The potential role of desalination in managing flood risks from dam overflows: the case of Sydney, Australia

Turner, A; Sahin, O; Giurco, D; Stewart, R; Porter, M

The potential role of desalination in managing flood risks from dam overflows: the case of Sydney, Australia

Turner, A

Sahin, O Giurco, D

Stewart, R Porter, M

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Publisher:: ELSEVIER SCI LTD
Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Journal of Cleaner Production, 2016, 135, pp. 342-355
Issue Date:: 2016-11-01

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Turner, A https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0586-5615
dc.contributor.author	Sahin, O
dc.contributor.author	Giurco, D https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1707-9531
dc.contributor.author	Stewart, R
dc.contributor.author	Porter, M
dc.date.accessioned	2023-12-01T21:39:51Z
dc.date.available	2023-12-01T21:39:51Z
dc.date.issued	2016-11-01
dc.identifier.citation	Journal of Cleaner Production, 2016, 135, pp. 342-355
dc.identifier.issn	0959-6526
dc.identifier.issn	1879-1786
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/173641
dc.description.abstract	Shifting climate patterns are causing extreme drought and flooding across the globe. This combined with the world's burgeoning population and insatiable thirst for water requires water service providers to think differently about the limited resources they manage. In Australia, the severe drought at the beginning of the century caused dams to fall to record levels. In response, many state governments invested heavily in rain-independent supplies such as desalination to augment and diversify traditional sources. However, extreme rainfall soon followed the drought, filled reservoirs and caused flooding in many locations leaving billions of dollars worth of damage and new water infrastructure standing idle. This is the case in Sydney, where the new desalination plant is still not used and the potential for major flooding has raised concerns over the safety of the large population downstream of the dam. This paper explores the growing need to understand the relationship between drought, flooding and infrastructure optimisation. The paper focuses on Sydney to illustrate the application of a system dynamics model. The new model explores options for raising the dam wall, offering airspace to assist flood protection, in contrast to options to lower the dam full supply level and utilise idle desalination capacity to fill the water security gap created. The illustrative results, using publicly available data, find that by lowering the dam water levels and operating desalination, significant flood protection can be achieved at a similar cost to raising the dam wall. The paper demonstrates the importance of optimising existing and new water resources for multiple purposes and how system dynamics modelling can assist water service providers in these complex investigations.
dc.language	English
dc.publisher	ELSEVIER SCI LTD
dc.relation	National Centre of Excellence in Desalination
dc.relation.ispartof	Journal of Cleaner Production
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.05.128
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.subject	0907 Environmental Engineering, 0910 Manufacturing Engineering, 0915 Interdisciplinary Engineering
dc.subject.classification	Environmental Sciences
dc.subject.classification	33 Built environment and design
dc.subject.classification	40 Engineering
dc.title	The potential role of desalination in managing flood risks from dam overflows: the case of Sydney, Australia
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	135
utslib.for	0907 Environmental Engineering
utslib.for	0907 Environmental Engineering
utslib.for	0910 Manufacturing Engineering
utslib.for	0915 Interdisciplinary Engineering
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/DVC (Research)
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/DVC (Research)/Institute For Sustainable Futures
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Strength - ISF - Institute for Sustainable Futures
utslib.copyright.status	open_access	*
dc.date.updated	2023-12-01T21:39:49Z
pubs.publication-status	Published
pubs.volume	135

Abstract:

Shifting climate patterns are causing extreme drought and flooding across the globe. This combined with the world's burgeoning population and insatiable thirst for water requires water service providers to think differently about the limited resources they manage. In Australia, the severe drought at the beginning of the century caused dams to fall to record levels. In response, many state governments invested heavily in rain-independent supplies such as desalination to augment and diversify traditional sources. However, extreme rainfall soon followed the drought, filled reservoirs and caused flooding in many locations leaving billions of dollars worth of damage and new water infrastructure standing idle. This is the case in Sydney, where the new desalination plant is still not used and the potential for major flooding has raised concerns over the safety of the large population downstream of the dam. This paper explores the growing need to understand the relationship between drought, flooding and infrastructure optimisation. The paper focuses on Sydney to illustrate the application of a system dynamics model. The new model explores options for raising the dam wall, offering airspace to assist flood protection, in contrast to options to lower the dam full supply level and utilise idle desalination capacity to fill the water security gap created. The illustrative results, using publicly available data, find that by lowering the dam water levels and operating desalination, significant flood protection can be achieved at a similar cost to raising the dam wall. The paper demonstrates the importance of optimising existing and new water resources for multiple purposes and how system dynamics modelling can assist water service providers in these complex investigations.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/173641