eWater Road Show 21 Feb – Part 3 of 5

Dr Peter Wallbrink Source Project Director, eWater

Building the new integrated modelling system for Australia

Integrated modelling system (IMS) for rural and urban water management

Catchment & Rivers Urban

Irrigation Ecology

Why a new modelling suite?

• Current models struggling to handle 21C policy and management complexity

• Recognition by COAG partners that their models are reaching their ‘use-by’ date (IQQM, REALM, BigMOD).

• Need for nationally consistent modelling base, integrating

– engineering, environment and management– city water supplies in a catchment context– planning & operational requirements – scalable and customisable

Overall Vision for Source IMS

To provide a ‘Catchment to Sea’ modelling capability– Runoff and constituent generation in upland areas– Transport through a regulated system– Representation of urban and rural areas, including newer urban

infrastructure options– Link to ecological function (environmental watering demands,

response models)

To be sufficiently flexible in capability and usage to last

~20 years

Combining the various strands of eWater product

development to enable whole of system analysis

What Source will provide• A national catchment and river system modelling

platform– Flexible, fit for purpose across jurisdictions– Applicable from sub-catchment to basin scales– Spatially explicit representation of processes– Relevant for next 20 years – extensible

• Consistency of modelling approach– Surface water modelling guidelines, community of practice

• Considering– Consumptive and environmental water use– Groundwater use & interaction with surface water– Associated contaminant impacts

Benefits of a common modelling approach

• National adoption of common approaches, standards, guidelines, methods etc. - Removal of ‘rail gauge’ issue

• Common platform for repeatable and transparent multi-stakeholder conversations to explore alternatives for wise/efficient water allocation and use

• Common platform for integrating best science (from anywhere) into management

• Creation of ‘community of practice’ • Common skill base amongst jurisdictions/agencies

Specific Value to partners and Australian water industry• Better forecasting & evaluation of scenarios

• Operational efficiency – better implementation of complex policy

• Integration of surface/groundwater, climate and environmental outcomes

• Capability to optimise for human and environmental use

• Uniformity cross jurisdictions and regions

• Proven track record across Eastern Australia - support for real-world problems

• Support - training, user manuals, user guides

For River Managers & River Operators

Example:

Planning• Long term planning and policy

development and support– From years to decades

• Supply, demand and use in rural regulated systems

• (capability required to underpin water sharing plans)

Operations• Operational decision support

for regulated rivers– from days to seasonal

• Built on same river model

• Dynamically switch models and data sources

Source Rivers structural overview

Sample of required functionality – generic and specific

• Flow Routing

• Water Quality (specifically salinity)

• Complex River Networks - *

• Water Use - *

• Water Storage

• Surface water – Groundwater interactions

• River Regulation

• Water Accounting - *

Water accounting

• Annual accounting (+ carry over)

• Continuous accounting

• Continuous sharing

• Off allocation flow sharing

• Allocation forecasting

Source for Rivers – full capability

Quality Assurance fundamental to Source

• Trial applications of Source products– Improvement on existing models– Consistency of application across jurisdictions– Test capability using real data in real situation– Chosen to address real world issue for partners

Source for Rivers – Application TrialsNamoiGoulburn Broken

Murray Macintyre-Brook

Source for Catchments – Application Trials

•Extensive testing of existing and new functionality across Australia via Application Projects over past 4 years

Best Practice triangle

Model Development

Model Application(s) Model

User(s)

• User requirements - captured• Specifications - reviewed and

endorsed• Industry standard testing - of software • Use cases • Application trials• Developer workshops

• Guidelines for model use• Tips and help functions• Documentation:• Application workshops• Community of Practice

• Training courses• On line and face to

face• Accreditation..

NEXT – Suburban water management

Dr Matt Hardy, BMT WBM