ENCN347-25S2 (C) Semester Two 2025

Stormwater systems engineering

15 points

Details:
Start Date: Monday, 14 July 2025
End Date: Sunday, 9 November 2025
Withdrawal Dates
Last Day to withdraw from this course:
  • Without financial penalty (full fee refund): Sunday, 27 July 2025
  • Without academic penalty (including no fee refund): Sunday, 28 September 2025

Description

Interdisciplinary nature of stormwater management. Pollutant characteristics and receiving environments. Water-sensitive design. Erosion management. Engineered treatment systems. Lab and field experiences.

Stormwater systems engineering is a multi-disciplinary area that aims to achieve functional stormwater management (flow, volume and quality control), while integrating broader community and ecological benefits. This course provides an overview of: historic and modern stormwater management practices; pollutant characteristics and receiving environments; management processes and techniques. Applications include engineered treatment systems, water sensitive urban design and erosion management. The course is relevant to both Civil and Natural Resources Engineering students, and includes both lab and field experiences.

Learning Outcomes

1 Explain the key pollutants of concern, their sources and behaviour. Apply to laboratory and field analysis methods. (Washington Accord WA1, WA2), (UC EIE, GA)

2 Explain the role of receiving environments (e.g. rural streams, urban streams and estuaries, lakes, groundwater) in stormwater systems. (Washington Accord WA1, WA2), (UC EIE)

3 Apply water-sensitive design principles to stormwater management issues. (Washington Accord WA6, WA7), (UC EIE, GA)

4 Explain erosion management and control methods. (Washington Accord WA1, WA2), (UC EIE, GA)

5 Apply knowledge of stormwater to solving problems associated with engineered stormwater management systems. (Washington Accord WA3, WA7), (UC EIE)

6 Explain and experience the diversity of drivers in stormwater management decisions, and the interdisciplinary nature of sustainable system solutions. (Washington Accord WA6, WA7), (UC BiCC, GA, CE)

Prerequisites

Restrictions

ENNR322

Timetable 2025

Students must attend one activity from each section.

Lecture A
Activity Day Time Location Weeks
01 Tuesday 12:00 - 13:00 F3 Lecture Theatre
14 Jul - 24 Aug
8 Sep - 19 Oct
Lecture B
Activity Day Time Location Weeks
01 Tuesday 13:00 - 14:00 F3 Lecture Theatre
14 Jul - 24 Aug
8 Sep - 19 Oct
Lecture C
Activity Day Time Location Weeks
01 Wednesday 15:00 - 16:00 F3 Lecture Theatre
14 Jul - 24 Aug
8 Sep - 19 Oct
Lecture D
Activity Day Time Location Weeks
01 Thursday 14:00 - 15:00 F3 Lecture Theatre
14 Jul - 24 Aug
8 Sep - 19 Oct
Field Trip A
Activity Day Time Location Weeks
01 Monday 09:00 - 12:00 - 15 Sep - 21 Sep
Lab A
Activity Day Time Location Weeks
01 Monday 09:00 - 12:00 CAPE 114 Student Briefing (11/8)
CAPE 113 Teaching Lab (11/8)
11 Aug - 17 Aug
02 Wednesday 09:00 - 12:00 CAPE 114 Student Briefing (13/8)
CAPE 113 Teaching Lab (13/8)
11 Aug - 17 Aug
Tutorial A
Activity Day Time Location Weeks
01 Thursday 16:00 - 17:00 F1 Lectorial
14 Jul - 24 Aug
8 Sep - 19 Oct

Timetable Note

The course is delivered in 48 lectures, 12 tutorials, 1 laboratory sessions and 1 fieldtrip. The material will be presented using slide presentations and clarification notes on the whiteboard. The latter is an important component in the delivery of lectures, integrating various concepts and highlighting key content and considerations.

The tutorials are used to prepare for and facilitate laboratory sessions. The methods and tools covered are directly used in the homework for the assignments, and importantly they are commonly used by practicing engineers.

An independent study including preparation for lectures, scrutiny of concepts and example calculations is an essential component for making this course most effective for you.

The anticipated workload for the course is summarized below.

Activity Time (hours)
Contact Hours 44
Lectures 34
Labs (Geotechnical laboratory) 6 (3, 3)
Tutorials 4
Independent study 106
Reading 27
Test and exam preparation 25
Assignments and reports 45
Tutorials and lab preparation 9
Total 150

Course Coordinator

Frances Charters

Lecturers

Hamish Mackey and Alex Ross

Assessment

Assessment Due Date Percentage  Description
Field assessment and written report 20%
Exam 30%
Water characterisation lab analysis report 20% (associated with Module 2)
Test 30%


1. You cannot pass this course unless you achieve a mark of at least 40% in each of the mid-semester test and the final exam. A student who narrowly fails to achieve 40% in either the test or exam, but who performs very well in the other, may be eligible for a P (pass grade) in the course.

2. Assessment submission: All assignments must be submitted by the due date via Learn electronically. A penalty will be applied to late assignments. The penalty for this course has been set at 4% per day of the course marks available for the item of assessment. i.e. if you submit an assignment that is worth 20% of your course mark more than 5 days late, you would receive 0% for that assessment item. If a student is unable to complete and submit an assignment by the deadline due to personal circumstances beyond their control they should discuss this with the lecturer involved as soon as possible.

