Queensland Water Modelling Network programs and projects

*NEW* Outcome of the 2023 QWMN Research, Development and Innovation Tender

The QWMN is pleased to announce the following projects have been funded under the 2023 QWMN RDI Tender:

Githabul First Nations Water Modelling Project

Project delivered on Githabul Country

The outcomes from this project will build upon work undertaken in the First Nations funded projects from the QWMN RDI funding 2022 with the aim of improving QLD’s ability to practically and purposefully integrate First Nations’ cultural knowledge and values, as well as land and water management skill, into scientific water modelling and management practices.

Delivery Partners - NGH Pty Ltd, BMT Commercial Australia, Border Rangers Contractors.

Incorporating First Nations Knowledge in Water Modelling: A Case Study on the Application of Outcomes

Project delivered on Mandandanji Country

This project will apply outcomes from ‘Incorporating First Nations Land Management into Technical Approaches to Water Modelling’ project (funded by QWMN in 2022) project to create a methodology of collaborative project work between First Nations knowledge holders and technical specialists for an applied landscape restoration project focused on Munga Lake and its catchment (Condamine and Balonne).

Delivery Partners: Relative Creative, Aboriginal Rangers - Queensland Murray Darling Catchment Ltd, Aunty Kay Blades, Traditional Owner, St George, Water Technology.

Water modelling in an uncertain but data rich world – ensuring water modelling outputs are used by decision makers to improve climate resilience

Country to be confirmed once pilots selected

The complexity of decision making under future climate uncertainty continues to increase. Sophisticated water resource models that incorporate aspects of climate change exist, however the gap between climate science and decision making continues to increase as more modelling is conducted and more data is produced. Decision makers are often overwhelmed by the number of different approaches used, the inconsistency of model outputs and the lack of practically useful guidance for how to deal with inherent uncertainties. This project will identify the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches for incorporating climate variability and change into water resource models and determine if/how water security decisions would differ when different approaches are used. This will assist decision makers to make the most informed water security decisions possible, irrespective of which plausible future eventuates.

Delivery Partners: Alluvium Consulting, Centre for Water, Climate and Land, University of Newcastle, University of Tasmania.

Riparian Bayesian Network and Visualization Tool

Project delivered on Jagera and Turrbal Country

This project seeks to revolutionise the way we prioritise, invest in and manage riparian zones, to ensure investments are evidence-based and provide maximum benefit for environment and people. The project will build a Bayesian Network model (BN) with a climate module and create an accompanying Interactive Visualisation Interface (Visualisation Tool).

Delivery Partners: Healthy Land and Water, Griffith University, Mirror Analytics, Queensland University of Technology.

Multi-model assessment of drinking water security under climate change

Project primarily carried out on Turrabal Country delivered on Jinibara and Jagera Country with workshops on Djabugay and Torres Strait Islander Country

This project will develop an innovative sequence of water models (including climate, hydrological, water quality, and decision support models) to assess climate change impacts on drinking water security. The model outputs will inform Seqwater in optimizing climate adaptation plans and also be communicated to regional stakeholders in North Queensland..

Delivery Partners: Griffith University, Cairns City Council, Healthy Land and Water, Seqwater, Torres Strait Island Council.

A modelling framework for nutrient offsets

Project delivered on Jagera and Turrbal Country

Nutrient offsetting has grown in popularity as a mechanism to offset nutrient loads from point-sources. However, estimating the effectiveness of offsetting has been limited by information on delivery ratios. This project aims to develop a model of delivery ratios based on incorporation of research outputs to augment existing models.

Delivery Partners: Griffith University, Alluvium Consulting, Department of Environment, Science and Innovation, Healthy Land and Water, Sydney Water, The University of Queensland, Urban Utilities.

Floodplain deposition modelling review and opportunities

Project acknowledges all 17 of the First Nations Traditional Owner lands that are connected by Tunuba, the Fitzroy River basin

This project builds on QWMN initiatives which assessed issues associated with sediment modelling in GBR catchments (i.e. Prosser (2018) (PDF, 2.1MB) and Alluvium (2022) (PDF, 19.5MB) ). The project will provide a framework to support water modellers make better decisions regarding modelled sediment export rates.

Delivery Partners: Alluvium Consulting, ENEA Consulting, Fitzroy Basin Assoc.

