Events

Topic: Enhancing the Ability of the Agricultural Landscape to Remove Nitrogen: Lessons Learnt

Presenters: Dr Mark Bailey – Director / Senior Scientist at AWC

Date:  Thursday 1 October 2020

Time:  1.00pm – 1:45pm

Description: The long-term protection of the Great Barrier Reef requires a co-ordinated and multi-faceted campaign across the atmosphere, ocean and land draining into the GBR. On land, the diffuse movement of sediment, nutrients and pesticides from both the urban and agricultural catchments have been reported to impact the resilience of the reef systems themselves.
While the quality of water draining from the GBR catchments has been extensively measured/modelled, the actual water quality ‘problem’ at the local scale is not well defined. As such, the solution to decreasing the sediment, nutrient and pesticide loads to the GBR in not well understood.

For the past 10 years AWC have been involved in the developed of many strategies for intercepting nitrates and sediments within the agricultural landscape – two priority pollutants for maintaining reef health. This has been a challenging but rewarding experience collaborating with landholders and other stakeholders to develop pragmatic and workable solutions in response to different landholder needs within the individual catchment/farm context.

This webinar will relate the technical and engagement methods employed, outcomes achieved and the mistakes made and how we hope these to assist in the future planning, design and implementation of water quality improvement projects across the agricultural sector. Addressing the challenges facing the GBR requires a significant scaling up of efforts to improve farm and catchment-based management of water quality with input from a broad range of industry bodies, government and non-government organisations, the scientific community and most importantly the farming community. This webinar is intended to assist and guide the many people required to contribute to this effort.

Registration:  This webinar is FREE of charge to all. Follow the link below to register:

Topic: Challenging the current Queensland regulatory framework for rainwater tanks

Presenter: Daniel Niven, Principal Water Engineer at Engeny Water Management

Date:  Thursday 15 October 2020

Time:  1.00pm – 1.45pm

More Details Coming Soon!

Stormwater Queensland will hold its 2020 Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Thursday 22 October 2020 from 12.30pm – 1.15pm via Zoom. Please register your participation via the link below. In accordance with the Rules of the Association, the relevant documents will be emailed to all members and published on the Association’s website here. Members unable to attend the meeting may exercise their right to vote via a Proxy. All members voting and issuing proxies must be financial members of Stormwater Queensland.

Stormwater Queensland is an Incorporated, not-for-profit Association established in 1996. Stormwater Queensland aims to be the leading association for the promotion and advancement of stormwater management.

As part of the AGM process, all financial members of Stormwater Queensland will be invited to nominate for either a position on the Executive Committee or as an Ordinary Committee member for the 2020-2021 year. Stormwater Queensland is seeking committee members who are eager and enthusiastic to advance the stormwater industry and who want to play an active role in setting the direction of the Association and its activities. Participation on the committee is also of personal benefit, providing professional development and networking opportunities. A Nomination Form can be found here.

If you have queries regarding the AGM, participation on the Management Committee, or the nomination process, please feel welcome to contact SQ via admin@stormwaterqueensland.asn.au

Topic: Let’s stop putting stormwater detention in stupid places

Presenters: Dr Rodney Ronalds – Friends Civil Engineering

Date:  Thursday 29 October 2020

Time:  1pm – 1:45pm

Description: Stormwater detention is commonly mandated by local Council’s for all new development sites, regardless of their location in the regional catchment. It is also common for engineers to specify stormwater detention using an isolated assessment of peak runoff at the lawful point of discharge of a site only, without considering the surrounding catchments and watercourses.

The first part of this webinar will cover recent research that conclusively shows that detention in the lower parts of regional catchments (where all of our cities are) can cause increased regional runoff and flood probability. Equations will be presented that can be used to calculate the increase/decrease in regional peak runoff that results from urbanisation with/without OSD at varying locations in the regional catchment. The equations are simple and easy to use, with basic inputs requiring a few measurements of catchment areas and stream lengths.

The second part of this presentation will look at some significant rainfall events that occurred early in this year and exceeded the infamous 1% AEP. The actual recorded rainfall patterns over the regional catchments have been modelled to test the equations response to real rainfall.

The third part of this presentation will respond to some of the feedback that the original study has received from industry experts. One of the main topics from reviewers has been the spatial variance of rainfall (what happens if it only rains in part of the regional catchment or the rainfall is not equal over the catchment). A method for randomly distributing rainfall over the catchment as part of a monte-carlo simulation technique in a hydrologic model will be described to address these reviewers’ concerns.

Lastly, a discussion from the audience will be encouraged. Stories involving projects with stormwater detention at inappropriate locations, and any strategies for driving policy change will be greatly welcomed.

Registration:  This webinar is FREE of charge to all.

Hosted by Stormwater Queensland & IECA

Topic: Erosion and Sediment Control in Queensland – Changes Design Engineers need to be made aware of.