3. Dishonest behaviour: It is the responsibility of each student to be familiar with the definitions, policies and procedures concerning academic misconduct/dishonest behaviour. Instances of academic misconduct will be dealt with in a serious and appropriate manner.

4. Students should be familiar with the University’s Course and Examination Regulations. The University of Canterbury’s Policies may be downloaded from the University Calendar at http://www.canterbury.ac.nz/ucpolicy/index.aspx. The Department Code is contained within the Undergraduate Handbook 2020, linked from: https://www.canterbury.ac.nz/study/academic-study/engineering/schools-and-departments-engineering-forestry-product-design/civil-and-natural-resources-engineering-department/undergraduate-civil-natural-resources

5. Special Considerations: Any student who has been impaired by significant exceptional and/or unforeseeable circumstances that have prevented them from completing any major assessment items (worth ≥10%), or that have impaired their performance such that the results are not representative of their true level of mastery of the course material, may apply for special consideration through the formal university process. The applicability and academic remedy/action associated with the special consideration process is listed for each assessment item below. Please refer to the University Special Consideration Regulations and Special Consideration Policies and Procedures documents for more information.

Textbooks / Resources

Recommended Reading

Andrew J. Erickson, Peter T. Weiss, and John S. Gulliver; Optimizing Stormwater Treatment Practices : A Handbook of Assessment and Maintenance ; Springer New York, 2013.

Rossmiller, Ronald Leroy; Stormwater design for sustainable development ; McGraw-Hill Education, 2014.

Thomas H. Cahill; Low impact development and sustainable stormwater management ; John Wiley, 2012.

Thorkild Hvitved-Jacobsen, Jes Vollertsen, Asbjørn Haaning Nielsen; Urban and highway stormwater pollution : concepts and engineering ; CRC Press/Taylor & Francis,, 2010.

William G. Wilson; Stormwater : A Resource for Scientists, Engineers, and Policy Makers ; University of Chicago Press, 2016.

Additional Course Outline Information

Academic integrity

Lab Safety:

Students who do not follow laboratory safety rules will be asked to leave the lab immediately and will forfeit their ability to complete Lab 1. Employers take safety seriously, and so do we. The following rules regarding the CAPE Teaching Laboratory apply – most of them are common sense, however, in particular note bullet point 2.

• Smoking, drinking and eating are not permitted in the laboratory.
• Non-slip, closed-in footwear must be worn. That is, open-toed shoes, sandals, jandals and the like are not allowed in the laboratory.
• Never run or indulge in reckless behaviour in the lab, always exercise care when opening or closing doors and entering or leaving the lab.
• Lab coats and safety goggles must be worn in the lab. You do not need to purchase these as these will be provided for you when you get to the lab.
• Do not remove items from the lab including used corks, rubber bungs and rubber/polythene tubing. This ensures that contaminated items are not removed for other uses.
• Report accidents or breakages immediately. If acids, alkalis, mercury, inflammable or toxic chemicals or microbiological materials are spilled, inform the supervisor immediately.
• If you do not fully understand, or did not hear a particular instruction, ask.
• Before leaving the lab, wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water and dry with a paper towel.
• Bags and bulky personal belongings will not be allowed in the laboratory. Lockers will be available but you will need to bring your own lock.

Assessment and grading system

1. You cannot pass this course unless you achieve a mark of at least 40% in each of the mid-semester test and the final exam. A student who narrowly fails to achieve 40% in either the test or exam, but who performs very well in the other, may be eligible for a P (pass grade) in the course.

2. Assessment submission: All assignments must be submitted by the due date via Learn electronically. A penalty will be applied to late assignments. The penalty for this course has been set at 4% per day of the course marks available for the item of assessment. i.e. if you submit an assignment that is worth 20% of your course mark more than 5 days late, you would receive 0% for that assessment item. If a student is unable to complete and submit an assignment by the deadline due to personal circumstances beyond their control they should discuss this with the lecturer involved as soon as possible.

3. Dishonest behaviour: It is the responsibility of each student to be familiar with the definitions, policies and procedures concerning academic misconduct/dishonest behaviour. Instances of academic misconduct will be dealt with in a serious and appropriate manner.

4. Students should be familiar with the University’s Course and Examination Regulations. The University of Canterbury’s Policies may be downloaded from the University Calendar at http://www.canterbury.ac.nz/ucpolicy/index.aspx. The Department Code is contained within the Undergraduate Handbook 2020, linked from: https://www.canterbury.ac.nz/engineering/schools/cnre/undergraduate-study-options/.

5. Special Considerations: Any student who has been impaired by significant exceptional and/or unforeseeable circumstances that have prevented them from completing any major assessment items (worth ≥10%), or that have impaired their performance such that the results are not representative of their true level of mastery of the course material, may apply for special consideration through the formal university process. The applicability and academic remedy/action associated with the special consideration process is listed for each assessment item below. Please refer to the University Special Consideration Regulations and Special Consideration Policies and Procedures documents for more information.

Indicative Fees

Domestic fee $1,122.00

International fee $6,238.00

* All fees are inclusive of NZ GST or any equivalent overseas tax, and do not include any programme level discount or additional course-related expenses.

Limited Entry Course

Maximum enrolment is 245

For further information see Civil and Natural Resources Engineering .

All ENCN347 Occurrences

  • ENCN347-25S2 (C) Semester Two 2025