2022 QWMN RDI Showcase

The 2022 QWMN project showcase video is now available. Approximately 80 people participated in person or on-line from inside and outside government, from Brisbane and the regions. The QWMN Secretariat is considering the June Showcase of project results and would welcome feedback on the initial event – qwmn@des.qld.gov.au

  • Showcase of the seven QWMN RDI projects funded in 2022. 00:00 - Introduction QWMN background 04:20 - UQ - Building trust, dialogue and collaboration through animation 11:46 - JCU - Improving the flood resilience of a tropical urban…

    Showcase of the seven QWMN RDI projects funded in 2022.
    00:00 - Introduction QWMN background
    04:20 - UQ - Building trust, dialogue and collaboration through animation
    11:46 - JCU - Improving the flood resilience of a tropical urban catchment
    24:38 - JCU - Modelling unseen flow pathways of water and contaminants
    34:30 - USQ - Customisation of a water quality model in an ungauged catchment
    39:38 - Truii - Eco-nomics
    49:34 - Relative Creative - incorporating First Nations land management into technical approaches to water modelling
    1:03:04 - Alluvium - New catchment models for SEQ
    1:14:45 - Q&A

The Showcase stream includes the following 2022 QWMN projects and consortia:

  • Building trust and enhancing dialogue and collaboration in water modelling using animation – The University of Queensland, Ecofutures Consulting, Healthy Land and Water, Yirendali Aboriginal Corporation, Jibija Ung-gwee, Alluvium Consulting, Griffith University, Queensland University of Technology, Department of Environment, Science and Innovation.
  • Eco-nomics for NRM planning and reporting – Truii and Southern Queensland Landscapes
  • Improving the flood resilience of a tropical urban catchment – James Cook University, Cairns Regional Council, Gimuy Walubara Yidinji Elders Aboriginal Corporation and Abriculture.
  • Modelling Unseen flow pathways of water and contaminants in the Wet Tropics – James Cook University, Alluvium, Jaragun Ecoservices, Department of Resources, Department of Agriculture and Fisheries
  • New catchment models for SEQ – Alluvium Consulting, BMT Commercial Australia, Griffith University
  • Trialling customisation of a water quality model in an ungauged catchment for DIN – University of Southern Queensland, Mary River Catchment Coordinating Committee and the Department of Environment, Science and Innovation.
  • Incorporating First Nations Land Management into Technical Approaches to Water Modelling: A Pilot Study to Establish Frameworks to Incorporate Indigenous Knowledge – Relative Creative, Firesticks Alliance and Water Technology, with the cultural guidance of Mandandanji Traditional Owner, Aunty Kay Blades).

    Active projects

    Building trust and enhancing dialogue and collaboration in water modelling using animation

    This project uses animated drawings and videos to enhance communication between water modellers, Traditional Owners and the wider community. This is important, because collaboration over the entire modelling life cycle has the potential to expand the knowledge base for model development and verification, ensuring models are fit for purpose and building trust in models.  The output will be an animated video and a collection of animated infographics. The video “We are all modellers at heart” will be a short animation which demystifies water modelling for a general audience, to improve two-way communication between water modellers and the wider community. The animated infographics “Starting the conversation” will be a collection of captioned and annotated drawings, co-designed to empower respectful dialogue and collaboration between water modellers and First Nations Peoples.

    (Delivery Partners - The University of Queensland, Ecofutures Consulting, Healthy Land and Water, Yirendali Aboriginal Corporation, Jibija Ung-gwee, Alluvium Consulting, Griffith University, Queensland University of Technology, Department of Environment, Science and Innovation)

    Eco-nomics for NRM planning and reporting

    Eco-nomics: A Natural Resource Management investment planning and impact reporting tool with a pilot in the Northern Murray Darling Basin. In partnership with Southern Queensland Landscapes, Truii will deliver the capacity to model the impacts of Natural Resource Management actions on biophysical parameters (water quality, and environmental metrics) and co-benefits (social, economic, First Nations, Climate) within the constraints of investment budget, adoption potential and temporal response of actions. The platform will be able to be applied to any region (subject to data availability) and will be piloted in the Qld Murray Darling catchments.

    (Delivery Partners: Truii and Southern Queensland Landscapes)

    Improving the flood resilience of a tropical urban catchment

    Recent flooding events in Australia highlight the need to increase to survive and recover from future flooding events. This 1-year pilot project uses a LGA priority region, Saltwater Creek in Cairns, to better understand the impacts of flooding due to climate change and to explore ways to achieve place-based adaptation measures by working collaboratively with local government (Cairns Regional Council) and First Nations peoples (Gimuy Walubara Yidinji Elders Aboriginal Corporation, Abriculture), The project activities include the following:

    1. flood modelling for different climate change scenarios
    2. flood modelling to examine the role blue green infrastructure has on flood mitigation
    3. First Nations ranger training
    4. engagement events with local community (information dissemination, co-design).

