Water for domestic, industrial and commercial use is a scarce commodity in Australia. Increasing and competing demands for water, combined with environmental and hydrologic constraints require this scarce resource to be managed efficiently. However, sometimes it can be overabundant in certain locations causing flooding which again has to be managed properly to reduce economic and social consequences of flood damage.

The Water Resources Group of the School of Architectural, Civil and Mechanical Engineering, which has direct links to the Institute of Sustainability and Innovation, is active in conducting applied research to solve a wide variety of water engineering problems related to the above issues. The Group has a strong focus on specific research areas of water resources planning and management, urban water cycle management, river water quality management and modelling, and urban and rural flood management. Most research projects are conducted in collaboration with the industry. In addition to carrying out research, the Group also provides specialised consulting services and short courses in these areas. REALM – Resource ALlocation Model, which is widely used in Australia for water resources planning and management, is supported by this group.

Staff and Postgraduate Students 

Chris Perera, PhD, Associate Professor

Peter Lechte, MEngSc, MEnvSt, Senior Lecturer

Anne Ng, PhD, Lecturer

Nitin Muttil, PhD, Lecturer

David King, BEng, Lecturer (PhD student)
Euan Nichol, BEng, Lecturer
Prashanthi Kodikara, PhD student
Dung Tran, PhD student
Sena Abeykoon, PhD student
Paul Hedayati, MSc student

Current and Future Research Projects

Water Resources Planning and Management:

Research in this area is concentrated on the development and application of systems analysis techniques (i.e. simulation/optimisation models, streamflow/demand scenario analysis, decision analysis etc.) on planning and management of water resource systems. Current and recent past research projects include:
   - Sensitivity of input variables of the yield estimate of urban water supply systems
   - Multi-objective optimal operation of urban water supply systems
   - Enhancement to generalised water resources simulation model - REALM
   - Stochastic hydrologic and climatic data generation
Future research projects may include urban water demand management, weather adjustments for urban water use data for evaluating water conservation programs and use of streamflow forecasting for short term planning of reservoir systems.

Urban Water Cycle Management:

Research is concentrated on water sensitive urban design, and use of non-traditional water sources such as reclaimed wastewater, greywater and stormwater to meet ever-increasing water demand. Current and recent past research projects include:
   - Water reclamation desalination technologies: a techno-economic study for centralised and

     decentralised options
   - Use of stormwater as an alternative supply source
   - Lagoon effluent treatment using grass infiltration bays
Each year, several water engineering projects are conducted by final year Civil Engineering students, on water conservation issues and water reuse.

River Water Quality Management and Modelling:

This area of research deals with actions and controls to improve water quality in river basins. Current and recent past activities concentrate on point source pollution such as emissions from sewage treatment plants, and developing computer models to assess the effect of point source pollution on river water quality (with model parameters determined using genetic algorithms). Sensitivity of input factors on model output and development of non-point source pollution models are identified as future projects.

Urban and Rural Flood Management:

Research is concentrated on assessment of current guidelines for rural flood estimation methods, and urban drainage (see also Asset Management link). Current and recent past research projects include:
   - Development of deterioration models for stormwater pipe systems
   - Decision support systems for management of urban stormwater drainage networks
   - Parameter estimation of urban drainage models
   - Decision support systems for flood forecasting and warning

Contact Person: Chris Perera
Phone: (03) 9919 4729
E-mail: chris.perera@vu.edu.au