Australian Rainfall and Runoff - Book 9 - Runoff in Urban Areas

Sep 18, 2026

Uploaded by Paura

Australian Rainfall and Runoff (ARR) provides a widely used set of flood estimation guidelines for policy decisions and projects across Australia. Book 9 focuses on runoff in urban areas and supports applications such as infrastructure design, town planning, flood management plans, flood warnings and emergency management, operation of regulated river systems, and prediction of extreme flood levels. The preface explains the need for revision from the 1987 edition due to outdated practices and improved understanding from larger climate and flood hydrology datasets.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages235

Reading Time9 h 52 min

AccessFree to download

Preface

Purpose and application of ARR

Rationale for revising the 1987 edition

Projects and funding supporting the revision

Editorial team and roles

Status of the document

A GU I D E TOF LOOD ESTIMATIO N BOOK 9-RUNOFF IN URBAN AREAS The Australian Rainfall and Runoff: A guide to flood estimation (ARR) is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence, unless otherwise indicated or marked. Please give attribution to: © Commonwealth of Australia (Geoscience Australia) 2019. Third-Party Material The Commonwealth of Australia and the ARR’s contributing authors (through Engineers Australia) have taken steps to both identify third-party material and secure permission for its reproduction and reuse. However, please note that where these materials are not licensed under a Creative Commons licence or similar terms of use, you should obtain permission from the relevant third-party to reuse their material beyond the ways you are legally permitted to use them under the fair dealing provisions of the Copyright Act 1968. If you have any questions about the copyright ofthe ARR, please contact: [arr_admin@arr.org.au](arr_admin@arr.org.au) [c/o 11 National Circuit](c/o 11 National Circuit), Barton, ACT ISBN 978-1-925848-36-6 How to reference this book: Ball J, Babister M, Nathan R, Weeks W, Weinmann E, Retallick M, Testoni I,(Editors) Australian Rainfall and Runoff: A Guide to Flood Estimation, © Commonwealth of Australia (Geoscience Australia), 2019. How to reference Book 9: Runoff in Urban Areas: Coombes, P., and Roso, S. (Editors), 2019 Runoff in Urban Areas, Book 9 in Australian Rainfall and Runoff-A Guide to Flood Estimation, Commonwealth of Australia, © Commonwealth of Australia (Geoscience Australia), 2019. PREFACE Since its first publication in 1958, Australian Rainfall and Runoff (ARR) has remained one of the most influential and widely used guidelines published by Engineers Australia (EA) . The 3rd edition, published in 1987, retained the same level of national and international acclaim as its predecessors. With nationwide applicability, balancing the varied climates of Australia, the information and the approaches presented in Australian Rainfall and Runoff are essential for policy decisions and projects involving: • infrastructure such as roads, rail, airports, bridges, dams, stormwater and sewer systems; • town planning; • mining; • developing flood management plans for urban and rural communities; • flood warnings and flood emergency management; • operation of regulated river systems; and • prediction of extreme flood levels. However, many of the practices recommended in the 1987 edition ofARR have become outdated, and no longer represent industry best practice. This fact, coupled with the greater understanding of climate and flood hydrology derived from the larger data sets now available to us, has provided the primary impetus for revising these guidelines. It is hoped that this revision will lead to improved design practice, which will allow better management, policy and planning decisions to be made. One of the major responsibilities of the National Committee on Water Engineering of Engineers Australia is the periodic revision ofARR. While the NCWE had long identified the need to update ARR it had become apparent by 2002 that even with a piecemeal approach the task could not be carried out without significant financial support. In 2008 the revision of ARR was identified as a priority in the National Adaptation Framework for Climate Change which was endorsed by the Council of Australian Governments. In addition to the update, 21 projects were identified with the aim of filling knowledge gaps. Funding for Stages 1 and 2 ofthe ARR revision projects were provided by the now Department of the Environment. Stage 3 was funded by Geoscience Australia. Funding for Stages 2 and 3 of Project 1 (Development of Intensity-Frequency-Duration information across Australia) has been provided by the Bureau of Meteorology. The outcomes ofthe projects assisted the ARR Editorial Team with the compiling and writing of chapters in the revi

FAQs

What is Australian Rainfall and Runoff (ARR), and what is its overall purpose?

ARR is a set of flood estimation guidelines intended to support policy decisions and engineering projects. It is used for planning and management related to flood risk and design flood characteristics.

Why was ARR revised from the 1987 edition?

Many practices recommended in the 1987 edition became outdated. The revision is driven by better understanding of climate and flood hydrology from larger datasets now available.

What kinds of urban-related applications does Book 9 support?

The guidance applies to infrastructure and urban systems such as roads, rail, airports, bridges, dams, stormwater and sewer systems, as well as town planning and flood management planning and warnings.

Sep 18, 2026

Uploaded by Paura