C&ENVENG 3077 - Engineering Hydrology

North Terrace Campus - Semester 1 - 2015

The course serves as an introduction to the field of engineering hydrology. It covers fundamentals such as the hydrological cycle, catchment, losses, hydrographs and hyetographs. Design topics covered will be selected from: flood frequency analysis, determination of design rainfall intensity and hyetographs, peak flow estimation, design hydrograph estimation, groundwater process and modelling, and drought risk analysis/yield hydrology.

  • General Course Information
    Course Details
    Course Code C&ENVENG 3077
    Course Engineering Hydrology
    Coordinating Unit School of Civil, Environmental & Mining Eng
    Term Semester 1
    Level Undergraduate
    Location/s North Terrace Campus
    Units 3
    Contact Up to 4 hours per week
    Available for Study Abroad and Exchange Y
    Incompatible C&ENVENG 2035
    Assumed Knowledge C&ENVENG 1012, C&ENVENG 2068 & C&ENVENG 2071
    Course Description The course serves as an introduction to the field of engineering hydrology. It covers fundamentals such as the hydrological cycle, catchment, losses, hydrographs and hyetographs. Design topics covered will be selected from: flood frequency analysis, determination of design rainfall intensity and hyetographs, peak flow estimation, design hydrograph estimation, groundwater process and modelling, and drought risk analysis/yield hydrology.
    Course Staff

    Course Coordinator: Dr Mark Thyer

    Engineering North, N107a
    Phone: +61 8 8313 0770
    e-mail: mark.thyer@adelaide.edu.au
    Web : http://www.adelaide.edu.au/directory/mark.thyer

    Information on office hours and other course staff (tutors etc) will be made available via myUni course


    Course Timetable

    The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from Course Planner.

    This course consists of online modules/quizes, lectures and design sessions (computer and other) with the mix varying on weekly basis, depending on the learning priorities. A detailed description of the week by week course timetable will be availabe in myUni.
  • Learning Outcomes
    Course Learning Outcomes
    The specific learning objectives in relation to the acquisition of technical skills in water engineering include:
    1 Demonstrated understanding of physical processes in the context of flood hydrology, including the hydrological cycle in general, and rainfall, loss and groundwater transport mechanisms in particular.
    2 Demonstrated understanding of the methods that can be used to measure rainfall and flow, as well as their relative advantages and disadvantages.
    3 Demonstrated ability to identify and define key concepts related to flood hydrology, such as relative and cumulative frequency, the use of statistical data distributions, time of concentration, major / minor systems, risk-cost tradeoffs, model calibration, catchment storage, flood routing, actual versus design rainfalls and flows and the value of data.
    4 Demonstrated ability to obtain design rainfall intensities and hyetographs.
    5 Demonstrated ability to understand (e.g. how they work, what their limitations are), apply, compare and contrast a number of methods for determining peak flows and flood hydrographs for urban and rural areas, including flood frequency analysis, the probabilistic and deterministic rational methods, the regional method and runoff routing methods.
    6 Demonstrated ability to select appropriate methods of determining design flows and hydrographs in urban and rural areas.
    7 Demonstrated ability to conceptualise processes in simple groundwater systems and determine groundwater flow through use of Darcy’s law, as well as being able to clearly identify the limitations and assumptions of Darcy’s law.
    8 Demonstrated competence in a number of software packages, including Stochastic Climate Library, and RORB.
    9 Demonstrated ability to solve engineering design problems in the context of flood hydrology and hydrogeology.
    University Graduate Attributes

    This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attribute(s) specified below:

    University Graduate Attribute Course Learning Outcome(s)
    Knowledge and understanding of the content and techniques of a chosen discipline at advanced levels that are internationally recognised. 1-7
    The ability to locate, analyse, evaluate and synthesise information from a wide variety of sources in a planned and timely manner. 2-9
    An ability to apply effective, creative and innovative solutions, both independently and cooperatively, to current and future problems. 4,5,6,7,9
    Skills of a high order in interpersonal understanding, teamwork and communication. 4,5,6,7,9
    A proficiency in the appropriate use of contemporary technologies. 8
    A commitment to continuous learning and the capacity to maintain intellectual curiosity throughout life. 1-9
    A commitment to the highest standards of professional endeavour and the ability to take a leadership role in the community. 5,9
  • Learning Resources
    Required Resources
    Lecture Notes:
    Lecture notes are available through the new On-line shop just log-in to Unified on the University's website.  Once your lecture notes are purchased take your receipt to Image and Copy Centre to collect your notes. Due to copyrighted material in the lecture notes, the notes cannot be made available on the course MyUni site.

