The Wellington metropolitan area is surrounded by sea and it sits on the interface of the Australian and Pacific tectonic plates. It has a high risk of earthquakes and is subject to inclement weather, creating many natural hazards such as ground movement and floods. An earthquake could bring on landslides and tsunamis. It is estimated that it would take around 70 days to bring back water supply to parts of the Wellington metropolitan area after a major earthquake of M7.5 magnitude. Wellington Water is developing a strategic framework to evaluate the vulnerability of the existing network and help decision-making in the future.

We worked in collabration with Nanjing Hydraulic Research Institute (NHRI) to produce a new freshwater health assessment framework based on the machanism of the River Chief System (RCS). Our findings will also be properly integrated into the new national standards issued by the Ministry of Water Resoueces of China in late 2020. The framework is the first attempt to establish a comprehensive, consistent and nation-wide approach.

The Cobb Dam has the highest hydraulic head among the hydro dams in the entire New Zealand, i.e. 596m from the mean lake level, or 571.16m from the intake, to the generators in the powerhouse. During an eathquake, there is sufficient water held by the dam even when the lake is lowered down to the top of the spillway crest using the spillway gates that a number of lives and property are at risk. We worked with Trustpower Ltd, the operator of the dam and the power station, to investigate the hydraulic features given that the originally abandoned emergency tunnel is reconnected to the existing tunnel spillway system.

We worked with Otago Regional Council and DamWatch to produce the new flood protection scheme of Leith River in Dunedin. The scope of this project includes reconstructing the original river channel and riparian areas to increase the discharging capacity during extreme floods, minimizing the risks of woody debris accumulation, and investigating the potential scour damage at the bridge crossing.

Our clients, New South Wales Road and Maritime Services (RMS) was leading a major project about updating the well-known Pacific Highway along the east coast of Australia. We helped RMS by testing the potential scour risks at several sites given that the highway might be overtopped during extreme floods.