EWater

Last updated • 3 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

eWater is a non-profit organisation established by Australian Federal and State Governments. The role of eWater is to support integrated water resources management in Australia through development and implementation of the national hydrological modelling strategy (NHMS). [1]

Contents

eWater develops and supports a number of software tools for hydrological modelling. Some tools include Source, MUSIC, Rainfall Runoff Library, Stochastic Climate Library and SedNet.

History

In 1992 the CRC for Catchment Hydrology (CRCCH) was formed to produce a decision support system able to predict movement of water, particulates and solutes from land to rivers followed in 1993 by the CRC for Freshwater Ecology (CRCFH).

Model for Urban Stormwater Improvement Conceptualisation (MUSIC) was launched in 2002 Development of The Invisible Modelling Environment (TIME) enabling development and integration of models, which is used by many tools made by eWater

In 2004 the Catchment modelling Toolkit was released [2] [3]

eWater Ltd was established in 2005 and CRCFE and CRCCH were merged and relaunched as eWater CRC

eWater CRC ends and eWater Ltd continues as a non-profit organisation

Minister for the Environment Senator Penny Wong announces eWater Source as the new COAG endorsed National Hydrological Platform and in 2014 the Source Public modelling tool is launched as a free software package

eWater Source™

eWater Source, an integrated water resource management modelling tool developed by eWater Ltd is used to create hydrological models used for integrated planning, management and operations for catchment and river systems, including demands for water from urban areas, agriculture and the environment

The package has been used to build river and catchment models in every state of Australia as well as many other countries including India, [4] Pakistan, China and the Mekong [5] River system

The MDBA has implemented a Source management model of the Murray and Lower Darling River System. [6]

The Queensland Government is now working with Source in five river basins: the Pioneer, Fitzroy, Condamine-Balonne, Cape, and Flinders and Gilbert. Over 30 earlier catchment Source models were implemented under the Great Barrier Reef Action Plan [7]

New South Wales is implementing the Namoi River System [8] and Murrimbidgee river system using Source.

Victoria is implementing the Loddon, Campaspe, Broken and Coliban components of a broader northern Victoria Source model centred on the Goulburn River system.

TIME (The Invisible Modelling Environment)

The Invisible Modelling Environment (TIME) is a software development framework for creating, testing and delivering environmental simulation models. TIME includes support for the representation, management and visualisation of a variety of data types, as well as support for testing, integrating and calibrating simulation models.

TIME provides a framework for spatial and temporal data analysis. TIME has been developed under the sponsorship of eWater CRC and its predecessor CRC for Catchment Hydrology. As well as providing a modelling framework, TIME supports model users with a range of data analysis and management, model processing and visualisation tools.

TIME is a core component of a large range of formal software products, as well as numerous research programs. Currently the TIME code base is incorporated into approximately 23 eWater supported applications.

The eWater Source products are a major focus of this product range and are extensively used by government and private enterprise in addressing water quantity and quality policy questions. [9] Time is also integrated into a range of CSIRO specific products and projects such as the “Hydrologists Workbench” and the Australian Water Resources Assessment (AWRA) system, a continental water balance monitoring system that is being developed jointly by CSIRO and the Bureau of Meteorology.

eWater Toolkit

The eWater Toolkit is a source of software tools and information related to the modelling and management of water resources, including water quality tools. It provides a web-based distribution point for hydrological, ecological and catchment management models, databases and other resources.

MUSIC

MUSIC predicts the performance of stormwater quality management systems as an aid to decision-making. It is intended to help organisations plan and design (at a conceptual level) appropriate urban stormwater management systems for their catchments that meet Water Sensitive Urban Design Standards

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hydrology</span> Science of the movement, distribution, and quality of water on Earth and other planets

Hydrology is the scientific study of the movement, distribution, and management of water on Earth and other planets, including the water cycle, water resources, and drainage basin sustainability. A practitioner of hydrology is called a hydrologist. Hydrologists are scientists studying earth or environmental science, civil or environmental engineering, and physical geography. Using various analytical methods and scientific techniques, they collect and analyze data to help solve water related problems such as environmental preservation, natural disasters, and water management.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stormwater</span> Water that originates during precipitation events and snow/ice melt

Stormwater, also written storm water, is water that originates from precipitation (storm), including heavy rain and meltwater from hail and snow. Stormwater can soak into the soil (infiltrate) and become groundwater, be stored on depressed land surface in ponds and puddles, evaporate back into the atmosphere, or contribute to surface runoff. Most runoff is conveyed directly as surface water to nearby streams, rivers or other large water bodies without treatment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eclipse (software)</span> Software development environment