    Course Information:
    This Course Information document is a required resource. It can be downloaded from the “Course Information” section of the course MyUni site.

    Online Learning Units:
    See online learning section below
    Recommended Resources
    Online Module “Slide Handouts”:
    Handouts of the slides for the Online Learning Units will be made available to downloaded from the “Resources” section of the course MyUni site.

    References
    A range of relevant references (journal papers, websites etc) will be made available from the Resources section of the course MyUni site. 
  • Learning & Teaching Activities
    Learning & Teaching Modes
    The centrepiece of the course is a Design Project on flood and groundwater hydrology, which consists of a number of phases. You will learn the fundamental principles / underlying theory required to complete the project as part of a number of learning cycles consisting of a series of Online Learning Modules (OMs), Online Quizzes (OQs) and Lectures. The Online Learning Modules and Quizzes provide you with a base level of knowledge that enables more in-depth material to be explored during Lectures. The Design Project provides you with the opportunity to gain an in-depth understanding of the material covered by applying it in a realistic context.

    Further details of how these interact will be in the course information, available for download from myUni site for the course


    Workload

    The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.

    Activity Contact Hours Private Study Hours Total
    Lectures 12 0 12
    Online Learning Units 0 22 (2h per module, allowing for quizzes, reading of lecture notes etc.) 22
    Design (Phase 1) 6 6 (per person) 12
    Design (Phase 2) 6 12 (per person) 18
    Design (Phase 3) 1 6 (per person) 7
    Design (Phase 4) 9 20 (per person) 29
    Design (Phase 5) 6 8 (per person) 14
    Design (Phase 6) 5 8 (per person) 13
    Exam Preparation 0 14 14
    Exam 3 0 3
    Total 48 96 144
    Learning Activities Summary

    No information currently available.

  • Assessment

    The University's policy on Assessment for Coursework Programs is based on the following four principles:

    1. Assessment must encourage and reinforce learning.
    2. Assessment must enable robust and fair judgements about student performance.
    3. Assessment practices must be fair and equitable to students and give them the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.
    4. Assessment must maintain academic standards.

    Assessment Summary
    Introduction
    This section contains information about all of the assessment tasks for this course. Initially, a summary of all assessment tasks is given, followed by information that is relevant to all of these. Additional details regarding what is required for each task, relevent due dates, assessment criteria etc will be provided on the MyUni course site. 

    Summary of Assessment Tasks
    Please find below details of all assessment tasks for the course.  
    **All online quizzes are required to be completed by midnight on due date **
    All written submissions can be submitted online via the Assessments section of MyUni 
    **All written submissions are due at midnight on the due date**

    Assessment Task Task Type

    Individual(I)

     /Group(G)

    Task Format Due Dates Weighting Learning Outcome

    Online Quizzes

    (OQ1-10)

    Formative

    I

    online multiple choice

    Throughout semester see MyUni for dates 

    5% 1-7

    Design Project

    (Phases 1-6)

    Formative and Summative G short or full Report Throughout semester see MyUni for dates 30% 1-9
    Exam Summative I

    multiple choice

    numerical

    short answer

    At end of semester, details to be provided 65% 1-9
    Total

    100%
    Rationale
    The assessment tasks have been developed to ensure that all course learning objectives are being assessed. The assessment tasks represent a mix of assessment types in order to maximise opportunities for individuals to demonstrate their knowledge of the course material in relation to the learning objectives. There is also a mixture of individual and group activities, as well as formative and summative assessment tasks, in an attempt to maximise learning outcomes, as group activities and formative tasks encourage interaction and discussion between students and between students and staff. Some assessment tasks, such as the online quizzes, are designed to provide students with the opportunity to test their knowledge and understanding of basic facts and principles and are primarily formative, with the added advantage of instant feedback. Other assessment tasks are more open ended and require a deeper understanding of the underlying concepts and principles and build on the knowledge gained through completion of the online quizzes. While these projects are summative in the sense that the mark for the final report counts towards a significant portion of the final course mark, the process of completing the tasks will result in significant learning and has therefore some formative elements to it.