Presenters: Kyle Robson –Managing Director at Topo

Date:  Thursday, November 26, 2020

Time:  1pm – 1:45pm

Description: In 2017, the Queensland government updated the State Planning Policy (SPP). The SPP included some significant changes in how Erosion and Sediment Controls are to be designed and managed. Based on a review of Erosion and Sediment Control plans being submitted with Operational Works drawings, it is clear many design Engineers are not complying with the new requirements. This leads to confusion for contractors during tendering and risk of incorrect budgeting or expectations for all involved in the project.

This webinar will provide a simplistic overview of what the changes are, what this looks like and where individuals or companies can find resources to help them transition designs to comply with legislative requirements. The session is focused at Engineers, individuals and companies preparing designs for the urban development sector and will also include a Q&A session where attendees can ask any questions they have on the changes or design process.

This is a joint webinar by Stormwater Queensland and the International Erosion Control Association.

This event may attract CPD points. Please contact your relevant professional Institute or industry organisation to confirm.

Registration:  This webinar is FREE of charge to all.

EVENT CHANGE –

With the easing COVID19 restrictions, SQ is proud to announce a change to the proposed Excellence Awards Webinar to a face-to-face event in February.  Come along to celebrate some of the great stormwater projects of the year, catch up with some old industry friends over a couple of drinks and meet a few new ones!

In Queensland, we have a history of excellence across every aspect of stormwater management. From outstanding examples of master planning to integrated stormwater design, the awards provide an outstanding opportunity to showcase the quality of our work and the beneficial impact it has on keeping our vital waterways healthy.

The 2020 entry categories include:

• Excellence in Strategic or Master Planning (Sponsored by Ocean Protect)
• Excellence in Infrastructure
• Excellence in Asset Management
• Excellence in Research and Innovation
• Excellence in Policy or Education
• Excellence in Integrated Stormwater Design

Topic: The private experience of managing stormwater quality

Presenter: Ruby Ardren, Project Leader – Water Management @Northern Beaches Council

Date:  Thursday 11 March 2021

Time:  1pm – 1:45pm

Description:

Water Cycle Management Officer, Ruby Ardren, will introduce you to the results of her recent exploratory study completed for a Masters of Research, which identified that stormwater quality improvement devices on private property were not being maintained or even retained.

Ruby will provide a brief (approximately 20-minutes) presentation, followed by Q&A with attendees. Attendance will contribute to the CPD of attendees.

Registration:  This webinar is FREE of charge to all.

Hosted by Stormwater QLD & Stormwater NSW and sponsored by 

This webinar will be presented by Aditya Singh, a Senior Water Resources Engineer at KCB. Last year, Aditya was part of a project within the Research Development and Innovation (RDI) scheme managed by the Queensland Water Modelling Network (QWMN). As part of the project, he has looked at using a distributed catchment model to improve representation of catchment scale processes and linkages to finer scale hydrodynamic models. The project also saw the use of PEST for parameter estimation and a hybridisation approach involving some machine learning methods to predict water quality.

The webinar will include a short (approximately 20-minute) presentation by Aditya, followed by Q&A.

Registration:  This webinar is FREE of charge to all.

Hosted by Stormwater Queensland and Stormwater New South Wales

Topic: WSUD asset management requirements for new development – legislation, development and compliance

Presenters:

Dr Andrew Thomas – Vice President – Stormwater NSW

Daniel Rider –WSUD Compliance Officer at Blacktown City Council

Date:  Wednesday 9 June, 2021

Time:  1pm – 1:45pm

Description: In 2012, Blacktown City Council established a Water Sensitive Urban Design Compliance Program. A first of its kind in Australia, the Program aims to increase compliance with legal requirements for the management of privately-owned water sensitive urban design assets in the Council area. This webinar will provide an overview of the Program as well as a project that seeks to improve its capacity to increase compliance with legal requirements. It may offer important insights for local authorities in New South Wales and Queensland seeking to establish their own compliance programs and initiatives.

This is a free webinar provided in collaboration between Stormwater Queensland and Stormwater NSW. Attendance will contribute to the CPD of attendees.

Registration:  This webinar is FREE of charge to all.

Trees growing to maturity in streets and civic spaces are commonly the primary objective of urban forest strategies, with stormwater management also a requirement. These trees provide a range of high value ecosystem services, including cooling, shading and enhanced aesthetics.

Understanding the tree requirements for healthy growth is essential – particularly regarding availability of soil-based resources of water, nutrients, oxygen and suitable soil root development conditions.

In this webinar, Geoff Connellan provides an overview of approaches to passive irrigation to contribute to tree canopy targets in streets and civic spaces, and learnings from passive irrigation installations.

Topics covered include tree water demand estimation, tree water use results, system design considerations (e.g., catchment properties, inlet design, site storage, soil volume sizing and water distribution), the limitations of passive irrigation, opportunities for active irrigation and the circumstances that support structured soil systems. Reporting of stormwater system tree performance is reviewed.

This free webinar will include a short (20-minute) presentation by Geoff, followed by Q&A from attendees.