Stormwater Management
Planning to manage stormwater
Sound stormwater management forms an integral part of development across a wide range of urban, industrial and mine development sites. Most civil works that have a terrestrial footprint will need to consider management of stormwater.
An important reason for managing stormwater can be for operational continuity. Interruption to operations due to failure of stormwater management infrastructure can be a significant cost to a business.
Mine and industrial sites and development areas often have to manage the total water cycle, of which stormwater is a part. Stormwater can be a valuable resource that can be reused in production or site maintenance.
The process for managing stormwater at a new site or development often requires approval by local and regional authorities. This is particularly the case in new urban development areas. Plans for urban development approval can range from demonstrating how stormwater is integrated into total water cycle management to assessing risk of flooding and designing infrastructure to manage stormwater flows and drainage.
What we do
We get involved in all levels of water management and planning studies. This includes:
- Description of the existing environment;
- Evaluating potential impacts of development on local stormwater flows, surface water and groundwater resources and sensitive environmental assets (like wetlands); and
- Development of stormwater management solutions.
We use a range of modelling tools and techniques to help quantify physical processes and develop solutions. For example, in sandy areas with high water tables, we can help quantify groundwater-surface water interactions using integrated models (such as Mike SHE) and monitoring data.
We use flood models where there is a flood risk that needs to be quantified and managed.
We can help quantify the change in the water balance of a development area associated with changed land use increasing impervious areas.
