Urban Water Systems Engineering

The Urban Water Systems Engineering program has scientific capability to develop technologies and methodologies to improve:

• the modelling, management and performance of urban water systems
• the integration of “new” water sources into city systems
• asset monitoring and replacement strategies
• asset management modelling
• system planning including sustainability and triple-bottom-line evaluation of urban water systems.

The program comprises 30 research staff.

Skills and expertise

The program's skills and expertise include:

• Detailed understanding of deterioration processes, mitigation procedures  and lifetime modelling of pipeline materials including PVC, PE, DI, AC, CI, Cu.
• Sensor systems development and deployment for network performance, including experimental analysis and modelling for determination of water quantity and quality in water and sewer systems
• Alternative methods for providing water, wastewater and stormwater services for Brownfield, Greenfield and decentralised settings including  Commercial Asset Management software and Integrated Urban Catchment Modelling for Quality and Quantity
• Technologies for minimising losses from water networks including evaporation control and network leakage mitigation.

Assets

The programs's assets include excellent materials laboratories with National Association of Testing Authorities (NATA) accreditation for materials assessment and deterioration, a hydraulics laboratory and an advanced greywater laboratory with Physical Containment Level 2 (PC2) certification.  Also access to large-scale equipment for assessing the deformation of buried assets.

Key contact

Stewart Burn
Research program Leader