IDENTIFYING THE POINT
OF CRITICALITY
WHILE UNKNOWNS ARE A PRODUCT OF A CHANGING CLIMATE, SUNSHINE COAST COUNCIL IS TAKING STEPS TO BETTER INSPECT ITS ASSETS IMMEDIATELY BEFORE, DURING AND AFTER A MAJOR STORM OR CYCLONE.
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t is clear that knowledge of the past is no longer a valid basis for making projections about the future,” writes a 2010 research paper on incorporating climate change into asset management by the London School of Economics and Political Science. Although the world has changed a great deal since then, the report highlights that while the science on man-made climate change in near unequivocal, the capacity to project the trajectory of local climate for a given mitigation framework is limited. Faced with these challenges, engineers and asset managers must make effective use of limited capacity to accurately project environmental conditions over the lifetime of their assets. Navigating these challenges also means undertaking an appropriate risk management strategy accessible to all asset owners, a process explored by Sunshine Coast Council through the development of a critical assets database.
In early 2012, after a period of significant rainfall events, Sunshine Coast Council identified a need to undertake a study of the region where stormwater assets would be impacted by major storms.. Andrew Priest, Asset Management Engineer at Sunshine Coast Council, explains widespread flooding of the region saw multiple roads blocked. “We spoke to a couple of external stakeholders within council and emergency crews and what we got back is that there was a lot of overland flood areas with reinforced box culverts,” Mr. Priest says. As the region continued to experience flooding over the years, in early 2017, Sunshine Coast Council decided to undertake a study of stormwater assets. The council wanted to know where stormwater assets may be significantly impacted by a major storm event. A critical asset was defined as an asset likely to result in a more significant financial, environmental and social cost and affect Sunshine Coast Council wanted to know which stormwater assets may be impacted by a major storm event.
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organisational objectives. Importantly, the council hoped to be in a position to inspect its assets immediately before, during and after a major storm or cyclone to be able to deal with potential flow impediments and minimise flooding. Its key criterion comprised maintaining the safety and wellbeing of the community, financial risk, service delivery and engaging key stakeholders. Critical to the assets were council-owned stormwater infrastructure consisting of pipes, pit, culverts, open drains, water quality and drainage easements and miscellaneous, valued collectively at $1.5 billion. Mr. Priest says it was important the culverts were in a good condition and at a serviceable point. Additionally, the council wanted to know how many culverts it had and the areas it was drained. . The initial development included undertaking desktop surveys of the council’s ArcGIS system to identify catchments that may have a more significant effect on local communities. During the initial consultation phase, it became clear there was a need to expand the database to include other critical assets such as hospitals and community centres. Telecommunications facilities such as major switchboards, pump stations and water treatment plants were also prominent considerations. It was also clear from the early stages of the survey that a more detailed investigation was needed. As such, a cross collaborative team of internal stakeholders was engaged to ascertain key assets and the units responsible for maintaining them. This comprised construction and maintenance services, the stormwater planning and policy unit and the Sunshine Coast Council Disaster Management Team. Mr. Priest says one of the biggest challenges
