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Postgraduate Student Profile

Dale Browne
Predicting and modelling the clogging of stormwater infiltration systems

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Supervisors

• Ana Deletic, Monash University, Institute for Sustainable Water Resources, CRCCH
• Tim Fletcher, Monash University, Institute for Sustainable Water Resources, CRCCH
• Gavin Mudd, Monash University

CRCCH project links

• Program 4: Urban Stormwater Quality

Personal background

• BA/BE (Environmental) Melbourne University 2000
• Currently provide consultancy services including MUSIC modelling and training, conceptual stormwater treatment system design and data analysis.
• Drainage engineer at Melbourne Water in the catchment strategy and land development teams from 2001 to 2004. Worked in the areas of flood plain management, land development, stormwater quality and MUSIC modelling.

Research context and anticipated research outcomes

An urban stormwater system using infiltration measures mimics the natural hydrological cycle by enabling a greater proportion of rainfall to infiltrate, reducing runoff volumes. Infiltration systems have the potential to significantly improve the condition of urban streams by reducing runoff and removing pollutants through filtration. However, the key issue limiting more widespread use of these systems is the concern that infiltration systems will become clogged and rendered ineffective. The perceived performance of systems varies widely from effective long term performance (Fujita, 1997) to rapid failure due to clogging (Galli, 1992). Although the consequences of clogging are well documented, the processes are poorly understood with limited research in the area such as Duchene (1994). As a result, design guidelines are often highly conservative and simplistic and many systems are either over-designed or not designed considering clogging risks resulting in a loss of performance.
The purpose of this research is to develop fundamental understanding of clogging processes and build a dynamic model to represent infiltration and clogging processes within stormwater infiltration systems. It is hoped that this research will improve the future design and modelling of infiltration systems.

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