WHEN: March 3, 2022 @ 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm

WHERE: via Zoom

COST: Free

 

Come join us to hear about one of Australia’s most significant infrastructure projects in decades, the Western Sydney Airport (WSA).  The WSA site has a total catchment area of 1400ha and is situated in the upstream reaches of Badgerys Creek. This presentation outlines the stormwater management strategy of the WSA site and the design challenges to meet the specific airport operational requirements. Due to the significant change of the catchment characteristics throughout the 4 development stages, stormwater quality and quantity control requirements were a key target for the design. Other critical criteria for the design included maximum ponding duration and no supercritical flow conditions within the open channels. These were addressed through detailed DRAINS software modelling of storm events from the 4EY to the 1% AEP. The modelling challenges and learnings experienced in applying the ensemble of ARR 2019 temporal patterns are discussed. This includes the approaches used to resolve model instabilities associated with DRAINS modelling of the complex network of open channels, storages, headwalls, underground pipe network, diversion weirs and detention basins with associated inlet/outlet structures. The other modelling challenges were the building of large MUSIC models and incorporating the complex drainage network in the model.

Insight is also provided into efficiencies around large data transfer and to minimise repetitive data entry and other systematic errors, between DRAINS models, MUSIC models, BIM models and design outputs associated with large infrastructure projects. This presentation describes the process of how this was undertaken and the lessons learned from the process.