Expertise

WRL delivers world leading water engineering research that result in real positive impact on a global scale.

Our team successfully bridge the gap between industry and academia. Through our networks, partnerships and collaborations we are engaged with industry, government and the community. Our expertise built up for 60 years includes: 

             
Coastal, ocean
and estuarine
engineering and
management
River flow,
floodplain
management &
catchment
hydrology
Groundwater
research and
management
Civil
engineering
hydraulics
Offshore
renewable
energy
Environmental
studies and
climate change
adaptation
Wetland
restoration
Wallagoot Lake
Coastal engineering
WRL is considered the birth place of coastal engineering in Australia, comprising a great history of experience and current knowledge... More
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Physical modelling
The hydraulics laboratories at WRL are the largest and most comprehensive in Australia. WRL occupies 3.8 ha of land immediately downstream of Manly Dam, and has 4 fully equipped laboratories for research and specialist consulting studies. .. More
Climate Drivers
Environmental engineering
Environmental engineering combines the resources of groups within WRL to provide an integrated assessment of environmental impacts. WRL places a high emphasis on the measurement and understanding of the physical processes occurring in the environment, so that the interaction with ecological processes can be best understood... More
04 Noted cropped_Toby Tucker
EcoEng@WRL
The award-winning Ecosystems Engineering group (EcoEng @ WRL) is a worldwide leader, with a twenty-year track record, in developing practical solutions for the successful restoration and functional recovery of damaged, contaminated or endangered ecosystems... More
Blue Carbon
Blue Carbon
Blue Carbon is the carbon captured by the world's ocean and coastal ecosystems. Coastal Blue Carbon ecosystems, including mangrove forests, saltmarshes, and seagrass meadows, are highly effective at sequestering carbon from the atmosphere and locking it away for very long periods of time... More
Golden - Tino Heimhuber
Wetland restoration
WRL scientists and engineers can provide a range of expert services to assess and restore both tidal and riverine wetlands. Our researchers understand the environmental issues behind the observable problems and have a track record of developing tailored, on-ground solutions to stimulate functional wetland recovery... More
hydraulics
Civil engineering hydraulics
When hydraulic behaviour is crucial to the operations of large (or small) infrastructure, WRL can utilise its knowledge and experience, specialist hydraulic laboratories and instrumentation to provide robust and cost saving solutions... More
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Outfalls
WRL is an industry leader in the engineering and science of marine and riverine outfalls. Over the past 20 years WRL has been involved in numerous studies covering all aspects of outfalls including hydraulics, dilution, commissioning and field studies... More
Groundwater
Groundwater
WRL has a team of hydrogeologists and environmental engineers who are highly regarded for groundwater problem solving. This team is recognised in Australia and internationally for expert groundwater services... More
Water resources 2
Hydrology and water resources
WRL have specialist expertise to provide solutions for critical water resource issues including the hydrology and quality of runoff in urban catchments, water budgeting, reservoir operations, environmental flows and the sedimentation, geomorphology, and flooding of rivers... More
Salters Duck
Offshore renewable energy
In the last 20 years, WRL has drawn on its long-standing experience in marine and coastal engineering to provide expert advice to the Australian Offshore Renewable Energy industry... More