Urban green infrastructure a key focus at Stormwater Victoria conference

More than 140 delegates, including CRC for Water Sensitive Cities researchers and 16 partner and associate organisations, engaged with topics and discussions around stormwater and climate change at the annual Stormwater Victorian conference at Cape Schanck from 5-7 May.

Addressing the theme of Climate Change: does it matter any more?, CRCWSC researchers including Harsha Fowdar, Ross Allen, Emily Payne and Cintia Dotto delivered engaging presentations on green infrastructure for water treatment and reuse, pluvial flooding adaptation and human thermal comfort.

Four streams during the two-day event addressed the planning, technological and societal aspects of green infrastructure within urban environments.

Dr Karl Braganza (Bureau of Meteorology) gave a particularly engaging keynote presentation on rainfall in a changing climate. Dr Braganza referenced the Bureau’s historical weather data and recent events to clearly articulate how climate change is accentuating the natural variability of Australia’s rainfall. He described the association between increased temperatures (leading to reduced soil moisture and groundwater availability) and the increasing magnitude and frequency of drought conditions (and drought declarations) in some areas.

Effective pathways for sharing knowledge, tools and technology between CRCWSC researchers and practitioners and the broader industry were clearly demonstrated at the conference, with every concurrent session comprising one or more presentations by individuals associated with the CRCWSC.

The CRCWSC congratulate Stormwater Victoria President Ralf Pfleiderer, conference Chair Ari Triskelidis, the conference organising committee and conference sponsors for a high quality and engaging conference.

Presentations are available on the conference website: https://www.gemsevents.com.au/sv2015/index.php