• Development of DRIFT, a scenario-based methodology for Environmental Flow Assessments

    Year: 2001 – 2002 | Client: Water Research Commission | Location: South Africa

    Documentation and further development of the DRIFT method, a scenario-based methodology for Environmental Flow Assessments, which was developed for use in the Lesotho Highland Water Project.

  • DRIFT Users Manual and Associated Software

    Year: 2003 – 2005 | Client: Water Research Commission | Location: South Africa

    Author of detailed manual for the biophysical components of the DRIFT method, including user-guides to the DRIFT database and DRIFT hydrological software.

  • Environmental Flow DSS Software

    Year: 2009 – 2011 | Client: Water Research Commission | Location: South Africa

    Development of Decision Support System (DSS) software to automate the process for Environmental Flow Assessments.  The software is different from current DSSs in the field in that it fully incorporates the ecological, social and socio-economic aspects of management options to the same level of detail and sensitivity as the economic and engineering aspects.  The DSS is based on advances made in the DRIFT methodology through its application in Southern and East Africa.

  • FEPAs and flows

    Year: 2014 | Client: Water Research Commission | Location: South Africa

    An elementary tool for Ecological Reserve monitoring in high-value conservation catchments in South Africa was developed.

  • History of the management of Cape Town’s Rivers

    Year: 2006 – 2008 | Client: Water Research Commission | Location: South Africa

    Multi-authored book on the history of the management of Cape Town’s rivers, including options of future planning and management.

  • Links between riparian vegetation and flow

    Year: 2010 – 2013 | Client: Water Research Commission | Location: South Africa

    Quantifying the links between patterns of riparian vegetation and flow on South African rivers. Current knowledge, existing data from Reserve studies, and empirical evidence was synthesized to propose a naming convention, methods of identification and a description of the characteristics of lateral zonation patterns in riparian vegetation communities.

  • Lotic landscapes and the Reserve

    Year: 2014 – 2017 | Client: Water Research Commission | Location: South Africa

    To use a variety of data sources to compile a framework of change at temporal and spatial scales of relevance to river ecosystems, and to correlate these with known, and measured, changes in river ecosystem condition with the aim of identifying the long-term: (1) natural cycles; (2) non-flow related impacts and (3) flow related impacts on components of the rivers.

  • WRC Peninsula Aquifer Project

    Year: 2002 – 2009 | Client: Water Research Commission | Location: South Africa

    Research Project aimed at the development of predictive tools and indices to assess the impact (or risk of impact) of groundwater abstraction on the environment; improved understanding of groundwater dependent ecosystems (GDEs) in the Table Mountain Group (TMG), development of innovative techniques to determine the impacts of groundwater abstraction on the environment; development of indicators to monitor the effect of abstraction; and improved understanding of the impact of changing low flows on freshwater ecology and the relationship between surface flow, event discharge from high-lying TMG unconfined aquifers and deep confined-aquifers in maintaining wetlands or seeps.

 

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