Co-hosted by the City of Calgary and Alberta Low Impact Development Partnership (ALIDP), “Designing for Tomorrow 2014” (from February 18 through 21) features a one-day course taught by Dr. A. Charles Rowney and titled Modelling with QUALHYMO. A recognized global authority in his fields of expertise, Charles Rowney brings a wealth of North American and international experience. He is the Scientific Authority for the Water Balance Model for British Columbia.

“Watershed and drainage models are not a ‘one size fits all’ item.  These tools each have pluses and minuses, and tend to reflect the regulatory and physical context for which they were first developed,” states Dr. Charles Rowney.

“What is it that we really want to solve? Where are we driving this? You will hear these kinds of statements from modellers: I have a model that does this or does that; I can do a pipe this big or that big; I can do this kind of thing, I can do that kind of thing. Yet the heavy lifting is at the other end.”

“The real problems and solutions come together when you look at the data you have to represent what you have. How do you compare the future condition that is very undefined with a calibrated tool that is very well defined? There is much that we do that has a place and purpose, BUT sometimes what we do is questionable.”

“Even the modellers who use modelling tools very effectively can have unconscious biases which reflect from the places they practice and the tools they use.  This is probably a great place to remember the old saying, that ‘if you have a hammer the whole world looks like a nail’.  So the challenge we face is to find modeling technologies that are right for our needs, the solutions we prefer, and the processes we have developed.”

To Learn More:

For information about the suite of courses that ALIDP and City of Calgary are offering on February 18-21, click on Designing for Tomorrow 2014: Alberta partnership presents “14th Annual Stormwater Management Courses”

To read a story posted on the Rainwater Management community-of-interest about the perspective provided by Charles Rowney when he reported out on the results of his survey of his peers around the world, click on Drainage Modelling in the 21st Century: “What we now know about what drives a successful model,” explains Dr. Charles Rowney