Topic 1 : Can Integrated River Basin Management Save our Rivers”
Topic 2 : Advantages And Challenges In River & Drainage Hydrodynamic Modelling


SYNOPSIS 1

The concept of integrated water resources management was introduced in the Eighth Malaysia Plan following Malaysia’s ratification of the Rio Accord. Integrated river basin management (IRBM) is an approach that integrates the management of natural resources and economic demands within the river basin – a geographical unit – serving as the management unit. The geographical boundaries of the river basin are the limits within which water quantity and quality are assessed. IRBM seeks to achieve an equilibrium between water resources availability and water demand across all sectors within current and future development scenarios by looking beyond the administrative boundaries of districts and states. In essence, IRBM is about placing water resources as an economic catalyst while conserving the natural river environment.


BIODATA OF SPEAKER 1

Ir. Ts. Noor Aishah bt Zaharin is a Senior Engineer at River Basin Management Division, Department of Irrigation and Drainage (DID) Malaysia, Ministry of Environment and Water. She holds a B. Eng. in Civil Engineering (Civil) from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) and a Masters’ Degree in Civil Engineering, majoring in Construction Management from The University of New South Wales (UNSW), Australia. She is the elected member of Water Resources Technical Division, Institution of Engineers Malaysia (IEM) with over 15 years of experience in river management as well as flood management and forecasting programs. She is also the Honorary Secretary of Malaysian Water Partnership (MyWP). She is also registered as an Asean Chartered Professional Engineer (ACPE) with Board of Engineers Malaysia (BEM).


SYNOPSIS 2

Hydrodynamic modelling is a prerequisite in most of flood mitigation analysis and design conducted by Department of Irrigation and Drainage, Malaysia. The output from modelling mainly the discharge and water level along the channel are the basis for planning and design. River model can be divided into two components which are hydrologic and hydraulic model. The main input to the model are channel and structure properties for hydraulic component while catchment properties with rainfall for hydrologic component.

Even though present hydrodynamic software is a powerful tool to simulate complex flow behavior with huge data input, regularly the output can be confusing and led to wrong decisions. Modelers should be able to understand the existence of uncertainties due to various reasons that could affect the analysis. This presentation discusses the advantages and challenges faced by modelers during the development of hydrodynamic model for flood analysis. By properly addressing the issues, computation of runoff or discharge and water level at any location along the river or drainage system can be improved to provide better design.


BIODATA OF SPEAKER 2

Ir. Ts. Abd Jalil Hassan has been involved in many hydrodynamic river modelling projects in Malaysia, continuously giving lectures on the topic as well as producing papers for seminars and providing consultations at the national and international levels. He is an author of two River Hydrodynamic Modelling books, entitled; River Hydrodynamic Modelling – A Practical Approach (2005) and River and Floodplain Hydrodynamic Modelling (2009. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering from University Malaya and completed Master of Science from University Science Malaysia (USM) in River and Urban Drainage Management. His career spans for more than 30 years, serving in civil service at the Department of Irrigation and Drainage and National Institute of Hydraulic Research Malaysia (NAHRIM) before extending his career as a Technical Manager at Wallingford Software Sdn. Bhd.  He is now leading a group of engineers in hydrodynamic river modelling field at his own consultancy firm, River Care Associates Sdn. Bhd.