Using hydraulic models to aid and earthquake recovery

The September 2010 and February 2011 Canterbury earthquakes had a devastating effect on the city of Christchurch and a significant impact on the City’s water and wastewater infrastructure. Opus International Consultants were engaged by Christchurch City Council to assess the impact the loss of water supply infrastructure would have on the Central City Water Supply Zone supplying peak summer demand.

Infoworks WS hydraulic models were used to identify shortfalls in the network, to prioritise repairs and identify strategic locations for new well sites as part of the recovery. Operational water supply (zonal) boundaries were reviewed, to assess where additional supplies could be imported to service areas where there were supply deficiencies.

It is now recognised that there is a need and an opportunity to embrace a number of drivers and objectives as a result of lessons learnt from the recent events. The open nature of the current supply regime impeded the response and recovery work, and could be improved by re-zoning the system into smaller management zones.

The key focus of the presentation is to demonstrate the value of having an up to date hydraulic model, how it can be used to support Operations and Planning staff through the recovery period following an emergency event, and to highlight work being carried out to create a more robust, resilient and efficient Christchurch water supply for the future.