Engineers and planners: Sustainable water management alliances

Copyright © 2011 ICE Publishing Ltd. Permission is granted by ICE Publishing to print one copy for personal use. Any other use of these PDF files is subject to reprint fees.In the future, increasing pressure will inevitably be placed on the spatial planning system to improve its consideration of water management issues. Emerging challenges include designing for climatic extremes, reducing flood risk, managing increasingly scarce water resources and improving water quality. These issues need to be balanced with a range of other spatial planning priorities and objectives, including meeting new housing needs, facilitating economic growth, and creating and maintaining quality places. The sheer complexity of the issues surrounding water management and the impacts upon spatial planning mean that partnership working is essential to achieve an integrated approach. Planners need the expertise, and crucially the understanding, of engineers and hydrologists. However, there can be considerable misunderstanding and miscommunication between disciplines, often concerning the institutional context in which the various parties operate. A plethora of policies, tools and assessments exist, which can make integrated water management an overwhelming prospect for the planner. This paper attempts to identify and address some of the issues faced, as well as examining how planners embed hydrological issues in decision making and how engineers could better facilitate this

An urban drainage flood risk procedure - a comprehensive approach

This paper describes the work being undertaken on the Dti SAM project (a 3 year research project completed in 2009) that developed a procedure and supporting tools to enable a risk based approach for assessing the consequences and cost of flooding and to attribute these costs back to the drainage system to enable effective management of drainage assets. This procedure has the potential to radically change the current approach to drainage management which is focused on system performance standards, and does not directly consider flood consequences or take into account potential systems failure. The methodology allows, for the first time, process-based quantified assessment of flood risks in urban areas based on a range of system states, which is an essential requirement for flood risk management. The methodology not only looks at the performance of the system as it is designed to operate using all possible loading conditions (rainfall, river level), but also considers the risks associated with all possible system states; taking into account the possible collapse and blockage in pipe systems, which are responsible for up to half of all flooding incidences. The methodology is designed to allow an integrated approach which allows consideration of other systems to be assessed together with drainage systems, such as river and coastal flooding. The procedure will enable asset managers to prioritise their investment and make the most cost effective use of available funds

2D Flooding Analysis in Scotland

This paper discusses two methods of modelling above ground flood extents and overland flow paths using InfoWorks CS. The first of these methods uses 1D overland flow paths and the 1D flood mapping tool available in InfoWorks CS. The second method uses the new 2D surface flow model recently developed by Wallingford Software and available in version 8.5 of InfoWorks CS. The Brechin catchment in Scotland provides a real-life case study where the two methods have been compared in order to determine the most robust and accurate modelling approach to assess a flooding problem in the catchment and potential solutions

The introduction of a chest pain nurse and fast-track troponin service reduces the length of stay of patients presenting with chest pain

Background Troponin I (TnI) measurement is important in decision making and management of patients who present with chest pain. Undetectable levels of TnI in these patients are associated with a low risk of death or myocardial infarction at 30 days, and may allow early discharge from hospital. Methods An audit was performed tracking patients who presented with chest pain and had a TnI blood test requested. Routine clinical service was audited for three months. A "fast-track" troponin service and chest pain specialist nurse was then introduced to assist in the management of patients. This was continued for three months to assess the impact on length of stay. Results 446 patients were admitted during the first three month period and 511 patients admitted during the second monitoring period when the new measures were introduced. The time from chest pain onset until the TnI blood test was taken reduced from 23.0 hours to 20.3 hours. The percentage of patients admitted to hospital wards from the Acute Medical Receiving Unit (AMRU) fell from 62% to 53% (p < 0.001). The new measures resulted in a reduction in admission time from 73.1 hours to 51.0 hours. Conclusion A fast-track troponin and specialist nurse achieved a reduction of nearly 24 hours in length of stay in patients presenting with chest pain. This would result in a saving of approximately 2000 bed-days per annum, releasing 5-6 acute beds per day

The introduction of a chest pain nurse and fast-track troponin service reduces the length of stay of patients presenting with chest pain.

Background Troponin I (TnI) measurement is important in decision making and management of patients who present with chest pain. Undetectable levels of TnI in these patients are associated with a low risk of death or myocardial infarction at 30 days, and may allow early discharge from hospital. Methods An audit was performed tracking patients who presented with chest pain and had a TnI blood test requested. Routine clinical service was audited for three months. A "fast-track" troponin service and chest pain specialist nurse was then introduced to assist in the management of patients. This was continued for three months to assess the impact on length of stay. Results 446 patients were admitted during the first three month period and 511 patients admitted during the second monitoring period when the new measures were introduced. The time from chest pain onset until the TnI blood test was taken reduced from 23.0 hours to 20.3 hours. The percentage of patients admitted to hospital wards from the Acute Medical Receiving Unit (AMRU) fell from 62% to 53% (p < 0.001). The new measures resulted in a reduction in admission time from 73.1 hours to 51.0 hours. Conclusion A fast-track troponin and specialist nurse achieved a reduction of nearly 24 hours in length of stay in patients presenting with chest pain. This would result in a saving of approximately 2000 bed-days per annum, releasing 5-6 acute beds per day