    Through this project, we hope to encourage increased communication and engagement between Traditional Owners, local stakeholders and Council to find innovative and practical solutions to future flooding events. Traditional Owner historical knowledge and experiences are invaluable in checking modelling results, co-designing blue-green infrastructure that is suitable to each site and identifying future areas for the project.  The project methodology is scalable to other regional urban areas as it relies on local knowledge and active participation in conjunction with the use of traditional flood models.

    (Delivery Partners: James Cook University, Cairns Regional Council, Gimuy Walubara Yidinji Elders Aboriginal Corporation and Abriculture)

    Modelling Unseen flow pathways of water and contaminants in the Wet Tropics

    Dried-up river channels (palaeochannels) may potentially be a fast route for transporting nutrient-rich water to the coast. This pilot, 1-year project seeks to understand and address gaps around palaeochannels and the roles they play in water and nutrient movement for Wet Tropics catchments. This is achieved through a collaboration that includes industry (Alluvium Consultancy), Government agencies (DAF, DoR) and NRM groups run by First Nations peoples (Jaragun Pty Ltd). The project activities are focused around the Russell River catchment and include the following:

    1. mapping and characterising palaeochannel locations and features
    2. literature review that supports the development of a conceptual model
    3. development of a model that describes subsurface water movement via palaeochannels
    4. engagement event with local stakeholders

    The outcome of this project will help managers to determine suitable ways to improve water quality for catchments draining to the GBR and assess the effectiveness of these options (e.g. wetlands, bioreactors).

    (Delivery Partners: James Cook University, Alluvium, Jaragun EcoServices, Department of Resources, Department of Agriculture and Fisheries)

    New catchment models for SEQ

    The modelling of catchments in South East Queensland has seen ongoing application since the late 1990s with a range of rainfall-runoff and node-link style models applied at varying levels of complexity.  These always used a “lumped-conceptual” style of modelling, in that various landscape features, such as land uses, topography and soil characteristics were lumped together to represent expected catchment responses to climate drivers in terms of runoff and water quality.

    A new project funded through the QWMN will see a new style of catchment modelling applied in the SEQ region.  This model will use a gridded approach, where individual characteristics of the landscape can be represented on a cell by cell basis, rather than lumped, to capture more of the catchment complexity and therefore simulate more of the spatial variability of key processes.  The project is a collaborative partnership between Alluvium, BMT, Griffith University and Brisbane City Council, and building on years of catchment understanding from Healthy Land and Water and their partners.  The project will see the development of a new module as part of the TUFLOW modelling suite, as well as improved understanding of water quality characteristics of the region and will be realised in a pilot scale model in one catchment in the region.

    This work will help to provide a much finer resolution for future catchment planning and for the first time, provide a seamless assessment from the top of the catchment to Moreton Bay.  It is hoped that this improved modelling will help with understanding the effectiveness of future management actions, such as the role of mitigating streambank erosion to offset nutrient inputs, and provide greater understanding of the links between landscape processes and receiving environment conditions.

    (Delivery Partners: Alluvium Consulting, BMT Commercial Australia, Griffith University)

    Trialling customisation of a water quality model in an ungauged catchment for DIN

    The UN Sustainable development goals call on decision makers to achieve reduction in land based nutrients entering marine systems by 2030. Water quality models are the tool used to quantify nutrient balances and inform the best investment decisions to achieve the targets.

    Current methods for modelling nutrient from catchments that flow to the Great Barrier Reef donate observed water quality data and parameters to neighbouring ungauged catchments.

    While such data transfer is a modelling practice, recent research has recommended using land use and original vegetation cover data as proxy to identify donating catchments which may not necessarily be the neighbour catchment. This research includes ground truthing data and parameter transfer to ungauged catchments using water quality observations collected by the NRM community group partner Mary River Catchment Coordination Committee (MRCCC). The provision of community workshops and including modelling expertise within the community group is aimed to bring the community on the journey to address uncertainties of water quality modelling in the ungauged areas. Where the pilot Mary catchment demonstrates the performance of approach, it will be available for adoption in other ungauged catchments. It should be an opportunity to build trust and improve understanding in the modelling water quality.

