Multi-Objective Planning and Operation of Water Supply Systems Subject to Climate Change. Water is precious, and increasingly scarce. Many Australians – householders, businesses, farmers, those concerned about sustainability and the environment, among others – have diverse preferences about water allocation. Yet the operating rules that water supply system managers currently use were designed when water was comparatively plentiful. This project will assist system managers to develop contemporary ....Multi-Objective Planning and Operation of Water Supply Systems Subject to Climate Change. Water is precious, and increasingly scarce. Many Australians – householders, businesses, farmers, those concerned about sustainability and the environment, among others – have diverse preferences about water allocation. Yet the operating rules that water supply system managers currently use were designed when water was comparatively plentiful. This project will assist system managers to develop contemporary rules for water allocation decision-making. A case study of the Grampians headworks system in Victoria will provide the opportunity to trial methods that account for diverse stakeholder preferences in the context of climate change and climate variability, including drought events. Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE180100550
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$356,446.00
Summary
Preserving our rivers: environmental water use in a changing climate. This project aims to develop an 'active management' tool to improve the robustness and transparency of environmental water management. Managing Government investment on environmental water requires decisions on when and where to use water, involving complex trade-offs between competing benefits. This project will develop a tool to address shortcomings in currently available approaches based on the assumption of stationary clim ....Preserving our rivers: environmental water use in a changing climate. This project aims to develop an 'active management' tool to improve the robustness and transparency of environmental water management. Managing Government investment on environmental water requires decisions on when and where to use water, involving complex trade-offs between competing benefits. This project will develop a tool to address shortcomings in currently available approaches based on the assumption of stationary climate, leading to more environmental benefit for less water, and greater resilience in the face of a changing climate.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.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE170100042
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$360,000.00
Summary
Virtual reality for planning of green urban water infrastructure. This project aims to research the planning-technical-social dynamics of Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD) infrastructure. WSUD management has become financially and logistically unsustainable due to major urban growth and a rapid uptake in WSUD assets. Solving this problem is, however, complex, as stakeholders have conflicting needs and tacit knowledge that is difficult to quantify. Using emerging virtual reality technology, par ....Virtual reality for planning of green urban water infrastructure. This project aims to research the planning-technical-social dynamics of Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD) infrastructure. WSUD management has become financially and logistically unsustainable due to major urban growth and a rapid uptake in WSUD assets. Solving this problem is, however, complex, as stakeholders have conflicting needs and tacit knowledge that is difficult to quantify. Using emerging virtual reality technology, participatory planning and operational models, this project intends to improve WSUD modelling science through integrated modelling. The anticipated outcome is more holistic and economically efficient planning of WSUD layouts in future cities. This is expected to address growing concerns about adequately managing these systems and ensure that they deliver intended environmental protection, liveability and public health benefits.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
Improved rainfall measurement using mobile phone tower link attenuation. The project aims to use the microwave link data between mobile phone towers to complement the sparse rain gauge network in urban areas, to allow more accurate near-real-time monitoring of rainfall. Accurate near-real-time precipitation data at high resolution are critical to flash flood forecasting in and around Australia's capital cities. Current estimates suffer from the limited availability of rain gauge data in urban ar ....Improved rainfall measurement using mobile phone tower link attenuation. The project aims to use the microwave link data between mobile phone towers to complement the sparse rain gauge network in urban areas, to allow more accurate near-real-time monitoring of rainfall. Accurate near-real-time precipitation data at high resolution are critical to flash flood forecasting in and around Australia's capital cities. Current estimates suffer from the limited availability of rain gauge data in urban areas. However, mobile phone towers abound and the microwave links between them can provide information on rainfall intensity, meaning that these data could be used to supplement the rain gauge data. This project plans to develop the technology to generate precipitation maps using mobile phone network link, rain gauge and weather radar data.Read moreRead less
Water information services to boost irrigation productivity. This project aims to develop an integrated irrigation scheduling, benchmarking and forecasting capability delivered through a water ordering portal that is used by most Australian irrigation farmers and many farmers internationally. Ensuring adoption is critical and this will be facilitated through integration into the existing water ordering system. Expected outcomes include improved ability to manage irrigation water through better u ....Water information services to boost irrigation productivity. This project aims to develop an integrated irrigation scheduling, benchmarking and forecasting capability delivered through a water ordering portal that is used by most Australian irrigation farmers and many farmers internationally. Ensuring adoption is critical and this will be facilitated through integration into the existing water ordering system. Expected outcomes include improved ability to manage irrigation water through better use of existing weather observations and forecasts, irrigation data, and satellite observations to inform farmer decisions. This is expected to result in improvement in water productivity, leading to economic benefit and an improved ability to meet growing global food demands.Read moreRead less
Catchment water balance and CO2 fluxes: a comparison between productive land uses. The aim of the project is to improve the understanding of different land use implications on water resource and land productivity. The project aims to use a paired-catchment study that compares the carbon and water balances in two catchments in the high rainfall zone in south western Victoria. One catchment is used prevalently for grazing, while the other is predominantly planted with blue gums. The main objective ....Catchment water balance and CO2 fluxes: a comparison between productive land uses. The aim of the project is to improve the understanding of different land use implications on water resource and land productivity. The project aims to use a paired-catchment study that compares the carbon and water balances in two catchments in the high rainfall zone in south western Victoria. One catchment is used prevalently for grazing, while the other is predominantly planted with blue gums. The main objectives of this project are: to quantify the effect of different agricultural land uses on the catchment water balance; to estimate the trade-off between carbon sequestration and water resources related to tree plantations and pastures; and to develop models at different spatial scales of catchment water balance for land-use management.Read moreRead less
Exploring water worlds for ecohydrologic modelling of ephemeral catchments. This project aims to identify and quantify the key processes driving the generation of streamflow in ephemeral catchments with different rainfall regimes, topography, geology, and two contrasting land uses. Four ephemeral catchments in south-western Victoria will be used as a case study to identify how these catchments store and release water. Particular focus will be directed to understanding the roles of groundwater an ....Exploring water worlds for ecohydrologic modelling of ephemeral catchments. This project aims to identify and quantify the key processes driving the generation of streamflow in ephemeral catchments with different rainfall regimes, topography, geology, and two contrasting land uses. Four ephemeral catchments in south-western Victoria will be used as a case study to identify how these catchments store and release water. Particular focus will be directed to understanding the roles of groundwater and surface runoff in supplying the streams when they flow, and how rainfall is partitioned between tree water use, groundwater recharge, and streamflow. The outcomes from experimental observations will be used to improve current hydrological models to support land and water management.Read moreRead less