Golder Associates Pty Ltd

Golder Associates (Golder) is respected across the globe for providing consulting, design and construction services in our specialist areas of earth and environment, and the related areas of energy. Employee owned since our formation in 1960, Golder now employs over 8,000 people who operate from 180 offices located throughout Africa, Asia, Australasia, Europe, North America and South America. The Australian operations began in 1972 and now comprise 8 offices and four NATA accredited laboratories. Golder in Australia employs over 600 people who are based in Adelaide, Brisbane, Cairns, Darwin, Melbourne, Newcastle, Perth, and Sydney. Golder regularly assists with water quality policy and projects primarily to the energy and resource /extractive industries sectors, including specific technical roles with the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, and International Finance Corporation relating to Environment, Health and Safety (EHS) Guidelines based on Environmental Safeguard Policies.

Organisational Capability

1. Groundwater and surface water supply development investigations, studies and design
2. Regional, basin and local groundwater modelling, managed aquifer recharge (MAR), and assessment of effects
of groundwater development
3. Fluvial geomorphology, river engineering, stream restoration and assessment of effects of infrastructure
development
4. Environmental and social impact assessment
5. Geotechnical investigation, design and engineering
6. Dams, weirs and water retaining infrastructure design and engineering
7. Dam break consequence category assessment and dam break hydraulic modelling (1D/2D/3D)
8. Hydraulic analysis including spillways, flood studies and flood mitigation planning, design and engineering
9. Management of water quality
10. Probabilistic water balance with climate change, for decision analysis and assessment of water vulnerability

Projects

Seqwater Flood Damage Remediation, Queensland
Golder was retained by Insurers for Seqwater’s assets to undertake third party review and verification of the designs developed by consultants to remediate damage resulting from the 2011 floods. The reviews included Wivenhoe Dam, Somerset Dam, Borumba Dam, Wilson’s Weir and Mt Crosby Weir. This included preparing estimates of cost of the remediation options built up by Golder’s Construction Group for comparison with the Consultants’ estimates. This was carried out in a cooperative manner with regular meetings between Seqwater, their Insurers and Golder, enabling regular review of the progress of the Seqwater claim.
Townsville City Council Integrated Bulk Water Model
Golder was engaged to develop a user-friendly, computer-based planning tool capable of modelling existing and planned infrastructure and also model operational situations. Due to drought and rapid growth there was a requirement to augment existing water infrastructure to maintain the reliability and security of supply in this region. Golder delivered a convenient tool that could be routinely maintained, thus providing the Water Business with regular updates of their Level of Service and Risk profile. Value was also added with the inclusion of climate change and sustainability evaluation tools. The tool estimated the most cost effective sequencing of new infrastructure over a 50 year period and optimized water supply reliability and security to urban and industrial customers
The Santos GLNG Water Portal
The Santos GLNG Water Portal (www.santoswaterportal.com.au/) is designed, developed and maintained by Golder to facilitate the communication of Coal Seam Gas (CSG) related water monitoring information to stakeholders – primarily the public. The system recently won the APPEA Environment award for Santos.
Water planning for Unconventional Gas
Water supply and demand studies in the Cooper –Eromanga Basins of South Australia and Queensland for an industry working group. The scientific study will inform the development of a Basin wide water strategy and business case for comprehensive water use from multiple types of water sources matched to corresponding water demands.
Paradise Dam, Burnett River, Queensland
Paradise Dam is a 50 m-high roller compacted concrete dam with a total storage volume of 300,000 ML located on the Burnett River, 50 km inland from Childers, Queensland.
World Bank Reducing Barriers South Asia Studies
Golder Associates conducted a study on behalf of the World Bank to assess the major technical barriers to hydropower development in Nepal and India in 2009-2010. The study focused on issues of sediment management, geotechnical engineering and tunneling. During the study, experts from Golder visited several hydropower projects and consulted with key stakeholders in Nepal and India. A principal conclusion from the Barriers Project was that some of the constraints to hydropower projects related simply to lack of implementation of state-of-the-art methodologies and to lack of appreciation of the wealth of procedures and approaches for rapidly dealing with problem underground conditions.