Event Summary: Making our water models climate change ready, what’s involved?

Background

This event continued the interest in our network on better understanding the influence that climate change and climate variability has on water management, through the use of various water modelling applications.  The need to evaluate future climate change impacts on water resource plans, water security strategies, future flood risk response scenarios, evapotranspiration behaviour in agricultural land use and influence on paddock runoff are some of the broader landscape and paddock scale applications.  Then in urban settings the issue of residential and precinct planning and design needs to respond to future changed heat loads, varying rainfall intensity and the consequence on flood impacts and receiving water ecological conditions. Theses examples are just some of the applications that can be considered and in looking at a common framework for responding to the climate change influences is something we can all benefit from.

The recent Critical Review of Climate Change and Water Modelling in Queensland is a key context setting report for this topic.

The event considered highly relevant topics and welcomed 143 participants from around Australia and 24 colleagues from overseas registering for the event from a diverse set of water and modelling professional roles.

View the participant profiles here.

Evaluation Framework

The interest was generated by a novel approach that forms a part of a recent evaluation framework being developed by Tony Weber and Paul Maxwell “Making our water models climate change ready: Are they up to the task?”

This framework considers that understanding the readiness of a water model requires 6 key questions, shown below, to be answered.

Presentation

At this LiveSteam event the design and utility of the framework was discussed – with our guest presenters:

• Tony Weber, National Lead Water Modelling, Alluvium Consulting – the author of the framework;
• Dr Louise Wilson Senior Hydrologist, – Bureau of Meteorology in Melbourne;
• Dr Badin Gibbes, School of Civil Engineering, University of Queensland;

Together with facilitator Piet Filet – convenor of the Community of Practice activities with the QWMN – participants enjoyed an hour plus of presentations, questions and discussions.

To view the presentation and chat conversation going on along side, please go to:

https://watercentre.zoom.us/rec/share/4c17AZfs_HhOSaeOr0T_Aa4-F6C0eaa8gXUYrKUEnR1zrZNt1R0khbrO20yGi-gS

Password: 0m.43870

Other event materials

Other information shared during this presentation, included:

• Participant responses to a pre-event survey on their interest in climate change and water management/modelling
• Presenters slide presentations
• Additional responses to the various questions were also provided and you can read them here.
• Various shots of the event