underpin development of novel sustainable urban water treatment systems. This project aims to understand and utilise Simultaneous Nitrification, Anammox and Denitrification (SNAD) processes within passive pla ....Passive biofiltration processes for nitrogen removal from polluted waters. Traditional urban wastewater treatment is energy and resource demanding. By combining principles of Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD) with advanced pollutant removal processes, we will create necessary knowledge to underpin development of novel sustainable urban water treatment systems. This project aims to understand and utilise Simultaneous Nitrification, Anammox and Denitrification (SNAD) processes within passive plant-soil-based biofilters for cost-effective removal of nitrogen from a range of polluted urban water sources. The project will open a potential for a new technological advancements in urban water management, while simultaneously providing benefits to the environment and community through greening and waterway protection.Read moreRead less
Multi-scale, two-phase flow in complex coal seam systems. Australia is the world’s leading coal exporter and a large consumer of coal. This project aims to fill key knowledge gaps that underpin the challenge facing the coal industry and environmental agencies in assessing the impact of coal mining on the surrounding environment, in particular, adjacent river and groundwater systems.
Activating lazy stormwater wetlands through real time monitoring & control. Constructed stormwater wetlands are the last line of defence preventing pollution of urban waterways, but wetlands often fail, with their passive operation unable to adapt to the highly variable climate and hydrology they experience. This project aims to use advances in real-time control technology to turn these lazy wetlands into active wetland systems, optimising their performance. It aims to deliver new-generation tec ....Activating lazy stormwater wetlands through real time monitoring & control. Constructed stormwater wetlands are the last line of defence preventing pollution of urban waterways, but wetlands often fail, with their passive operation unable to adapt to the highly variable climate and hydrology they experience. This project aims to use advances in real-time control technology to turn these lazy wetlands into active wetland systems, optimising their performance. It aims to deliver new-generation technologies to enhance water quality treatment, enhance urban water security and guarantee environmental flows to maintain healthy waterways. Working in partnership with waterway managers and water retailers, this project strives to deliver a nationally and globally relevant technology to change how we manage water in cities.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.
Urban flood modelling at speed and scale. Frequent floods in urban areas cause damages comparable to extreme floods. This is likely to intensify with future urbanisation and climate change. Although Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD) offers sustainable urban drainage solutions, there are no models that can select an optimal WSUD system to deliver on a set urban flood mitigation target. The project aims to develop a new generation of fast urban flood models and the-first-of-its-kind WSUD plannin ....Urban flood modelling at speed and scale. Frequent floods in urban areas cause damages comparable to extreme floods. This is likely to intensify with future urbanisation and climate change. Although Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD) offers sustainable urban drainage solutions, there are no models that can select an optimal WSUD system to deliver on a set urban flood mitigation target. The project aims to develop a new generation of fast urban flood models and the-first-of-its-kind WSUD planning tool to support industry and governments to effectively reduce the urban flooding damages. The project outcomes are also applicable for advancing early warning systems and real-time control of floods.Read moreRead less
Data-driven water quality treatment management decision support system. Data-driven water quality treatment management decision support system. This project aims to develop a robust decision support system to predict manganese and the character and concentration of dissolved organic matter in drinking water reservoirs, using intelligent algorithms and data collected through remote autonomous instrumentation. These predicted water quality parameters could be used as model input variables to provi ....Data-driven water quality treatment management decision support system. Data-driven water quality treatment management decision support system. This project aims to develop a robust decision support system to predict manganese and the character and concentration of dissolved organic matter in drinking water reservoirs, using intelligent algorithms and data collected through remote autonomous instrumentation. These predicted water quality parameters could be used as model input variables to provide real-time decisions for plant operators on the required treatment regime for incoming raw water, and advise them on the optimal reservoir offtake depth. This will potentially minimise treatment costs and health risks for consumers. The ultimate goal is to significantly enhance current water supply management practices.Read moreRead less
Intelligent pattern recognition of water end uses enabling recommendations. This project aims to develop a hybrid machine learning method for autonomously disaggregating high- and low-resolution water flow data received from smart meters into discrete end-use events, and a customised recommender system for efficient resource demand management. Project novelty and significance relates to this coupling and autonomous disaggregation of datasets from advanced sensors, enabling more efficient utility ....Intelligent pattern recognition of water end uses enabling recommendations. This project aims to develop a hybrid machine learning method for autonomously disaggregating high- and low-resolution water flow data received from smart meters into discrete end-use events, and a customised recommender system for efficient resource demand management. Project novelty and significance relates to this coupling and autonomous disaggregation of datasets from advanced sensors, enabling more efficient utility services delivery and lower customer utility bills. Project benefits include enabling utilities to better manage and plan resources in the information age, while empowering customers with real-time water end-use data and behaviour changing consumption recommendations.Read moreRead less
A study of turbulence and influence of anthropogenic inputs in small subtropical estuaries. This project aims to improve our basic understanding of mixing and dispersion processes in small subtropical estuaries, and to develop improved predictive models to assist with the management of natural ecosystems. This will be the first comprehensive study of mixing processes and the influence of anthropogenic inputs in small subtropical estuaries.
Optimum design of hydraulic structures in rural and urban Australia: dealing with floods and droughts. Australia's long-term forecast suggests the occurrence of longer and more frequent droughts, and more intense flood events. The project will study the fundamental hydrodynamic processes in hydraulic structures and aims to develop new innovative designs derived from process based approach for optimum operation in rural and urban Australia.
Application of artificial neural network in flood emergency decision support system. This project will develop a method for rapid estimation of flood water levels. This will increase the warning time for flood evacuation in small coastal catchments where traditional estimating techniques are too time-consuming.