    Feedback
    For online tasks details will be provided in relation to where and how many marks have been lost (marked on the submissions). In relation to reports for the design project, where detailed assessment criteria have been provided, feedback will be given against these criteria.

    Assessment
    All assessment is criterion-based (i.e. everybody who meets certain criteria will receive a certain mark, irrespective of the number of students in the class who achieve this standard) and detailed assessment criteria are provided for all assessment tasks. The assessment criteria for the assessment tasks in this course are based on the University’s general grade descriptors, which are available here  It should be noted that according to the grade descriptors, a deep understanding of the subject matter beyond the core material is required in order to obtain Distinctions and High Distinctions and a Credit is generally awarded if everything is done “correctly” and “by the book”.

    Academic Honesty

    Students are expected to be aware of the academic dishonesty policy and procedures, outlined below in Policy and Guidelines section. 
    Assessment Related Requirements
    In order to pass this course, students must obtain at least:
    • 35% on average for all 6 phases of the project
    • 40% for the exam
    If the above requirements are not met, students will receive a zero (0) fail for this course.
    Assessment Detail
    Details about the assessment tasks, including due dates and assessment criteria will be made available on the MyUni site for the course.
    Submission
    Submissions should follow the guidelines as provided on MyUni.

    All written submissions should be submitted online via the Assessment section of the MyUni course site

    Late submissions will only be accepted for the Design Project. However, there will be a loss of 10% of the marks obtained if the submission is less than 24 hours late, 20% if the submission is between 24 and 48 hours late and so on. Extensions will only be granted in special circumstances (e.g. illness) and must be sought for each assessment task individually. Extensions will not be granted less than 24 hours before the deadline for a given task, with the exception of a medical certificate.
    Course Grading

    Grades for your performance in this course will be awarded in accordance with the following scheme:

    M10 (Coursework Mark Scheme)
    Grade Mark Description
    FNS   Fail No Submission
    F 1-49 Fail
    P 50-64 Pass
    C 65-74 Credit
    D 75-84 Distinction
    HD 85-100 High Distinction
    CN   Continuing
    NFE   No Formal Examination
    RP   Result Pending

    Further details of the grades/results can be obtained from Examinations.

    Grade Descriptors are available which provide a general guide to the standard of work that is expected at each grade level. More information at Assessment for Coursework Programs.

    Final results for this course will be made available through Access Adelaide.

  • Student Feedback

    The University places a high priority on approaches to learning and teaching that enhance the student experience. Feedback is sought from students in a variety of ways including on-going engagement with staff, the use of online discussion boards and the use of Student Experience of Learning and Teaching (SELT) surveys as well as GOS surveys and Program reviews.

    SELTs are an important source of information to inform individual teaching practice, decisions about teaching duties, and course and program curriculum design. They enable the University to assess how effectively its learning environments and teaching practices facilitate student engagement and learning outcomes. Under the current SELT Policy (http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/101/) course SELTs are mandated and must be conducted at the conclusion of each term/semester/trimester for every course offering. Feedback on issues raised through course SELT surveys is made available to enrolled students through various resources (e.g. MyUni). In addition aggregated course SELT data is available.

  • Student Support
  • Policies & Guidelines
  • Fraud Awareness

    Students are reminded that in order to maintain the academic integrity of all programs and courses, the university has a zero-tolerance approach to students offering money or significant value goods or services to any staff member who is involved in their teaching or assessment. Students offering lecturers or tutors or professional staff anything more than a small token of appreciation is totally unacceptable, in any circumstances. Staff members are obliged to report all such incidents to their supervisor/manager, who will refer them for action under the university's student’s disciplinary procedures.

The University of Adelaide is committed to regular reviews of the courses and programs it offers to students. The University of Adelaide therefore reserves the right to discontinue or vary programs and courses without notice. Please read the important information contained in the disclaimer.