Optimisation of the Flood Infrastructure for the Penrith Lakes Scheme in NSW, Australia

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Brett Phillips, Luke Evans, Rhys Thomson, Robert Golaszewski

Friday 3 july 2015

12:51 - 12:54h at Europe 2 (level 0)

Themes: (T) Extreme events, natural variability and climate change, (ST) Flood resilient cities and infrastructures, Poster pitches

Parallel session: Poster pitches: 15I. Extreme - Society & Resilienty

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The proposed Penrith Lakes Scheme which is located in western Sydney comprises a series of 12 lakes and parklands, covering an area approximately 2,000 hectares. The development is located beside the Nepean River, and flooding, flood impacts and emergency response planning are key issues for the development. It is proposed to control the flow of floodwaters through the lakes using various weirs including two 400 m – 570 m long weirs. The weirs control the flood waters moving through the scheme, and also influence flood behaviour in the wider region, affecting flood levels in Emu Plains, Penrith and Cranebrook. Optimisation of the scheme was complicated by the fact that each element of infrastructure interacts hydraulically with other infrastructure. This paper summarises the rationalisation and optimisation of the flood infrastructure components of the PLDC scheme. The rationalisation and optimisation process resulted in a significant reduction in the number and extent of flood infrastructure works required, and also improved the flood behaviour of the scheme and the surrounding regions.