Waterway and wetland management
We bring together our applied fluvial geomorphology, aquatic ecology and river engineering expertise to inform waterway management projects. Our waterway and wetland management specialists’ ability to understand the future trajectory of stream systems allows us to design solutions that complement natural processes resulting in more efficient, resilient and sustainable design solutions.
Strategy and planning
Our strategy and planning work is grounded in robust science and delivered through a clear, collaborative journey with our clients. We translate complex biophysical processes, ecosystem values, and landscape dynamics into clear, actionable catchment and waterway objectives. Our water science and resource policy consultants consultants bridge water science, resource policy, and community priorities to co-develop strategies that are technically credible, strategically aligned, and practically implementable. Through thoughtful engagement, we help clients understand not only what the data says, but what it means and where it leads. This is how we shape strategies that endure, influence, and deliver impact.
Environmental flows
We work on environmental water science, analysis, planning, operations and delivery to address issues of water stressed systems in a changing climate, integrating the diverse skillsets across the Alluvium Group. Combining expertise in ecology, hydrology, hydraulics, geomorphology, objective setting and adaptive management, we work with government and communities to determine environmental water requirements in a robust way. We support the implementation of environmental flows through long-term and operational plans. Our water resource management consultants bring understanding of river operations, flow planning, ordering, works and delivery, government agency and interjurisdictional roles and processes, together with engagement skills and listening to community, First Nations and landholder needs.
Fluvial geomorphology
Our fluvial geomorphology consultants apply an integrated understanding of hydrology, hydraulics, sediment dynamics, and riparian ecology to solve complex river management challenges. Drawing on decades of applied research and leadership in national waterway guidelines, we work across spatial scales from catchment wide assessment to reach scale restoration design. Our work goes beyond technical modelling; we embed local knowledge, community values, and long-term climate sensitivity into every project, ensuring our solutions are both scientifically rigorous and grounded in place. This holistic, systems-based approach underpins our role as leaders in fluvial geomorphology science and management across Australia.
Stream rehabilitation
Our stream rehabilitation consultants integrate deep scientific expertise with extensive on-ground delivery to design and implement practical, effective, and adaptive solutions. Drawing on decades of applied research in fluvial geomorphology and river science, combined with hands-on waterway engineering experience, we develop rehabilitation strategies that are evidence based and tailored to each catchment’s physical, ecological, and cultural context. Our dual foundation of science and field practice ensures our rehabilitation plans not only achieve measurable outcomes for erosion control, habitat enhancement, and connectivity, but also deliver long-term resilience and community value.
Waterway engineering
Our waterway engineering consultants deliver practical, science-led design solutions that restore and enhance the natural function of rivers, streams, and catchments. We specialise in the design and delivery of bed and bank stabilisation works, gully remediation, fishways, instream structures, and weir removal; projects that blend geomorphic insight with ecological restoration. Each design is tailored to site-specific conditions and grounded in hydrological, hydraulic, and sediment process understanding, ensuring resilience to future climatic variability. Our goal is not just to fix a problem, but to guide waterways closer to their natural form and function, supporting biodiversity, cultural connection, and long-term landscape health.
Natural channel design
Our waterway management consultants work brings together hydrology, geomorphology, ecology, and landscape architecture to shape waterways that function as both ecological corridors and valued community spaces. In urban and peri-urban environments, we create channels that respond to their natural hydraulic and geomorphic setting while enhancing liveability, amenity, and public wellbeing. Our designs soften hard infrastructure by working with natural processes, slowing flows, reconnecting floodplains, and improving habitat, while also embedding access, safety, and visual amenity. Drawing on decades of science and on-ground delivery, we ensure our solutions deliver measurable environmental outcomes while supporting the social and cultural connection between people and place.
Wetland design
Our wetland design consultants design nature-based solutions that integrate water quality treatment with landscape function and community value. We combine engineering, ecology, and landscape science to create wetlands that reflect site-specific hydrology, topography, and urban context, delivering outcomes such as stormwater treatment, flood attenuation, and stormwater harvesting. Our wetlands are designed as places for people, offering open space, passive recreation, and biodiversity corridors within urban environments.
Industry leadership
Our waterway and wetland management consultants are industry leaders who are known for their deep expertise and knowledge in their field. They bring a thorough understanding of industry trends, technologies, and best practices.
Ross Hardie
Director
Ross is a founder, Director and Past Chair of the Alluvium Group. Ross is a chartered professional engineer and a certified practicing geomorphologist with over 30 years of experience in the environmental water resource and waterway management sectors. Ross’s work has included delivery of environmental water assessments, stream geomorphic investigations, the development and review of waterway management programs and the design of waterway management works across Australia and into south-east Asia. Ross has been called upon to lead stakeholder engagement exercises and provide expert witness statements in these fields.<br><br>Ross is regarded by his peers as a national leader in stream management science and has an innate ability to communicate complex water and waterway processes in layman’s terms.<br><br>Ross is the author of “Technical Guidelines for Waterway Management”, a technical manual on the design and implementation of stream management works for the State Government of Victoria and the author or co-author of the over 25 peer reviewed professional papers in the field of stream and floodplain assessment and design. Papers include the outcomes of industry leading research in areas such as the role of vegetation in reducing flood related channel change, environmental water policy and practice, and stream geomorphic processes.<br><br>Ross has conducted training courses in Tasmania, Victoria, South Australia and Queensland on the application and implementation of the principles of geomorphic channel design. Ross founded and continues to lecture at Wise Waterways an annual five day stream restoration workshop held in Beechworth Victoria. In the post workshop feedback from one stream management course, one participant described the training as ‘the best course I have ever attended’.<br><br>Ross is an inaugural fellow of the Peter Cullen Water and Environment Trust Leadership Program and was Chair of the organising committee for the 6th and 7th Australian Stream Management Conferences.