    (Delivery Partners: University of Southern Queensland, Mary River Catchment Coordinating Committee and the Department of Environment, Science and Innovation)

    Incorporating First Nations Land Management into Technical Approaches to Water Modelling: A Pilot Study to Establish Frameworks to Incorporate Indigenous Knowledge

    This QWMN pilot project seeks to understand and address gaps within the water planning process to ensure that First Nations Land Management practices can be effectively integrated, alongside relevant models, into landscape rehabilitation and resilience. The project focusses on the community of St George in the Northern Murray Darling Basin.

    Working collaboratively and across multiple disciplines Relative Creative (First Nations-led strategic designers and visual communication designers), Firesticks Alliance (First Nations land management practitioners) and Water Technology (water, engineering and environmental consultants) will progress the project under the cultural guidance and authority of Mandandanji Traditional Owner, Aunty Kay Blades.

    The twelve month project will progress in five phases through literature reviews, case studies, community engagement and co-design, and technical analysis. As the project progresses there are a number of key outcomes that will help analyse gaps, share learnings and document the process undertaken, they are:

    • outcome reports documenting case studies and recommendations
    • a video case study
    • a factsheet capturing key recommendations and insights
    • a presentation/webinar on project findings and recommendations.

    The project will establish what work is necessary to underpin future requirements, test application in other locations and make recommendations around how and where Indigenous Knowledge could be engaged within the Water Modelling Pipeline, including better engagement and inclusion of First Nations Land Management practices through engagement with First Nations Knowledge holders and the application of First Nations Land Management practices by First Nations Peoples. This work will have further involvement with end-users, including best-practice recommendations around how to approach this. Anticipated end users include the St George community, local NRM groups, QWMN, DES and local council.

    Institute for Water Futures Collaboration

    The Queensland Water Modelling Network has partnered with the Australian National University’s Institute for Water Futures to better explore future scenarios for water and natural resource management in Queensland. The research project aims to develop participatory foresighting approaches for considering multiple plausible futures, and test methods for translating this information into water models to better inform management decisions. To learn more about the project objectives and outcomes, read Queensland Water Management in 2050.

    Completed projects

    Stream bank erosion modelling in the Great Barrier Reef catchments – Stage 2

    This project developed an approach to improve the understanding of the geomorphic properties of modelled links within the Paddock to Reef modelling framework. The project team worked with the Paddock to Reef team to assess the process-based components of the streambank model performance in the different river types.

    (Delivery Partners: Alluvium Consulting, The University of Melbourne).

    A gamified digital twin of a trading scheme for sediment and nutrients in South East Queensland to improve health of waterways and the Moreton Bay

    This project aimed to develop a digital twin trading scheme that consolidates and integrates knowledge, science, models and market mechanisms. Through gamification, the digital twin enables interactive analysis of environmental, economic and social factors and scenarios, to develop regulations, conditions and operating rules for a nutrient and sediment trading scheme for South East Queensland (SEQ).

    (Delivery Partners: Aurecon, Deltares, Griffith, GHD, Costello Consultancy, CSIRO).

    Landscape-focused digital twin for local engagement in water governance in monsoonal river systems

    This project developed a learning-focused digital twin for the Gilbert River Agricultural Precinct, combining multiple knowledges using multi-scale spatial water-budget visualisations. Taking a landscape perspective of water storage options, it was designed to facilitate local scale engagement with water governance and kickstart conversation about information sharing and research investment requirements.

    (Delivery Partners: Australian National University, Northern Gulf Resource Management Group)

    A framework to marry models and data: even an imperfect match can be valuable

    Water modelling and monitoring support decision-making and provide important but incomplete representations of the real-world. The role of data in improving models is well understood, but the potential for models to enhance data is less clear. This project provides a framework to gain insight from mismatch between model and data. (Delivery Partners: The University of Queensland, Queensland Department of Resources (Paddock to Reef Modelling), Queensland University of Technology, Alluvium Consulting).

    Re-imagining a water model (source) as an experiential multiplayer game: A case study in nitrogen offsetting in Moreton Bay

    Complex water models are historically inaccessible to end users and limited to biophysical elements. This project addressed these issues by combining gamification and co-design. This approach enables end users to contribute to the gamification of a model, evaluate management decisions under realistic conditions and provide the integration between biophysical and non-biophysical dynamics.

    (Delivery Partners: The University of Queensland, BTN, Alluvium Consulting, Healthy Land and Water).

    Queensland Water Modelling Network (QWMN) Fellow

    Based at the Australian Rivers Institute, Griffith University, the QWMN Fellow has undertaken research that improves model functionality and capability between the catchment and its receiving water environments, having consideration for the influence of land use/land management, climate change and policy interventions to sustain the Great Barrier Reef. The work is initially focusing on the riverine and estuarine environment, building on knowledge, capacity and models that have been developed for the Great Barrier Reef to establish strategic estuarine, gully and streambank modelling capability.

