Graham Andrew Jenkins

A Model for Urban Stormwater Improvement Conceptualisation

Catchment urbanisation leads to increased hydraulic and pollutant loadings into receiving waterbodies. Issues concerning pollution that endangers the sustainable utilisation of water resources have focused government authorities towards integrated catchment management, where both causes and effects of pollution are addressed. Recent research has provided a platform for improving urban stormwater management. The CRC for Catchment Hydrology (CRCCH) has recently developed a Model for Urban Stormwater Improvement Conceptualisation (MUSIC), which serves as a decision support system (DSS) that packages the results of many research activities undertaken at the CRCCH and other organisations into an easily used tool. MUSIC enables urban catchment managers to (a) determine the likely water quality emanating from specific catchments, (b) predict the performance of specific stormwater treatment measures in protecting receiving water quality, (c) design an integrated stormwater management plan for each catchment, and (d) evaluate the success of specific treatment measures, or the entire catchment plan, against a range of water quality standards. This paper describes the operation of the model, the principal algorithms, and research activities undertaken in the CRC directed at further enhancing the system.

Secular Variation in Rainfall Intensity and Temperature in Eastern Australia

AbstractIt is generally assumed that rainfall intensity will increase with temperature increase, irrespective of the underlying changes to the average rainfall. This study documents and investigates long-term trends in rainfall intensities, annual rainfall, and mean maximum and minimum temperatures using the Mann–Kendall trend test for nine sites in eastern Australia. Relationships between rainfall intensities at various durations and 1) annual rainfall and 2) the mean maximum and minimum temperatures were investigated. The results showed that the mean minimum temperature has increased significantly at eight out of the nine sites in eastern Australia. Changes in annual rainfall are likely to be associated with changes in rainfall intensity at the long duration of 48 h. Overall, changes in rainfall intensity at short durations (<1 h) positively correlate with changes in the mean maximum temperature, but there is no significant correlation with the mean minimum temperature and annual rainfall. Additionally,...