Following on from our role in assisting Stockland to carry out environmental assessments and obtain federal approval for the project, BMT has been responsible for the planning and design of the stormwater quality and flood risk management strategy for the Aura site as well as on-going surface and groundwater monitoring.
Background
Client: Stockland
Aura is a master-planned mixed use community of over 20,000 homes on the Sunshine Coast of Queensland extending over an area of approximately 2,400 hectares. Located upstream of internationally protected Pumicestone Passage, a holistic approach to water management is an essential element of the master-planned community to ensure that these environments are not negatively impacted.
Following on from our role in assisting Stockland to carry out environmental assessments and obtain federal approval for the project, BMT has been responsible for the planning and design of the stormwater quality and flood risk management strategy for the Aura site.
Outcomes and Benefits
The stormwater quality strategy has been designed and assessed using a combination of catchment and receiving water quality modelling tools, supported by ecological analyses and an extensive surface and ground water quality monitoring program (designed and implemented by BMT) to ensure compliance with relevant water quality objectives. Our flood risk management strategy describes what areas of the site are susceptible to flooding and what strategies can be implemented to manage the flood risk of the proposed development, with BMT’s TUFLOW modelling software applied to augment the strategy.
Taken together, these elements form a ‘beyond best practice’ approach to water management for the site.
Services and Expertise Provided:
The Surface Water Management Plans (SWMPs) outline an assessment of surface water flood risk, recognising the flood mechanisms and economic impact to residential and commercial properties across the catchments of Clacton on Sea and Sawbridgeworth.
In partnership with the University of Sydney and the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), BMT is helping to prepare new national guidelines regarding climate resilient materials. The new guidelines, known as Practice Note 12.2: Climate resilient materials for infrastructure assets (PN 12.2) will be released by the Institute of Public Works Engineering Australasia (IPWEA) to supplement the existing Practice Note 12.1: Climate Change Impacts on the Useful Life of Infrastructure (PN 12.1), previously prepared by Northern Beaches Council and IPWEA.
Surface water flood modelling study to determine baseline flood risk through a rural village which is located downstream of a proposed Power Company development site. The project determined the existing flood risk to inform the planning and DCO submission from the power company for a new windfarm substation connection for offshore turbines to the National Grid.
Local governments in South East Queensland that contain over a certain population are required by the recently revised Environmental Protection (Water) Policy 2009 to develop and start implementing a Total Water Cycle Management (TWCM) plan before 1 July 2012.