Rohan Lucas
Director
Rohan is a geomorphologist and environmental engineer with 30 years experience largely focussed around driving continuous practice improvement in the management of our waterways through system understanding. This work has been across diverse climates, terrains and client sectors in Australia and the Asia-Pacific.<br><br>Rohan has extensive had extensive involvement in the planning and implementation of catchment and watercourse management programs for government and non-government agencies across much of Australia.<br>Rohan plays an industry leading role for Alluvium in the mining sector in managing surface water systems. This includes roles in practice and research, substantially in the design, construction oversite and rehabilitation of watercourse diversions. Rohan has also played industry leading roles in developing practice guidance around impacts of mining subsidence on waterways and management response. Much of this work has been included in government guidance to the mining industry in Queensland.<br><br>Rohan also plays an industry leading role in the geomorphic assessment of infrastructure projects such as gas pipelines and water resource developments. Assessing the impact the projects could have to the riverine environment and risks posed to the project by the riverine environment.<br><br>Rohan is a founder and director of the Alluvium Group.
Stuart Cleven
Stuart provides stormwater engineering advice to the natural resource industry on best practice management for stormwater and waterway management works. Drawing on a combined background of urban stormwater management, water sensitive design, ecohydrology and river restoration engineering, Stuart has been involved in development of innovate water management solutions to help offset the impacts of urbanisation on the receiving environment in Australia for over 22 years. <br><br>Stuart has coordinated and designed works for a range of unique urban and rural environments across Australia that contains differing geomorphic conditions, geometric challenges, sensitive ecosystem values and high levels of community and stakeholder engagement.<br><br>As the practice lead for the design and engineering practice at Alluvium, Stuart has been instrumental in the development and application of technical design and quality assurance guidelines, which he has applied to range of urban and rural designs for water authorities, Councils, CMA's and the private development industry. Stuart's in depth of knowledge on multidiscipline engineering and science assessments provides him with a unique set of tools in which he is able to coordinate large teams and derive accurate and efficient results.
Misko Ivezich
Misko is an environmental engineer with over 15 years of consulting experience specialising in the interactions between hydrology, hydraulics, sediment transport processes and fluvial geomorphology. Following widespread flooding across eastern Australia in recent years Misko has led efforts to understand river adjustments and sediment generation, transport and storage processes for water authorities, local councils, State governments and natural resource management groups. He works with clients to find pragmatic stream and floodplain management solutions which balance risk against cost. He has extensive experience at all stages of waterway planning from leading multi-disciplinary design teams to regularly supervising the construction of major river management programs.
Dr Alex Sims
Alex is a geomorphologist working at the intersection of river processes and society in Australia and New Zealand. For the past ten years, Alex has worked with all levels of government, universities, water utilities, NGOs, peak industry bodies, traditional owners and private clients to solve complex problems in catchment management. Alex is an experienced project manager and technical lead on projects that range from small to large and complex.<br> <br>Much of Alex’s work is undertaken in partnership with hydrologists, engineers, ecologists and planners. Working in collaborative teams to identify and then design the interventions that can be used to manage landscapes, mitigate the impact of geomorphic hazards on communities and ecosystems and improve the condition of urban and rural waterways. This work draws on Alex’s experience using field assessments, hydrological, hydraulic and sediment transport modelling, spatial data workflows, conceptual and numerical model development and stakeholder engagement.<br><br>Alex contributes to the wider river management sector through peer-reviewed publications and participation in the River Basin Management Society (Australia), the Australia New Zealand Geomorphology Group and the NZ Rivers Group.
Professor Ian Rutherfurd
<p>Ian is a fluvial geomorphologist with 30 years working with governments and communities in stream and catchment management. His research spans basic and applied river processes, and he has completed over 150 publications, $7m in funded research projects, and 70 consulting projects. Ian also has rich experience in education and professional training of all types.</p><p>After spending twenty years at the University of Melbourne (of which several years were spent seconded to the Victorian State government working in river policy) Ian joined Alluvium in a part-time capacity. In addition to his involvement in many consulting projects, he chairs the Alluvium Foundation and helps coordinate the Research and Insights Program. He brings deep experience in the application of research to all aspects of river and water management, as well as excellent connections across the water sector. </p>
Projects in Waterway and Wetland Science and Engineering
More Alluvium Consulting capabilities
Engineered design solutions
Engineering solutions to solve waterway erosion, coastal erosion, fish passage and water quality challenges.
Water and catchment policy
Evidence-based advice in policy, governance, and regulatory frameworks for water resources.
Climate adaptation and resilience
Risk assessments, planning and designing for disaster recovery, nature-based solutions, and adaptation and resilience in a changing climate.
Evaluation and audit
Approaches for systematic and objective assessment of environmental programs.
Catchment hydrology and flood modelling
Modelling, data science, and remote sensing to inform hydrological and hydraulic assessments at scales ranging from hillslopes to large river systems.
Urban water systems
Integrated water management, water-sensitive urban design (WSUD), and nature-based solutions.
Coastal management
Specialist assessment of physical processes, engineering, and planning for coastal adaptation and resilience.
Environmental strategy
Delivering environmental flows, plans and strategy development leveraging technical expertise and collaborative engagement experience.