Perth Laboratory – Public Seminar Series 2008

Estimating the ecologically sustainable yield of rivers in the south west of WA: A case study of Lefroy Brook

Rob Donohue and Mark Pearcey
Water Resource Planning and Assessment
Department of Water

Thursday 24 July 2008 at 3.30pm, CSIRO Auditorium

Abstract

Water resource planning is about weighing the economic benefits of consumptive water use against the environmental and social costs. The assessment of a sustainable yield of a water source is a critical part of the planning process. The ecologically sustainable yield (ESY) of river systems is based on the results of ecological water requirement (EWR) studies. Recent experience with using the results of EWR studies within the planning and allocation process found that the ESY could not be defined easily and usually only at time-steps that are not relevant to the planning scenario.

Recently, EWR studies on south west rivers have used a new approach to determining the EWRs and ESYs of rivers. The Proportional Abstraction of Daily Flow method (or PADFLOW) was developed specifically for rivers in the highly variable climate of the south west and designed to allow planners to better specify the ESY at time-steps appropriate to the particular planning scenario. To support PADFLOW, an ecological water balance model called the River Ecological Sustainable Yield Model (RESYM) was used to better specify the EWR flow regime and ESY. In this seminar the application of PADFLOW and its supporting software RESYM will be demonstrated. The implication of the results for water resource planning in the south west will also be discussed.

About the speakers

Mr Rob Donohue and Mr Mark Pearcey each have over 15 years experience working on the ecology and hydrology of rivers in the south west of WA. Recently they have been involved in water resource planning in the Collie River basin, of rivers in the Capes region and the Warren-Donnelly river basins.

For seminar information email Perth Seminars or phone (08) 9333 6221
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