    Related publications:

    Queensland Water Modelling Network Wetland Hydrology Model Review

    Alluvium Consulting, Griffith University and Australian Wetlands Consulting undertook a critical analysis of wetland hydrology models with particular focus on the role of nitrogen and associated processes.

    The review outlines the strengths and weaknesses in the treatment of nitrogen process by existing models as they pertain to scale, process, landscape form, cost, availability, etc. and identifies significant/critical gaps. Read the QWMN 2021 Wetland Hydrology Model Review (PDF, 8.3MB) .

    Between a hot place and hypoxia: modelling to support climate adaptation of Queensland’s waterholes

    Fish populations in dryland rivers, such as many in the northern Murray-Darling Basin, are subject to frequent hydrological drought disturbances. During these disturbance events, fish populations resist drought by utilising waterholes as refuges. The University of Western Australia in collaboration with The University of Queensland and the Queensland Department of Environment, Science and Innovation, have developed a new modelling capability to identify risks to fish occupying waterhole refuges and appropriate management actions. Read the report (PDF, 12.8MB) .

    Modelling surface water availability to inform water security for freshwater biodiversity

    Climate change is rapidly impacting the hydrological cycle and the availability of water resources for humans and nature. During extended dry periods, water storage in reservoirs is critical for human needs and persistent riverine pools provide essential refuges for aquatic biodiversity. However, there is a critical lack in understanding of how surface water availability changes in response to projected increases in climate variability and extreme events such as droughts. The project developed fine-grained, spatially-explicit predictive models of surface water availability under future scenarios of climate change throughout south-eastern Queensland river networks to inform water planning and biodiversity management. It also delivered critical hydrologic information for water utilities to assist water resource modelling and planning for human water security. Read the final report (PDF, 4.8MB) .

    The project was led by Griffith University in collaboration with the Bureau of Meteorology, Seqwater, and Healthy Land and Water.

    Social dimensions in reef water quality modelling

    This project builds upon the existing Reefonomics platform which creates prioritised land management investment portfolios across Great Barrier Reef catchments to deliver greatest water quality benefit per dollar. This project will incorporate social outcomes in the investment portfolio to be considered alongside water quality and economic benefits.

    Truii Ltd Pty is leading the project in collaboration with Eberhard Consulting and the Office of the Great Barrier Reef.

    A discussion paper on groundwater modellers and end users

    The different experiences of modellers and end users can lead to misunderstanding and/or different expectations of desired outcomes in groundwater modelling. In this project, Randall Cox, Groundwater Strategy Consultant conducted 21 interviews with senior modellers and end users to better understand and document the different perspectives. The intent of the discussion paper is to increase the use of groundwater models in informing policy, program and regulatory domains, by highlighting modeller and end user interactions. The paper can also be used to stimulate discussion in other modelling contexts. Read the Discussion paper: The different experiences of groundwater modellers and end users (PDF, 714.7KB) .

    Strategic review of Queensland water models

    Increasing demands for higher quality model outputs in shorter timeframes can result in ‘stretching’ a model beyond the conceptual limits it was originally designed to meet. This project involves a strategic review of Queensland’s water models and their functions, led by BMT Commercial Australia in collaboration with The University of Queensland and The University of Western Australia. A key output will include an assessment framework to help modellers and decision-makers identify opportunities for improvement, integration, or transition to a different model or approach altogether. The final reports from the project can be found on the QWMN publications page.

    Review of the science used in the MEDLI model

    The Model for Effluent Disposal using Land Irrigation (MEDLI) was first released in 1996, and since then, has been used to inform development applications, regulation and approvals associated with land-based disposal of effluent. MEDLI Version 2 was released in 2015 to allow the model to run on modern operating systems, however the science underpinning the model remained unchanged. This project delivered four expert reviews of the key components of MEDLI as well as a synthesis document with recommendations to inform future updates of MEDLI. Following extensive peer review, the final reports are now available: Hydrology models and processes (PDF, 2.2MB) , Modelling of water and solute transport in MEDLI (PDF, 2.5MB) (supporting worksheet available on request), Pond chemistry module (PDF, 1.7MB) , and Simulating soil nutrient pools and processes for carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus (PDF, 2.4MB) . The synthesis report (PDF, 5.1MB) will help guide updates of MEDLI. The MEDLI science review suite will help inform future research to address strategic gaps and strengthen MEDLI.

