Engineers Media

MAGAZINES WATER ENGINEERING AUSTRALIA - back


The magazine, titled *Water Engineering Australia, covers all issues related to water including supply, use, management, treatment, recycling, and drainage. It is published 10 times a year, February - November 2008. Water Engineering Australia* reports impartially the latest news on water. Any opinions expressed in the magazine do not necessarily reflect the views of the Institution or its affiliated groups unless specifically stated. The magazine has a circulation of about 7000. Interested members of Engineers Australia receive the magazine free of charge. The editor of Water Engineering Australia is Danny Cameron, an environmental engineer from the University of Newcastle. Submissions of articles as well as comments are welcome. Supported by Engineers Australia's National Committee on Water Engineering.

	November 2008 Included in this issue: Cover story Contained services for conurbation Nestled between two national parks in Queensland lies the conurbation of Agnes Water and Seventeen Seventy where Captain James Cook first came ashore along the northern coastline. This article details the need for integrated water services through the area and the works to be involved in the water and wastewater augmentation project. Drainage to fight salinity Finding released from the most recent study into the use of drainage to counter salinity in the Blackwood River region in Western Australia have provided good news for farmers, but have dispelled notions that massive drainage will be the silver bullet for ending salinity problems. Advanced comunications help monitoring This month’s feature examines technological improvements in monitoring and maintenance. Monitoring remotely in real-time allows one company to remotely operate several plants in the one location, as the lead article describes. Other articles include an intensified monitoring regime in far north Queensland that has placed the public on a boil water alert, and an ocean wireless network for environmental monitoring.

	October 2008 Included in this issue: Cover story Valley of potential With an outlook for continued strong population growth in southeast Queensland, options for future water supply include tapping into the high-yield potential that exists with building a dam in the Mary Valley. Preliminary design and environmental assessment processes for this option continue. Water Engineering Australia takes an engineering snapshot of the project to date. Letting the storm seep in A demonstration site in suburban Melbourne has been used to test and measure the performance of pervious pavement in the typically impervious environment of a car park. No obstacle insurmountable In the state of California in the US, a 6.4km tunnel through a mountain is the last major piece of a 70km water line that will help secure reliability for the drought affected southern region.

	September 2008 Included in this issue: Cover story Treatment in a remote community A shire council in rural NSW has developed a scheme for the tertiary treatment of sewage for a remote community that was previously serviced by septic systems. By combining low pressure sewage grinder systems with an intermittent decant extended aeration sewage treatment plant, the system is monitored remotely and operates with minimal operator attendance. Symbiotic development In a major rehabilitation project of an old mine site in southeast Queensland, water management has been at the heart of the project. Earlier this year the $40 million project was completed, developing a business park with anet environmental benefit due to an associated ecologiclly re-profiled green space. Easements for private infrasturcture Access to land is an important issue for any project that includes the development of private infrastructure through large tracts of privately owned property.

	August 2008 Included in this issue: Cover story Banking on recharge After five years in development, the $10.4 million Wateer Reuse in the Alice project was full commissioned by Northern Territory's Power and Water Corporation in May. The project features an upgraded water reclamation plant and a 6.2km pipeline to a series of infiltration basins for managed aquifer recharge. The pilot project will be thoroughly monitored to provide essential information for the development of national guidelines for water recycling. Closed-loop development In a region where water is in critically short supply, a property development is addressing the issue with a gamut of initiatives to ensure the project is sustainable. Advancing the use of UV One of the world's most advanced hydro-optic disinfection (HOD) water treatment technologies is being used by Australian food manufacturer SPC Ardmona to curtail chlorine dioxide use at its biggest processing plant.

	July 2008 Included in this issue: Cover story Military engineers avert disaster The cover photo, released by China's Xinhua News Agency, shows the drainage of the Tangjiashan quake lake, in southwest China's Sichuan Province on Tuesday 10 June. A lake was formed by massive landslides from the 12 May earthquake blocking the Tongkou River Flow. The level of the lake swelled through the month of May as soldiers rushed to construct a diversion channel to drain the rising waters. Guiding plant design with pilot studies A desalination plant under construction in Barcelona is to become Europe's largest reverse osmosis (RO) seawater plant supplying potable water sourced from the Mediterranean Sea. Pilot trials during the pre-tender and design phases of works have been used to optimise and adapt the main processes of the plant as construction proceeds. A model for augmentation A sewerage system in Melbourne that has been receiving heavy loads of highly saline groundwater via pipeline intrusion has been modelled to test a range a rehabilitation and system augmentation scenarios to reduce the salt levels in the system.

	June 2008 Included in this issue: Cover story Threading pipelines under a river Overview: The southeast Queensland Water Grid has moved a step closer to completion following the major crossing of water channels along the pipeline route. Contractors used horizontal directional drilling technology to bore under the river bed and thread the pipeline through, minimising surface disruption in an ecologically sensitive area. Coupling ocean power with desalination Australia has the potential to derive a significant proportion of energy from the massive amounts of wave power along the island's coastal shores. With a growing seawater desalination industry on these same shorelines, there is a simple elegance in the idea of using the energy derived from the ocean to power the production of potable water through desalination. A number of companies are developing wave farm solutions which may, one day soon, marry these two technologies. Superm odelling for sustainable yields How does the Murray-Darling's complex water system works, how do we measure its capacity and supply under increasing demands, and how do we understand the implications for local communities – in just a year? CSIRO's Murray-Darling Basin Sustainable Yields Project, probably the most ambitious resource inventory attempted anywhere in the world, has met that challenge. Graeme O'Neill reported on a historic and timely research undertaking.

