Urban waterways

Our research on urban waterways has identified some interesting findings:

• The dominant causes of change in urban waterway form are altered flow regimes and increased volumes of stormwater runoff. (Urban hydrogeomorphology and the urban stream syndrome: Treating the symptoms and causes of geomorphic change)
• A catchment-scale approach to managing waterway degradation should focus on managing the causes of degradation, like reducing flow, rather than the symptoms, like stabilising the channel. (Water(way) sensitive urban design: Addressing the causes of channel degradation through catchment-scale management of water and sediment)
• Urban stormwater runoff is a strong driver of species loss in streams, but riparian forests can likely increase a small number of tolerant macroinvertebrate families. (Interactive effects of urban stormwater drainage, land clearance, and flow regime on stream macroinvertebrate assemblages across a large metropolitan region)
• Improving waterway health by achieving natural flow regimes and improving water quality requires a mix of stormwater retention and infiltration measures at a range of scales. (Restoring natural flow regimes: the importance of multiple scales)
• Multi-functional constructed wetlands can be highly effective at both reducing nutrient loads and improving the ecological services of urban waterways through habitat and recreation. (A multi-functional, multi-compartment constructed wetland to support urban waterway restoration)
• Effective householder engagement in fostering stormwater retention aimed to protect urban streams requires an approach combining education to encourage review of subjective norms and attitudes, with incentives to mitigate behavioural controls to transform public behaviour towards sustainable stormwater management. (More than money: how multiple factors influence householder participation in at-source stormwater management)
• A study of the Swan Canning catchment-estuary system used simulated water and nutrient generation and export to predict nutrient loads under future land use and climate scenarios, and to scope potential future management changes through scenario testing. (Hydrological and nutrient modelling of the Swan Canning catchment-estuary system)

You will find a range of research reports on urban waterways under the categories below.

Waterway health

• Urban hydrogeomorphology and the urban stream syndrome: Treating the symptoms and causes of geomorphic change
• Water(way) sensitive urban design: Addressing the causes of channel degradation through catchment-scale management of water and sediment
• Interactive effects of urban stormwater drainage, land clearance, and flow regime on stream macroinvertebrate assemblages across a large metropolitan region
• Restoring natural flow regimes: the importance of multiple scales
• Hierarchical multi-taxa models inform riparian vs. hydrologic restoration of urban streams in a permeable landscape
• Using multi-tracer inference to move beyond single-catchment ecohydrology
• Are our urban streams on fire? Using studies on fire to learn about the Urban Stream Syndrome
• Will it rise or will it fall? Managing the complex effects of urbanization on base flow
• Another reason urban streams are stuffed: geomorphic history, challenges and opportunities
• Water(way) sensitive urban design: Addressing the causes of channel degradation through catchment-scale management of water and sediment
• Improving urban stream condition by redirecting sediments: A review of associated contaminants
• The performance of rainwater tanks for stormwater retention and water supply at the household scale: an empirical study
• Flows that cause geomorphic change in urban streams and what stormwater control measures can do
• Setting stream naturalisation goals to achieve ecosystem improvement in urbanising greenfield catchments
• Preliminary evidence suggests freshwater turtles respond positively to an environmental water delivery during drought
• Flow‐mediated movement of freshwater catfish, Tandanus bostocki, in a regulated semi‐urban river, to inform environments
• Improving urban stream condition by redirecting sediments: A review of associated contaminants
• Another reason urban streams are stuffed: geomorphic history, challenges and opportunities
• Hierarchical multi-taxa models inform riparian vs. hydrologic restoration of urban streams in a permeable landscape

Nutrient and pollutant control

• The impact of urbanisation on hydrology in areas with significant groundwater surface water interactions: Three case studies
• A multi-functional, multi-compartment constructed wetland to support urban waterway restoration
• Spatial and temporal characterization of nutrient net uptake in a vegetated urban stream: Stream bank features leading to net uptake hotspots
• Multi-scale characterisation of stream nutrient and carbon dynamics in sandy near coastal catchments of south-western Australia
• Soil microbes of an urban remnant riparian zone have greater potential for N removal than a degraded riparian zone
• Hydrological and nutrient modelling of the Swan Canning catchment-estuary system

Community engagement and leadership

• Setting stream naturalisation goals to achieve ecosystem improvement in urbanising greenfield catchments
• More than money: how multiple factors influence householder participation in at-source stormwater management
• More than money: how multiple factors influence householder participation in at-source stormwater management
• The performance of rainwater tanks for stormwater retention and water supply at the household scale: an empirical study