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Leading professional services consulting firm, Sinclair Knight Merz, has won a prestigious Institution of Engineers Australia award for its research into engineering solutions for dryland salinity.The firm took out the Project Development Award for its 'Assessment of the Efficacy of Engineering Options for the Management of Dryland Salinity' project. The project is part of Australia's National Dryland Salinity Program (NDSP) and is one of four inter-linked projects examining dryland salinity from the engineering, local government, institutional and policy perspectives. The award was presented to Project Manager, Chris McAuley, at 'The Main Event', hosted by the Victorian Division of the Institution in Melbourne recently.
Attending the NDSP 'Salinity Stocktake' national conference in Bendigo, Victoria, today Sinclair Knight Merz Principal Hydrogeologist and Project Director, Paul Bolger, said the award recognised that integrated solutions were needed to solve the complex problems associated with dryland salinity.
'This award recognises the importance of engineering techniques, such as groundwater pumping and drainage, in helping to solve dryland salinity problems,' Mr Bolger said.
'It is also an acknowledgment from the engineering community of the need to be more environmentally aware, and better informed and coordinated in our approach to salinity,' he said.
Due for completion in December 2000, the project is collating available information on engineering solutions (including groundwater pumping, subsurface drainage and surface drainage) for managing dryland salinity. The information is being developed into a web-based package for land and water managers, including local government engineers, to help make decisions about the most appropriate and cost-effective engineering options for managing saline-affected areas.
The NDSP 'Salinity Stocktake' national conference is being held at Latrobe University, Bendigo from Tuesday November 14 to Friday November 17 2000 inclusive. The conference is sponsored by Australia's National Dryland Salinity Program, North Central Catchment Management Authority, Victorian Department of Natural Resources (Bendigo Region) and Sinclair Knight Merz, with support from the Law Institute of Victoria.
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