Australian dams must be fit for drought and flood

The impact of the east coast floods demands careful consideration of whether our dam infrastructure and its operation are appropriate for the anticipated stresses of climate change, according to professional services company GHD.

Steve Fox, Australian Dams Leader at GHD, suggests a rethink may be needed for Australia’s dams to serve the community better and meet the challenge of more severe droughts and floods.

GHD’s recent Aquanomics report details these economic impacts while predicting floods are expected to cost the Australian economy AUD64 billion between 2022 and 2050.

Steve said, “Australians are often surprised to learn that since most of our dams are primarily intended for water storage, they currently can’t play an effective role in mitigating floods.

“The reality is most of Australia’s dams were built over 50 years ago and they are still operating to rules set at that time. For example, they typically cannot lower dam levels before forecast rain events, in case there’s another drought around the corner.

“It may be the time to change our thinking in response to calls to use our existing infrastructure to stem or divert water from flood-vulnerable areas where they have available capacity to do so.

“Two things should challenge our thinking. First, climate change; every degree of global warming translates to around seven percent more water in the atmosphere, so our dams need to be prepared for more rain.

“What we’re seeing now is what a 1°C rise in temperatures brings, but realistically we’re likely to go to between 1.5° and 3.0°C, despite current efforts to limit the rise.

“Second, we now have much better climate forecasting. We know whether we’re going into a La Nina or El Nino weather pattern, so why wouldn’t we adjust our dam operating rules to suit?”

But Steve acknowledges this won’t be easy to do.

“Adding meaningful flood mitigation to existing dams is expensive and it takes time. It requires studies in river system management, setting specific planning and operating rules, understanding environmental trade-offs and ensuring communities are genuinely part of that planning. Nevertheless, given what’s at the stake, the sooner we start contemplating and exploring these challenges the better.”

Acerca de GHD

GHD es una empresa líder de servicios profesionales que opera en los mercados mundiales de agua, energía y recursos, medio ambiente, infraestructura y edificaciones, y transporte. Comprometidos con la visión de lograr que el agua, la energía y las comunidades sean sostenibles para las futuras generaciones, GHD ofrece soluciones en asesoría, servicios digitales, de ingeniería, arquitectura, medio ambiente y para la construcción a clientes del sector público y privado. Fundada en 1928 y propiedad de sus trabajadores, GHD cuenta con una red de más de 11.000 profesionales conectados en más de 160 oficinas en cinco continentes.