    Gully Erosion Framework to underpin rehabilitation and catchment modelling for Queensland

    This project will develop a standardised framework and guidelines for collecting data on erosion gullies within Queensland. The Precision Erosion and Sediment Management Research Group (PrESM) at Griffith University is leading the project in collaboration with the Queensland Government (Departments of Environment, Science and Innovation and Natural Resources, Mines and Energy). The framework will refine the gully characterisation framework developed by Griffith University under National Environmental Science Program (NESP) Tropical Water Quality hub; standardise data collection protocols for gullies in Queensland; improve data for catchment modelling; and, consider the associated database structure. This will inform the storage of erosion gully data across Queensland.

    Stream bank erosion in the Great Barrier Reef catchments

    This project investigated the feasibility of applying alternative approaches to model stream bank erosion rates in the Great Barrier Reef catchments. Alluvium led the project with support from Griffith University, Reef Catchments, Fitzroy Basin Association and Wildland Hydrology. Improving stream bank erosion rate prediction in Great Barrier Reef catchments would deliver a better understanding of the key drivers of water quality, informing targeted mitigation strategies to improve water quality in Queensland. The project has undertaken a review of existing bank erosion models and research gaps, recommending a stream-type based approach and multi-temporal analysis as a way forward. Read the final report: Review of existing bank erosion prediction models, opportunities and research gaps report (PDF, 1.4MB) . A key finding of this study was the difficulty in accurately predicting stream bank erosion in all river typologies that exist within Great Barrier Reef catchments.

    In response, a follow-on project by Alluvium explored the accuracy and parameterisation of the Dynamic SedNet model currently used within the Paddock to Reef program in a range of different river types:

    Read: Review of river reach case studies and Dynamic SedNet model parameterisation (PDF, 16.4MB) .

    Visualisation of coupled economic and Queensland water quality models

    This project developed a cloud-based platform to couple water quality and economic models to assess natural resource management investment options for the Great Barrier Reef region. Truii Pty Ltd (in collaboration with the Office of the Great Barrier Reef) developed this platform based on two existing custom tools: the Great Barrier Reef Foundation Reef Planning Investment Tool and the Seqwater Catchment Investment Decision Support System. The platform uses data management functionality to enable revision and updating of the latest available water quality and economic modelling data.

    Model data portal to deliver catchment modelling data to end users

    Successful modelling programs receive constant requests from end users for model results. These requests often require intensive processing. Truii Pty Ltd, in collaboration with the Office of the Great Barrier Reef developed a web-based model data portal to enable the delivery of catchment modelling results from the Paddock to Reef program. Data requesters can create and record data queries which generate data summaries for visualisation and download.

    Addressing uncertainty in coupled water models using machine learning techniques

    Linking models of varying complexity and scope can lead to uncertainties from each individual model, magnifying the uncertainty of final predictions. Data driven models and ensemble machine learning techniques can be used to improve predictions of water quality model outputs. BMT Commercial Australia led this project in partnership with The University of Western Australia and Healthy Land and Water. The outcome of the project developed capability hybridising process-based and data driven water models to improve predictions of model outputs in the context of a south-east Queensland catchment.

    Read the Final Report – Addressing uncertainty in catchment models using machine learning techniques (PDF, 7.2MB) .

    Supporting regional groundwater supply security assessments in Queensland

    Groundwater is a common water supply source for many rural and urban communities within Queensland, with many towns either wholly or partly dependent on groundwater. However, evaluation of this resource is often difficult, making risk assessment and management challenging. Piloted in Monto and Biggenden but with potential statewide relevance, this project delivered a shared understanding of the capability of a community’s water supply system to meet current and forecast future urban water demand, and the associated water supply security risks.

    Prediction of daily rainfall and runoff peak rates to inform hillslope erosion prediction and improve water quality modelling

    This project has provided data improvements and estimation techniques that might allow hillslope erosion predictions of the Paddock to Reef catchment modelling for Reef Plan (for grazing lands) to be more sensitive to cover and management improvements. Delivered by Griffith University, this project developed data products for predictions of runoff depth and the peak runoff rate, at time and spatial scales for improved P2R Catchment modelling for Reef Plan.

    Read the Final Report – Prediction of cover-dependent runoff amount and peak runoff rate for grazing land in Queensland (PDF, 2.2MB) .

    Monitoring and evaluation plan for the QWMN

    Established in 2017, the QWMN is approaching the end of its initial four-year program—providing an opportunity to reflect upon the achievements and lessons learned to date. Alluvium was commissioned to conduct a general assessment of the QWMN (PDF, 4.2MB) (and develop a monitoring and evaluation framework to inform development of the next four years of QWMN investment. The framework featured key evaluation questions and performance indicators which measured the success and impact of the network on Queensland’s water modelling sector.

