UC EVENTS

Managing stormwater and associated pollutants is a major problem in urban catchments. The urban stormwater project consisted of two studies which will be discussed in this seminar:

• Lake Tuggeranong research project

Lake Tuggeranong has had persistent problems with blue-green algal blooms leading to lake closure. Blue-green algae blooms are potentially toxic, produce odour and are unsightly. As such they reduce the aesthetic, recreational and environmental benefits derived from Lake Tuggeranong. An investigation into the factors leading to cyanobacterial blooms in Lake Tuggeranong and in-lake trials to investigate possible management solutions will be discussed.

• Urban ponds

Urban ponds are a key feature of Canberra’s urban stormwater network. Urban ponds are used as a water sensitive urban design feature to remove contaminants from urban stormwater.  An investigation of the effectiveness of Canberra’s urban ponds and the effect of altering water regime on nutrient attenuation was undertaken.

Speaker:

Dr Rod Ubrihien has a broad interest in water quality. Specific areas of interest include managing contamination in urban environments, environmental chemistry, aquatic toxicology and aquatic ecology. His current project includes investigating water quality in Canberra’s urban stormwater system.