Systems frameworks of big data for analysis of policy and strategy. Systems science processes that incorporate macroeconomic analysis of water reforms, and reveal trade-offs in water cycle projects.
Peter J Coombes and Michael Barry. Presentation at the CIWEM seminar at 6 pm on 18 July 2017 at 106-109 Saffron Hill, Farrington, London. EC1N 8QS
Urban Water Cycle Solutions partnered with Kingspan and Thirsty Country to create an alternative water plan for Greater Melbourne. We are pleased to provide an overview of phase 1 of the plan in this Article. We have identified over $16 billion in cumulative savings using systems analysis and historical evidence from Big Data.
The new economy of multiple scales of solutions are addressed by our ongoing peer reviewed research over the last 20 years and were presented at a WaterSensitiveSA workshop in December 2016.
A busy and interesting week hosting an international delegation and presenting an alternative water plan for Greater Melbourne. Some common themes for sustainability, urban water resources, sustainability and agriculture.
Why the Water Supply Needs a Splash of Competition. Article in the Australian Financial Review on 19 January 2017 by Professor P J Coombes with Michael Smit and Dr Katherine Daniell. Australia’s inefficient water monopoly structure is gouging consumers. It is protected by state legislation and bureaucrats with little appetite for change. What’s needed is a radical overhaul of the business philosophy underpinning water services, to allow improved technology and community-led alternatives to cut water costs.
15 December – 9:30 am, David Spence Room, Level 2, Adelaide Town Hall, 128 King William Street Adelaide. Water Sensitive SA, in association with Rainwater Harvesting Association of Australia, invite you to join a discussion with Professor Peter Coombes who will challenge our thinking about the potential of rainwater and stormwater harvesting to deliver whole of society and system benefits via distributed solutions. We will also explore the myths associated with rainwater harvesting and reuse, and introduce the new Rainwater Harvesting Design Specification. The Planning, Development and Infrastructure Act 2016 together with Living Adelaide the 30 Year Plan Review, offers the best opportunity in more than 20 years to enable stormwater to support a Living Adelaide. Practical tools currently being developed to support industry to maximise the benefits of stormwater harvesting at the allotment scale will be showcased.
Presentation at the HWRS2016 conference in Queenstown New Zealand at 12 noon on Thursday 1 December 2016. The use of global average water demands rather than spatial and temporal detail in analysis of regional water systems generates dramatic reductions in certainty about system behaviour. This leads to uncertainty in understanding of system performance. Use of global averages in simulation of regional water systems is unlikely to describe the spatial and temporal contribution of distributed solutions that generate water resources or reductions in water demands within a metropolis.
A modern perspective on the hydrology processes of urban catchments in regional Victoria. Peter J Coombes, Mark Colegate, Luke Barber and Mark Babister. Presentation at HWRS2016 Conference at Queenstown New Zealand at 10:30 am on Thursday 1 December 2016. There is often considerable disagreement about the critical hydrology parameters and responses of ungauged urban catchments.
New methods from latest version of Australian Rainfall and Runoff (ARR2016) were used to analyse emerging urban catchments. This included Regional Flood Frequency Estimation, rainfall runoff observations from nearby gauged catchments and ensembles of full volume rain events.
Peter J Coombes, Michael Smit, Josh Byrne and Christopher J Walsh. Presentation at the HWRS2016 conference in Queenstown New Zealand at 10 am on Tuesday 29 November 2016. Households with rainwater harvesting and water efficient appliances made a profound contribution to Australian society by ensuring that cities did not run out of water during the millennium drought. In spite of this, the value of sustainable households is contested as the memory of drought fades. This investigation used audited metadata from national agencies and water utilities, peer reviewed research, case studies and a systems analysis of Australian capital cities to define the benefits of sustainable buildings. The key findings of this study confirm that source control measures including rainwater harvesting, water efficient appliances and vegetable gardens at households makes a substantial contribution to the viability of water resources and ecosystems in Australian capital cities.
Our research and data presented at the Stormwater2016 conference presents the evidence of the substantial contribution of sustainable buildings in Australia during the recent drought. In spite of this, the value of sustainable households is contested as the memory of drought fades.