Merrifield, located in Mickleham is a residential, commercial, and industrial community located in Melbourne’s North. It is expected to include 4,000 residential lots, 3 schools, a 165ha city centre, 120ha of open space (including parks, sporting fields and waterways), and 415ha business and employment precinct. Merrifield Living and Business Park will be five times the size of Melbourne CBD. Located 30 kilometres from Melbourne's CBD, on the Hume Freeway, Donnybrook Road intersection the development masterplan provides an all-encompassing community with broader transport connectivity.
This development is adjacent to Kalkallo Creek and will abut a major regional stormwater basin. Merrifield Business Park is also serviced with a recycled water network to reduce the strain on water supply and reduce flow exceedance changes to stormwater.
Afflux has been involved in this project since 2016, providing stormwater management advice beginning with the planning and creation of the overall Estate’s Stormwater Management Strategy, to specific details within Staging Plans and individual hydraulic asset design.
Naturally, this included conceptualization of the major drainage assets, creation of hydrological (RORB) modelling, hydrodynamic (TUFLOW) modelling and water quality (MUSIC) models. As well as validation of Melbourne Water’s DSS hydrology models, and experienced advice with respect to Melbourne Water Scheme Principles and Processes. The Business Park was deemed to be better suited to Melbourne Water’s Drainage Strategy Framework to improve collaboration between Melbourne Water, Yarra Valley Water and Hume Council. This assisted the delivery of a stormwater-harvesting-to-potable network and storage assets.
As the project progressed additional detail on interim and ultimate stormwater assets was required, as well incorporation of the changes in Australian Rainfall and Runoff guidance (2019). As such, Afflux have refined advice on options for stormwater management and specified details on stormwater assets including but not limited to:
The incorporation of additional expertise knowledge, including the extensive consideration of soil-stormwater interactions at this site, has provided the development with a drainage strategy suited to a landscape surrounded by low-relief terrain markers and sodic/dispersive soils. The presence of sodic soil in the area has required drainage asset designs to be embedded with erosion reduction considerations. In particular, the design of the central waterway within the development has required considerable, and complex modelling to reduce the risk of waterway instability, reduce future maintenance requirements and support water quality for the region.
