December NewsStream
Welcome to the November edition of the NewsStream. In this newsletter we share with you:
Published Pieces: Read about the fabulous work by the ‘Air-Stream Team’ (our Streamology drone team), in the Murray Darling Basing, and an article on Streamology’s focus on urban water management for healthier waterways and communities for Sydney Water in the Australian River Restoration Centre blog.
Project Profile: Find out about fire and floods in Nariel and Corryong Creeks.
StreamTeam: Streamology - more than geomorphology!, welcoming our Acting CEO, rehabilitation updates from Geoff Vietz and our Christmas closure dates.
So go on, grab that coffee and have a quick read…
Published Pieces
Assessing dirt and plants from the sky: Drones and waterways
Ecology and geomorphology have for a long time involved arduous days in the field, often on challenging terrain, in thick scrub, with lots of time on hands and knees. Many of you know the resulting feeling of fatigue, and the inevitable dirt under the fingernails. We share in detail about our scientific approach to using drone technology, and the relevance of our findings for the future of waterway management and water resourcing in the Murray Darling Basin. This focuses on the implications of inter-valley transfer flows on the physical form and vegetation of waterways, and how this understanding is driving operational changes in the Basin.
With help from our friends at the Australian River Restoration Centre (ARRC) this article has been published in the Monitoring Evaluation and Research (MER) program of the Commonwealth Environmental Water Office.
Focusing on our urban water management for healthier waterways and communities
We have found that in the Australian waterway industry, we tend to focus on our rural waterways for river protection, rehabilitation and restoration, but if we are serious about connecting people with healthy rivers, then Australia’s urban settings should be our focus.
Back before the world shut down to COVID-19 Streamology shared an article with ARRC discussing the need to focus on urban water management for healthier waterways and communities. We are rather proud of this work winning the Research and Innovation Award with both Stormwater Victoria and Stormwater NSW! (we look forward to Nationals!!)
Project Profile
Fire and Flood in Nariel and Corryong Creeks
The Summer of 2020 marked the most intense bush fires Australia has experienced since European settlement, burning 98% of the forested catchment in the upper Murray, North East Victoria. Nariel and Corryong Creeks were both adversely affected.
Streamology and Professor Ian Rutherfurd teamed up to undertake a geomorphological assessment of the creeks to quantify the likely trajectory of change within these systems as a result of the catastrophic fires, and to provide management plans and recommendations to the North East Catchment Management Authority (NECMA) about how best to manage these ongoing impacts.
Stream Team
Wait. What? Streamology is more than just geomorphology!
So lots of people think they know what Streamology does. Do you know? I bet you are thinking we are a just a geomorphology company. Well…WRONG!… but your kinda right at the same time… You see we still do a lot of geomorph-like projects in urban and regional environments, but that role also merely supports an awesome team of people that have a huge breadth of skills across the water and waterway industry. Some of our highlights in the last few months include…
Assessing regulation impacts from a First Nations perspective.
Developing an environmental impact statement (EIS) for Sydney’s Nepean River to see the ‘flow one’ effects of urbanisation.
Assessing the impact of environmental flows on Parks Victoria assets (including roads and infrastructure).
Determining approaches to assess habitat in Melbourne’s waterways: Including extensive Platypus studies. (Which by the way the University of NSW released an article on Monday 23rd November calling for them to be listed as a threatened species.).
An assessment of the capacity of the River Murray’s Barmah Choke, and what to do about it.
Monitoring how boats impact the River Murray.
Helping Sydney’s growth corridor whilst protecting waterways, strategies and opportunities.
Streamology & Associates, has been awarded a position on the Melbourne Water Specialist Services Panel, servicing the areas of Land Management, Environmental Water Studies, Waterways and Environment, Integrated Water Management and Hydrological Modelling.
So you can see that the Stream Team here does varied, interesting and unique work. And excitingly, we have even more capability and capacity on board now with Christine joining the team. Who’s Christine? Keep reading below…
Welcome Dr Christine
Streamology continues to grow and we would like to take this opportunity to welcome Dr Christine Lachlan Arrowsmith as Acting CEO leading the Streamology team. Christine is a water and waterway specialist with extensive experience in understanding and managing river and estuarine systems including flood studies, geomorphic-hydraulic analyses, scour and ecohydraulics, estuarine and coastal investigations, and UAV technologies. Following stints overseas in the Netherlands doing a Post-Doctoral Fellowship at TU Delft, and in the United Kingdom with the Hydraulics Group at HR Wallingford, Christine has been working in Australia with a number of consulting companies on a range of highly related projects, focusing on the analysis of river systems, estuaries, and coastal environments. We are excited to have Christine join the team and look forward to what Christine will be able to achieve with the team for the industry.
Good luck Jess!
Jess Littlejohn has made a change and accepted a role with North East Water. We will miss Jess and her smiling face around the office and, more recently, online! We wish Jess all the best in her next chapter.
Rehabilitation updates from Dr Geoff
Many of you will know that Geoff Vietz had a mountain bike accident in early August that resulted in a broken neck in several places and damage his spinal chord. Geoff initially suffered some paralysis below his neck with right side weakness and immobility, left side sensory shock, and was initially unable to walk or use his right arm. We are pleased to report that Geoff’s recovery is exceeding all expectations. His neck is now stable, (thanks to plenty of metal!) he is walking, has been back on the bike (for small stints), and has made it some nearby rivers for a swim. Geoff is still connected with the Streamology team and clients for a few hours a week, however his focus is on his rehab for the next few months. Geoff wants to pass on that he is incredibly thankful for the support from our amazing industry and the Streamology team, his family and friends.
All the best for the holidays
Who can believe it is December already? It has been quite a year for all. On behalf of The Stream Team, we want to wish you all a happy and safe holiday season. Our team will be taking a well earned break from close of business Wednesday 23 December and will be ready to dive into your waterway challenges from Thursday 7 January 2021.
So what is your waterway challenge?
We would love to chat through it with you. Feel free to get in touch anytime. Just click the button to send us an email and one of the Stream Team will give you a call. Easy.
That’s all from us this time. We are looking forward to seeing you out and about on a waterway sometime soon.
The Stream Team