Water Sciences

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To secure the long term viability of a country’s resources, the integrated management of water resources and the sustainable care of marine and freshwater environments are paramount.

Water managers must balance the economic, social and environmental demands associated with our wetlands, rivers, coastal and ocean environments.

Our water sciences services combine technical aquatic and marine capacity with water engineering services to provide innovative, cost-effective water resource management outcomes.

Our global team of marine and aquatic scientists provide support to clients in the following services:

  • Biological and habitat assessment and monitoring including; benthic and epi-benthic invertebrates, marine pests, corals, seagrasses, mangroves, fish, mammals, seabirds, turtles, macroinvertebrates, diatoms, wetlands, macrophytes
  • Environmental impact and mitigation management
  • Biological assessments and monitoring
  • Water quality and sediment assessments and monitoring
  • Catchment and waterway inventories, assessments and rehabilitation
  • Wetland monitoring and rehabilitation including constructed wetlands
  • Fisheries management
  • Environmental flows
  • Water treatment
  • Assessment of groundwater dependant ecosystems
  • Dredging impact assessment and management 

To further understand our offering, contact:

Kerry Neil
Tel: +61 2 4979 9999
Email: Kerry Neil

Alaskan Way Viaduct & Seawall

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GHD has provided utility coordination and relocation design services throughout the two-mile long Alaskan Way Viaduct corridor in Seattle, Washington.

GHD is responsible for data quality review for all utility mapping throughout the corridor, performing research of the City of Seattle’s GIS and other utility records dating back to 1900, resolving discrepancies, performing field checks, and integrating survey data.

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Blue Lake Pumping Station Modifications, SA Water

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The existing Blue Lake Pumping Station was commissioned in the early 1970s to be the primary supply of water to Mount Gambier and the surrounding districts in South Australia.

The pumping station is located on the northern side of the Blue Lake and consists of a floating pontoon structure (that pumps water to the bank of the Blue Lake), a secondary pumping station and anchor block (that pump the water up to the top of the crater), and associated infrastructure.

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Macquarie Marshes & Gwydir Wetlands

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GHD was engaged by the Central West (CW) and Border Rivers-Gwydir (BRG) catchment management authorities (CMAs) to study the distribution and management of Lippia in the Macquarie Marshes & Gwydir Wetlands.

Our work increased the CMAs' understanding of Lippia (Phyla Canescens) throughout the area, including the rate of spread, outbreak triggers and control measure successes.

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Environmental flow study on Swan and Canning Rivers

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This project involved providing the basis to determine environmental flow objectives and associated river flow regimes for the waterways of the Swan Canning River system for the chapter entitled ‘Environmental Flows’ in the Water Quality Improvement Plan (WQIP).

GHD was commissioned by the Swan River Trust of Western Australia to analyse flow data from 12 representative stations throughout the WQIP area. In particular this involved the analysis of:

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Hydroelectric Power Generation Feasibility Study

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High demand for electricity and escalating costs for power production has increased the economic feasibility of building small scale hydroelectric facilities. The objective of this project was to reassess the finding of the previous studies regarding the feasibility of bypassing pressure regulating valves at Metropolitan Water District (MWD) service connections to Municipal Water District of Orange County (MWDOC) and instead use energy recovering hydroelectric turbines to produce energy while also regulating water pressure and flow.

Eighty-two turnouts, belonging to MWDOC Member Agencies, were evaluated based upon pre-determined evaluation criteria including:

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Lake Condah Restoration project management

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GHD was engaged to project manage the design and construction of infrastructure that would allow the restoration of Lake Condah, near Heywood in Victoria.

Lake Condah forms a key part of the recently declared “Budj Bim National Heritage Landscape,” and is identified as a wetland of national significance, on cultural and ecological grounds.

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Murray River wetland rehabilitation

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Known as the Wetland Rehabilitation Project – Reinstating Wetting and Drying Regimes, this is one of the first projects of its type in Australia. The Lower Murray-Darling Catchment Management Authority engaged GHD to investigate, design and implement rehabilitation works to restore flood flows and fish passage to approximately 700ha of wetlands.

The team investigated wetland ecosystems to identify environmental values, then used this information to propose works and complementary land management activities aimed at achieving specific rehabilitation objectives for each wetland. The process involved flora, fauna and aquatic assessments, grazing pressure and land management assessments, indigenous cultural heritage assessments, and hydrologic-hydraulic simulation of proposed water regime options.

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EIS Ports of Hay

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The Ports Corporation of Queensland (PCQ) will be undertaking capital dredging at Port of Hay Point to increase water depth for ships departing the port.

An Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) has been completed for the project in accordance with approved Terms of Reference (ToR) and the requirements of Commonwealth and state approval agencies. All development approvals have now been obtained for the project and dredging was approved to commence on 1 May 2006.

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Washington Suburban Asset Management (Md, USA)

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The Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC) appointed GHD to lead the provision of asset management services in support of master planning and enterprise resource planning initiatives.

WSSC is the eighth largest water and wastewater utility in the USA, owning USD$12 billion of infrastructure assets. While instituting a range of short-term measures to combat the increasing incidence of water main breaks and leaks, WSSC is also taking a long-range strategic approach to address the growing challenge of ageing infrastructure.

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Kerry Neil

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Industry now faces the added pressure to manage the impact of development on the environment. Tight fiscal planning and rapid changes in measured impacts mean stakeholders must proactively seek out sustainable project solutions.

Kerry Neil is GHD's Service Line Leader for Water Sciences. A Principal Environmental Scientist with more than 12 years’ experience in aquatic environmental management, impact assessment, ecological aquatic research and publication, Kerry aims to support and develop the water science services that GHD provides, particularly focusing on delivering scientifically robust and defensible products to our clients. She has a strong collaborative record working with leading Australian and international scientists and her skills have provided her opportunity to work with various organisations including the IMO across numerous countries including Singapore, Brazil, Kenya and New Zealand in addition to Australia.

Our clients benefit from Kerry's drive to improve our ability to achieve sustainable use, protection and maintenance of the health of aquatic environmental assets in the face of increasing development and climatic pressures.

Position: Service Line Leader, Water Sciences
Tel: +61 7 33173187

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