    Critical review of climate change and water modelling in Queensland

    This project assessed Queensland’s current ability to incorporate climate variability and climate change projections in water models. Bringing together an experienced team of hydrologists, hydroclimate scientists, water quality scientists and practitioners; Alluvium delivered the project in partnership with the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) and University of Newcastle. Using the best available science, the project provides a clear pathway to consistent, robust modelling approaches for assessing climate change in Queensland water models.

    The outcomes of a workshop, an interview process with key modelling, planning and policy groups and four modelling case studies provided multiple lines of evidence to underpin the Strategic Investment Portfolio in the final project report. The investment portfolio includes 26 recommendations aligning with a primary objective to: Increase Queensland’s ability to understand the impact of climate variability and change on water-related systems, to increase economic, social and ecological resilience.

    The recommendations are linked to five key outcomes which will contribute to achieving the primary objective:

    • Outcome 1: Increase consistency and defensibility of approaches for assessing risks from climate variability and change.
    • Outcome 2: Interpret and summarise the applicability of existing climate science and datasets for Queensland.
    • Outcome 3: Address climate science and water modelling gaps through targeted research initiatives.
    • Outcome 4: Empower individuals and collectives, and facilitate collaboration.
    • Outcome 5: Develop training, communication and guidance materials to support Outcomes 1–4.

    Read the full report Critical review of climate change and water modelling in Queensland (PDF, 5.7MB) .

    Alluvium has developed a stand-alone evaluation criteria and a scoring system to help assess the readiness of water models to account for or incorporate climate change in their use. This independent resource, suitable for use by practitioners in reviewing a model’s treatment of climate and to support decision makers, is now available for application.

    Read Making our water models climate change ready: Are they up to the task? (PDF, 3.1MB) .

    The QWMN is coordinating an integrated response to the final report and investment portfolio recommendations. To get involved, contact QWMN@des.qld.gov.au.

    Improved Source modelling to support catchment management investment decisions

    Source provides a powerful, flexible platform for catchment modelling, but its existing default constituent models (including constituent generation, filtration and transport) are inadequate for catchment management investment decisions. This project, delivered under a collaborative research agreement with ANU, and co-funded by the Department of Natural Resources, Mines and Energy, developed and implemented fit-for-purpose constituent models.

    Improved model governance and management for HowLeaky

    HowLeaky is a one dimensional, soil water balance model that allows users to explore the impacts of soil physical properties, climate, management practices and crop growth on the soil water balance, runoff/erosion and pesticide and nutrient losses. This project, delivered through a collaborative research agreement with USQ, implemented recommendations from the independent review of the HowLeaky model to improve its governance, version control and long-term stability. Read the project report Developing HowLeaky platform for improved governance (PDF, 1.9MB) . A HowLeaky manual (PDF, 4.0MB) has also been developed to support existing and new users of the model.

    Improved model-based decision support through simulator-independent parallelism

    The new generation of in-house and cloud-based computing hardware presents previously unavailable options for massive parallelism. Easily implemented parallelism at the model run level can provide a means through which environmental modelling can progress towards its decision-support potential. This project, delivered by Watermark Numerical Computing, develops a new run manager with a front-end application programmers interface (API) callable from multiple languages and a back end optimised for use in office network environments, and on Windows/Linux high-performance computing clusters. Read the project report Uncertainty analysis and reduction through simplified model run parallelisation (PDF, 647.2KB) .

    Tracking the effectiveness of gully management at reducing bioavailable nutrients

    Modelling and monitoring of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) generation from eroded sediment helps inform on-ground management interventions such as gully rehabilitation in Great Barrier Reef catchments. This project built on previous work that developed and demonstrated an approach to model DIN generation from eroded sediment using Dynamic Sednet (Project RP178a). This project developed a standard methodology for estimating DIN generation from eroded sediment for application across a range of Paddock to Reef catchment monitoring programs. Led by the Catchment and Riverine Processes team Department of Environment, Science and Innovation, the project was a collaborative effort from numerous organisations: Department of Natural Resources, Mines and Energy, TropWATER, James Cook University; Precision Erosion and Sediment Management Research Group, Griffith University; CSIRO; Greening Australia; Fruition Environmental; NQ Dry Tropics; Great Barrier Reef Catchment Loads Monitoring Program, DES; Chemistry Centre, DES; Howley Environmental Consulting; Cape York Monitoring Partnership; and the Burdekin Bowen Integrated Floodplain Management Advisory Committee Inc. Read the project report Towards the standardisation of bioavailable particulate nitrogen in sediment methods (PDF, 2.4MB) .