Eclipse is an integrated development environment (IDE) used in computer programming. It contains a base workspace and an extensible plug-in system for customizing the environment. It is the second-most-popular IDE for Java development, and, until 2016, was the most popular. Eclipse is written mostly in Java and its primary use is for developing Java applications, but it may also be used to develop applications in other programming languages via plug-ins, including Ada, ABAP, C, C++, C#, Clojure, COBOL, D, Erlang, Fortran, Groovy, Haskell, JavaScript, Julia, Lasso, Lua, NATURAL, Perl, PHP, Prolog, Python, R, Ruby, Rust, Scala, and Scheme. It can also be used to develop documents with LaTeX and packages for the software Mathematica. Development environments include the Eclipse Java development tools (JDT) for Java and Scala, Eclipse CDT for C/C++, and Eclipse PDT for PHP, among others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salinity in Australia</span>

Soil salinity and dryland salinity are two problems degrading the environment of Australia. Salinity is a concern in most states, but especially in the south-west of Western Australia.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Storm Water Management Model (SWMM) is a dynamic rainfall–runoff–subsurface runoff simulation model used for single-event to long-term (continuous) simulation of the surface/subsurface hydrology quantity and quality from primarily urban/suburban areas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rain garden</span> Runoff reducing landscaping method

Rain gardens, also called bioretention facilities, are one of a variety of practices designed to increase rain runoff reabsorption by the soil. They can also be used to treat polluted stormwater runoff. Rain gardens are designed landscape sites that reduce the flow rate, total quantity, and pollutant load of runoff from impervious urban areas like roofs, driveways, walkways, parking lots, and compacted lawn areas. Rain gardens rely on plants and natural or engineered soil medium to retain stormwater and increase the lag time of infiltration, while remediating and filtering pollutants carried by urban runoff. Rain gardens provide a method to reuse and optimize any rain that falls, reducing or avoiding the need for additional irrigation. A benefit of planting rain gardens is the consequential decrease in ambient air and water temperature, a mitigation that is especially effective in urban areas containing an abundance of impervious surfaces that absorb heat in a phenomenon known as the heat-island effect.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Surface runoff</span> Flow of excess rainwater not infiltrating in the ground over its surface

Surface runoff is the unconfined flow of water over the ground surface, in contrast to channel runoff. It occurs when excess rainwater, stormwater, meltwater, or other sources, can no longer sufficiently rapidly infiltrate in the soil. This can occur when the soil is saturated by water to its full capacity, and the rain arrives more quickly than the soil can absorb it. Surface runoff often occurs because impervious areas do not allow water to soak into the ground. Furthermore, runoff can occur either through natural or human-made processes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hydrological transport model</span>

An hydrological transport model is a mathematical model used to simulate the flow of rivers, streams, groundwater movement or drainage front displacement, and calculate water quality parameters. These models generally came into use in the 1960s and 1970s when demand for numerical forecasting of water quality and drainage was driven by environmental legislation, and at a similar time widespread access to significant computer power became available. Much of the original model development took place in the United States and United Kingdom, but today these models are refined and used worldwide.

The Murray–Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) is the principal government agency in charge of managing the Murray–Darling Basin in an integrated and sustainable manner. The MDBA is an independent statutory agency that manages, in conjunction with the Basin states, the Murray–Darling basin's water resources in the national interest. The MDBA reports to the Australian Government Minister for the Environment and Water, held since June 2022 by the Hon Tanya Plibersek.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Runoff model (reservoir)</span> Type of water motion

A runoff models or rainfall-runoff model describes how rainfall is converted into runoff in a drainage basin. More precisely, it produces a surface runoff hydrograph in response to a rainfall event, represented by and input as a hyetograph. Rainfall-runoff models need to be calibrated before they can be used.

Kalypso is an open source modelling program. It focuses on numerical simulations in water management and ecology such as the generation of inundation and flood risk maps by hydrologic and hydrodynamic models and GIS functionality.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shahbaz Khan (hydrologist)</span> Australian climatologist and hydrologist

Shahbaz Khan is an Australian climatologist and hydrologist, who has worked extensively for UNESCO and also advised governments and universities on issues related to the climate and water management.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Integrated urban water management</span>

Integrated urban water management (IUWM) is the practice of managing freshwater, wastewater, and storm water as components of a basin-wide management plan. It builds on existing water supply and sanitation considerations within an urban settlement by incorporating urban water management within the scope of the entire river basin. IUWM is commonly seen as a strategy for achieving the goals of Water Sensitive Urban Design. IUWM seeks to change the impact of urban development on the natural water cycle, based on the premise that by managing the urban water cycle as a whole; a more efficient use of resources can be achieved providing not only economic benefits but also improved social and environmental outcomes. One approach is to establish an inner, urban, water cycle loop through the implementation of reuse strategies. Developing this urban water cycle loop requires an understanding both of the natural, pre-development, water balance and the post-development water balance. Accounting for flows in the pre- and post-development systems is an important step toward limiting urban impacts on the natural water cycle.

