AECOM Civil and Water Group: Water Resource Management Using Music Case Study

Western Australia

‘With Music I am able to put a cost on different stormwater treatments to meet the same water

quality criteria. Music is a powerful decision making tool for stormwater treatment systems and it

has a good graphical interface.’ - Dr Christian Zammit, Principal Environmental Scientist, Water

Resource Management, AECOM

AECOM is a global provider of professional technical and management support services to a broad

range of markets; transport, buildings, environment, water and civil infrastructure, power and

energy, minerals and industry.

With more than 44,000 employees around the world, AECOM is a leader in all of the key markets

that it serves.

Dr Christian Zammit is the Principal Environmental Scientist - Water Resource Management at the

AECOM Civil and Water Group in Perth, where the team engages in water management projects for

urban developers and state and local government agencies including Main Roads Western Australia.

Dr Zammit said that AECOM Civil and Water Group applies Music in road design projects for Main

Roads Western Australia to assist with the challenges associated with stormwater design as well as

to achieve Water Sensitive Road Design (WSRD). This includes tackling the issues posed by metal

components, an increasingly important consideration in water management.

‘By incorporating metal science and calibrating the metal components into Music, this enables me to

efficiently test different treatment trains and to demonstrate that stormwater discharged into a

catchment meets water quality objectives,’ Dr Zammit said. ‘Music provides certainty that the

stormwater designs are ecologically sound and that water quality objectives for Western Australia

are met.’

AECOM Civil & Water Group, Western Australia

Wanneroo Road Extension, Perth

AECOM Civil and Water Group in Perth undertook the stormwater design for the Wanneroo Road

extension project for Main Roads Western Australia. This was a challenging project as the road

reserve provided only a 10 metre corridor for water discharge, with the small space making it

difficult to design a stormwater treatment train which met both water quality and quantity

requirements for stormwater discharge to the nearby lake.

Dr Christian Zammit, Principal Environmental Scientist - Water Resource Management said that, with

the help of Music, the stormwater treatment train could be conceptualised, modelled and the

efficiency of the treatment train quantified and costed.

‘The end result was a good design of the stormwater treatment system,’ Dr Zammit said. ‘The

resulting design met the required standards and was approved by local government, Department of

Water and Department of Environment & Conservation.’

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