    Data management and visualisation to support water quality modelling teams

    Data visualisation capability is seen as fundamental in improving uptake and application of model outputs and recommendations by policy makers and resource managers. This project, delivered by Yorb, and co-funded by the Office of the Great Barrier Reef, developed standardised templates for catchment and paddock models, developed standardised data extraction capability and refined the dynamic visualisation layers.

    Improvements to the Dynamic SedNet model

    The Dynamic SedNet model, which underpins Paddock to Reef catchment modelling, is implemented as a series of plugins to the eWater Source system. Independent reviews suggested Dynamic SedNet could be more efficiently implemented outside of eWater Source. This project, delivered by Yorb, and co-funded by the Department of Natural Resources, Mines and Energy, has developed an improved and independent implementation of Dynamic SedNet.

    Integrating paddock scale modelling and water Source models

    This project improved the interface between agricultural systems modelling (paddock scale models) and catchment scale water resource/water quality Source models to inform Reef investment decisions and evaluate best management practice implementation effectiveness. Delivered by Alluvium, this project has improved the representation of daily constituent concentrations entering the Reef. Read the project report Integration of Paddock-Scale Modelling and Source (PDF, 15.5MB) .

    Development of an annotated catalogue of water models in use in government

    This project, delivered by Griffith University, developed an annotated catalogue of the major water models in use by government. The QWMN Water Model Catalogue (PDF, 2.3MB) will serve as a reference for new users and non-experts and facilitate broader and appropriate use of water models in policy and decision-making, inside and outside government.

    Enhanced eWater software to inform water resource planning

    The eWater SOURCE modelling framework has been used to report on Great Barrier Reef plan water quality targets progress since 2009. The increasing complexity of the SOURCE modelling framework is severely impacting run time efficiency in parallel with a growing demand for more integrated model outputs. This project, delivered by eWater and co-funded by the Department of Natural Resources, Mines and Energy, has supported improvements to the core eWater software to enhance model run time efficiency, performance and stability.

    Consensus based streambank and gully conceptual models in Queensland

    This project, led by Dr Ian Prosser, synthesised existing knowledge of biophysical processes driving gully, streambank and channel erosion dynamics, focusing on Queensland catchments and conditions, to develop a conceptual framework to support the use of new process knowledge and spatial information to improve the existing modelling framework. Key to the project was a facilitated workshop involving leading Australian researchers in gully and streambank erosion modelling and monitoring.

    Good modelling practice principles of the Queensland Water Modelling Network

    This project delivered under the Queensland Government's collaborative research agreement with ANU developed a reference document—the Queensland Water Modelling Network Good Modelling Practice Principles (PDF, 1.5MB) —which outlines a current and consistent approach to modelling principles for R&D. It is supporting the broader understanding and use of models in the government, private and university sectors.

    Detailed scope of work to support parallelism of models at the simulator level

    The increasing complexity of environmental models coupled with model calibration demands results in an increased requirement for computational resources. This project, delivered through Watermark Numerical Computing, developed a detailed scope of work for the development of a software suite, which supports parallelism of models at the simulator level.

    Completed programs

    QWMN External Engagement Program

    The QWMN has initiated an External Engagement Program (PDF, 47.2KB) (EEP) to help build the capacity of water modelling and user expertise in Queensland, facilitate engagement across the full range of actors in the Queensland water-modelling ecosystem, and stimulate innovation in all aspects of water modelling and use. A consortium, led by the International Water Centre, is delivering a program of work that complements QWMN activities and investments to facilitate greater collaboration among water modellers, users and decision makers across Queensland, creating a community of water modelling excellence.

    A key initiative is the QWMN Innovation Program where Innovation Associates register for PhD degrees then work directly with industry partners in local and state government and the private sector, to develop practical solutions to state, regional and local economic, environmental and social challenges.

    Other activities include the annual QWMN Forum, a state-wide skills and knowledge audit and response report to guide investment in education, training and workforce capability growth, a Hack, and a mentoring program to nurture and guide students into water modelling as a career path. A dedicated water modelling website has also been developed to showcase the program.

    Consortium members are the Australian Institute of Marine Science, Griffith University, the International Water Centre, Queensland Cyber Infrastructure Foundation, Queensland University of Technology, The University of Queensland, and the University of Southern Queensland.