Author: . Saif Ur Rahman
Saif Ur Rahman, ., 2021 An investigation of the hydrology, sediment load and contaminant discharge from Brownhill Creek, South Australia: Modelling and data analysis, Flinders University, College of Science and Engineering
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Water quality implications of the rapidly expanding urban areas have been a growing concern and Urban hydrologists are continuously seeking ways to mitigate the degradation to water bodies and their habitat. Runoff from the Urban and Rural areas can carry a considerable number of contaminants including major nutrients (e.g., nitrate, sodium, and phosphorus), heavy metals, rubbers, litter from the roads. Despite the presence of various gauging stations in Brownhill Creek and the data for discharge, sediments and nutrients, the temporal and spatial variation and their mutual relationships are yet to be unknown for Brownhill Creek. SWMM hydrological model is developed for the Brownhill Creek Catchment from 1997-2020. The results of the model when compared with the Scotch College and Adelaide Airport gauging stations' data were found diverging and were not matching. This is due to the lack of the most recent and historical land-use data and infiltration data, topographic data etc. Due to some large values, the discharge, sediments and nutrients data is skewed positive not only in the Urban part of the Brownhill Creek but also for the Rural part. Comparison between the Rural and Urban areas in terms of sediments and nutrient generation indicated that the Urban area generated more loads than the Rural part of the Brownhill Creek Catchment. Moreover, a strong correlation exists between, Kjeldahl (TKN), total nitrogen and total phosphorous. More accurate and detailed data can increase the accuracy of the results. Water sensitive design structures are proposed along the Creek and major drains' alignment to improve the water quality of the surface runoff.
Keywords: SWMM model, nutrients, sediments, discharge and data analysis
Subject: Engineering thesis
Thesis type: Masters
Completed: 2021
School: College of Science and Engineering
Supervisor: Prof Adrian Werner