Making the invisible visible : The impact of federating groundwater data in Victoria, Australia
- Authors: Dahlhaus, Peter , Murphy, Angela , MacLeod, Andrew , Thompson, Helen , McKenna, Kirsten , Ollerenshaw, Alison
- Date: 2016
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Journal of Hydroinformatics Vol. 18, no. 2 (2016), p. 238-255
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- Description: The Visualising Victoria's Groundwater (VVG) web portal federates groundwater data for the State of Victoria, Australia, thus making legacy data, government datasets, research data and community sourced data and observations visible to the public. The portal is innovative because it was developed outside of the government and offers real-time accessto remote authoritative databases by integrating the interoperable web services they each provide. It includes tools for data querying and 3D visualisations that were designed to meet end-user needs and educate the broader community about a normally invisible resource. The social impact of the web portal was measured using multidisciplinary research that employed survey instruments, expert reference groups, and internet analytics to explore the extent to which the web portal has supported decision making by governments, industry, researchers and the community. The research found that single access, multiple data set web portals enhance capacity by providing timely, informed and accurate responses to answer queries and increase productivity by saving time. The provision of multiple datasets from disparate sources within a single portal has changed practices in the Victorian groundwater industry. © 2016 The Authors.
The journey to a water sensitive city - a case study of Ballarat, Victoria, Australia
- Authors: Ebbs, David , Kandra, Harpreet , Dahlhaus, Peter
- Date: 2016
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: 37th Hydrology & Water Resources Symposium 2016: Water, Infrastructure and the Environment p. 107-114
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- Description: Water security is a vital part of ensuring a sustainable future. This is particularly true for many cities in Australia where relatively low rainfall, population growth and climate change places communities under water stress. The 'Water Sensitive City' is one in which water is drawn from a range of water supplies and that sustainably interacts with its surrounding environment. Every city has a unique water history in which the economic, environmental and social history have impacted on the development of water management. Tracking the evolution of water management of a city from its initial stages can provide information regarding the journey towards a Water Sensitive City. Water management in Ballarat has been tracked from the establishment of the first water supply to the city in the 1850's until 2015 using historical records from the local water authority. These records show that Ballarat generally followed the classical water development model with the introduction of water supply, sewerage and water treatment. Water use in Ballarat increased dramatically from 1941 until 1980, in line with increased standards of living as expected. However, after this time water use decreased despite continued population growth, and commercial water use decreased as a percentage of total use and external water use also declined. The reasons behind the decline in water use since 1980 may contain lessons that can be used in the establishment of Water Sensitive Cities.
A web-GIS and landslide database for South West Victoria and its application to landslide zonation
- Authors: Dahlhaus, Peter , Miner, Anthony , MacLeod, Andrew , Thompson, Helen
- Date: 2012
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Australian geomechanics Vol. 46, no. 2 (2012), p. 203-209
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- Description: The Australian Geomechanics Society's (AGS) guidelines on Landslide Risk Management emphasise landslide zonation as a key requirement for regulators dealing with landslide risk (AGS 2007a). The basis for zonation is a landslide inventory which reflects the nature and spatial distribution of landslide types in a particular locale, such as a local government area. This paper describes the design and implementation of a web-based landslide database for south west Victoria aimed at disseminating landslide inventory information to regulators. consultants and the general public. Although the 4,581 mapped landslides represent the most complete and extensive data set for the region, the current data quality and resolution does not meet the AGS guideline for landslide zonation at the municipal planning scale. However, with an essential need for landslide planning controls in this region, the data is the best available for the construction of zonat ion maps, resulting in conservative boundaries at the required map scale. The paper highlights the ongoing need to improve the spatial extent and quality of the landslide database if the statutory planning zonation maps are ultimately to comply with the AGS guidelines.
The implementation of the AGS guidelines in the Colac Otway Shire – history and challenges
- Authors: Marsden, P , Miner, Anthony , Dahlhaus, Peter
- Date: 2011
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Australian geomechanics Vol. 46, no. 2 (June 2011), p. 211-218
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: The Australian Geomechanics Society's (AGS) guidelines on Landslide Risk Management emphasise landslide zonation as a key requirement for regulators dealing with landslide risk (AGS 2007a). The basis for zonation is a landslide inventory which reflects the nature and spatial distribution of landslide types in a particular locale, such as a local government area. This paper describes the design and implementation of a web-based landslide database for south west Victoria aimed at disseminating landslide inventory information to regulators, consultants and the general public. Although the 4,581 mapped landslides represent the most complete and extensive data set for the region, the current data quality and resolution does not meet the AGS guideline for landslide zonation at the municipal planning scale. However, with an essential need for landslide planning controls in this region, the data is the best available for the construction of zonation maps, resulting in conservative boundaries at the required map scale. The paper highlights the ongoing need to improve the spatial extent and quality of the landslide database if the statutory planning zonation maps are ultimately to comply with the AGS guidelines.