	May 2008 Included in this issue: Cover story Desalination discharge: The case against dissolved oxygen depletion Overview: Prior to the construction of Australia's frst major desalination plant in Perth there was public concern for the effects of the discharge of desalination concentrate, specifically the extension of stratification events and resultant dissolved oxygen depletion. After more than $1 million of studies monitoring the dissolved oxygen levels in Cockburn Sound, the Water corporation has released a report stating that dissolved oxygen trigger levels for management intervention are not required. A paleoclimatic perspective of drought As some water accounting schemes use an estimate of the "worst drought in 100 years" for resource assessment based solely on a single 100-year instrumental record, waste resource managers should begin to question the suitability of current drought management practices. Raising the wall As water supply and flood mitigation strategies have become crucial for southeast Queensland's growing population, a project to raise the Hinze Dam wall is under way as part of a multi-billion dollar water plan instigated by local councils and the state government.

	April 2008 Included in this issue: Cover story Project Contamination Cleanup Overview: One of Australia's largest pump and treat projects continues at Botany Bay Industrial Park in Sydney. After decades of industrial contamination to the underlying aquifer, Orica has built a $110 million extraction well network and treatment plant, to treat an average of 5ML/d of groundwater. The plant is designed to operate for 30 years and refinements to the process continue, one such example being a lower operating temperature for the thermal oxidiser which was revised late last year. Improving consumption on the production line B&R Enclosures, has had a close look at its environmental impact, a process that has already produced results in improvig the company's environmental performance with a dramatic reduction in the water usage in its Bribane factory. Pumps This feature includes articles on an upgrade project in South Australia, an innovative pump station monitoring system in Victoria and country fire fighters seeking floating water pumps to access low water from the Murray.

	March 2008 Included in this issue: Cover story Sourcing urban alternatives Overview: With a plan to provide dul reticulation systems to all new residential developments in the Port Macquarie-Hasting area, the local council has led by example and introduced recycled water within existing urban areas to aid the education and promotion of recycled water schemes. It is a project that was widely recognised for its excellence with a number of award late last year. Improving consumption on the production line B&R Enclosures, has had a close look at its environmental impact, a process that has already produced results in improvig the company's environmental performance with a dramatic reduction in the water usage in its Bribane factory. Pumps This feature includes articles on an upgrade project in South Australia, an innovative pump station monitoring system in Victoria and country fire fighters seeking floating water pumps to access low water from the Murray.

	December 2007 Included in this issue: Cover story Hunter Region's dam solution to a zero risk challenge Overview; In planning to secure water supply for the Hunter Region in NSW for the next 60 years, Hunter Water is progressing on plans for Tillegra Dam, a proposed 450GL capacity dam on the Williams River. The cover story examines some of the planning behind the proposal. Improving lives with appropriate technology Using an offshore design team approach, an Australian team of volunteers is helping a small village in Bali solve its water supply issues. Sewer Mining The opportunity to tap into sewer mains has emerged as a way to retrofit existing communities with recycled water capabilities in areas where previously it was not readily available. This feature examines some of these emerging projects in Sydney and in Melbourne.

	November 2007 Included in this issue: Cover story Integrated Urban Design Overview; A greenfield development on the Gold Coast, Queensland, is providing the opportunity to introduce the gamut of urban water strategies to the new community. With dual-reticulation infrastructure currently under construction, water sensitive urban design principles adopted, rainwater tanks installed and a comprehensive community engagement plan in place, it has been estimated that potable water demand in the new estate can be reduced by up to 84%. Desalination For Small Communities At the tiny beachside community of Marion Bay in South Australia, a small desalination unit was installed and commissioned to supply the remote community with a reliable source of water. Water Conservation Principles On Commercial Premises One of Australia's largest property groups, Stockland, has implemented a water conservation plan into of its existing major shopping centres in south western Sydney and achieved savings of 20% of total water consumption.

	October 2007 Included in this issue: Cover story First Milestone For Major Reuse Scheme Overview; Engineering detail on one of the largest advanced water recycling projects in the world, the Western Corridor Recycled Water project, emerges as the first water flows through Stage 1A of the southeast Queensland project. Establishing a Water Futures Market The Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) has conceptualised the establishment of a water futures market that will strengthen and help secure the rural economy, and is seeking support from potential market users and government agencies to assist in the establishment and operation of the market during its formative period. Replenishing Groundwater in the US An indirect potable reuse program in the US is further developing the work previously achieved by the industry-leading recycled water facility, Water Factory 21. Harvesting Urban Stormwater To reduce local flooding and pursue ecologically sustainable principles a local council in Sydney has placed a stormwater harvesting concept into a major urban development.