Water quality modeling involves water quality based data using mathematical simulation techniques. Water quality modeling helps people understand the eminence of water quality issues and models provide evidence for policy makers to make decisions in order to properly mitigate water. Water quality modeling also helps determine correlations to constituent sources and water quality along with identifying information gaps. Due to the increase in freshwater usage among people, water quality modeling is especially relevant both in a local level and global level. In order to understand and predict the changes over time in water scarcity, climate change, and the economic factor of water resources, water quality models would need sufficient data by including water bodies from both local and global levels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Water-sensitive urban design</span> Integrated approach to urban water cycle

Water-sensitive urban design (WSUD) is a land planning and engineering design approach which integrates the urban water cycle, including stormwater, groundwater, and wastewater management and water supply, into urban design to minimise environmental degradation and improve aesthetic and recreational appeal. WSUD is a term used in the Middle East and Australia and is similar to low-impact development (LID), a term used in the United States; and Sustainable Drainage System (SuDS), a term used in the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Low-impact development (U.S. and Canada)</span>

Low-impact development (LID) is a term used in Canada and the United States to describe a land planning and engineering design approach to manage stormwater runoff as part of green infrastructure. LID emphasizes conservation and use of on-site natural features to protect water quality. This approach implements engineered small-scale hydrologic controls to replicate the pre-development hydrologic regime of watersheds through infiltrating, filtering, storing, evaporating, and detaining runoff close to its source. Green infrastructure investments are one approach that often yields multiple benefits and builds city resilience.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Farm Forestry Toolbox</span>

The Farm Forestry Toolbox is a collection of computer programs, referred to as 'Tools', intended to be used by farm forest owners and managers to aid decision making. The Toolbox includes a set of simple 'Hand Tools'; conversion of measurements and map co-ordinates; measuring the volume of stacked logs, slope, basal area; and a survey tool. A second set of more complex tools or 'Power Tools'; can be used to estimate site productivity, volume and value of wood grown for individual trees, at the coupe or stand level and forest estate level.

Jocelyn Dela-Cruz is a Principal Environmental Scientist at the New South Wales Office of Environment and Heritage, Australia. She was educated at the University of Sydney and University of New South Wales (Ph.D.).

DHI is an international water software development and engineering consultancy firm with headquarters in Denmark. The not-for-profit organisation addresses all challenges in water environments through consultancy services, MIKE Powered by DHI water modelling software, business applications, data portals and operational services. DHI has 30 offices throughout the world, with software development centres in Singapore and Denmark, and approximately 1050 employees.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Watershed delineation</span> Science and engineering method

Watershed delineation is the process of identifying the boundary of a watershed, also referred to as a catchment, drainage basin, or river basin. It is an important step in many areas of environmental science, engineering, and management, for example to study flooding, aquatic habitat, or water pollution.

References

  1. Farrell, Don (29 May 2012). "$4 MILLION TO SUPPORT A NATIONAL HYDROLOGIC MODELLING PLATFORM" (PDF). Australian Government - Department of the Environment. Australian Government. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  2. "Catchment Modelling Toolkit". Archived from the original on 2014-07-25. Retrieved 2014-07-15.
  3. R.M. Argent; R.A. Vertessy; J.M. Rahman; S.M. Cuddy; G.M. Podger; D.R. Perry (17 July 2003). "Building a Modelling Toolkit for Prediction of Catchment Behaviour" (PDF). International Congress on Modelling and Simulation. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  4. "Australia and India partner to manage water for scarcity". Australian Government - Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Australian Government. 26 April 2013. Archived from the original on 12 February 2014. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  5. "Aid Program Performance Report 2012−13 Australian Mekong Water Resources Program" (PDF). Australian Government - Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Australian Government. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 February 2014. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  6. "Hydrological Modelling using eWater's Source". Australian Government - Murray Darling Basin Authority. Australian Government. Archived from the original on 3 June 2014. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  7. "Great Barrier Reef Report Card 2011" (PDF). Reef Water Quality Protection Plan. Australian Government, Queensland Government. 2011. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  8. "Environmental water delivery: Namoi River". Department of Environment. Commonwealth Environmental Water Office, Australian Government. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  9. Ross Searle; David Penton (15 December 2012). "Review of The Invisible Modelling Environment (TIME)". CSIRO Research Publications Repository. CSIRO. Retrieved 15 July 2014.