Doug Anderson

Principal Engineer - Groundwater and Modelling
Doug is UNSW's principal groundwater and water resources engineer. Doug employs a considered and practical approach to engineering projects, working with the WRL and UNSW team to deliver high quality project and applied research outcomes. Doug has a strong background in hydrogeological site characterization, data management, numerical modelling, computer programming and geo-spatial data analysis. 

Doug’s research and consulting interests include: 

1. The development of effective environmental policy for water resources management;
2. The application of data management and numerical modelling assessment techniques to promote leading environmental management practice; and 
3. The development of improved coastal zone management systems.

Doug is an expert groundwater modeller with several years of FEFLOW experience. His eye for detail, talent for sub-surface flow system conceptualisation and his familiarity with parameter estimation tools provide water users and decision makers with appropriate assessments of risk and uncertainty.    

Over the last twelve years Doug has assisted numerous clients with modelling based solutions for water issues across the mining, groundwater and water resource sectors. Example projects include:

• Assessing various water supply and management aquifer recharge projects across NSW;
• Calibrating a regional groundwater flow model for assessing water supply security in Canada;
• Facilitating mine closure planning for Ranger Mine in the Northern Territory by predicting the migration of mine pit tailings wastes in groundwater and surface waters for various scenarios;
• Predicting the impacts of groundwater abstraction for proposed oil shale projects in Canada;
• Completing a reserve estimate for a lithium-potash mine in Argentina by conceptualising field investigation results and simulating 40 years of large scale groundwater abstraction; and
• Developing a 'real-time' web-based coastal zone monitoring and management system for the NSW and QLD state governments.

Doug’s experience in groundwater modelling is complemented by a background in environmental drilling, groundwater resources assessment, civil engineering and the scale physical modelling of surface-water flows for flood hazard and flood evacuation assessments.