Water Quantity

[Benjamin MackenzieParticipant]

Hello,
Whilst working on 6.1 our group would like to know the size of the nurseries and how much water is required to irrigate the crops. This is so we can make an accurate estimation on how much water is needed to store for the dry season where there is minimal rain.

[Rachel AlfordKeymaster]

Hi Benjamin,

It’s great to see you thinking about the practicalities of your design in relation to the context of Yirrganydji Country!

The nursery is not something that exists at the moment, rather it is an aspiration for Dawul Wuru. As such, it will be up to you to make recommendations on the size of the nursery and its water needs. If you haven’t already read it, this question in the discussion forum addresses some of your concerns about water needs for the nursery. I’d also recommend taking a look at the page Vision of a Collective Hub on Country regarding Dawul Wuru’s aspirations for the Hub (which include the nursery), as well as the interactives which show three potential sites for the Hub, so you can get an idea of the size the nursery could be.

I hope this helps, please let me know if you have any other questions!

Rachel

[Regan AndrewsParticipant]

Hey there,

My group is currently working on 6.2, and we are trying to figure out the population of the Yirrganydji community. This will just provide us with an estimation of the water usage and help us determine the best storage solution for our design.

Cheers,

[Regan AndrewsParticipant]

Another question we would like to ask is where exactly in the Yirrganydji region are the bore holes that were previously used by farmers for irrigation? The design brief only mentions they were left around the Cairns region. We are unable to find any specific detail on where they are located.

Thanks,

[Rachel AlfordKeymaster]

Hi Regan,

Thanks for getting in touch with your questions.

I’d like to clarify the scope of your project on 6.2 before answering your questions. Project 6.2 refers to tools to monitor groundwater quality, and any additional use of the water (for example the storage solution that it sounds like you’re working on) is an additional aspect, however the focus of your project should be the tools for monitoring quality.

In terms of the population of the Yirrganydji community, this post answers the question about population, and I’d recommend taking a look at my response to this forum question around assumptions of Yirrganydji community. As your question is asking about the population of Yirrganydji community, as they are not a discrete, isolated community, you may be better placed to look at a water supply for Dawul Wuru’s Hub. There is some information about how the Hub is intended to be built and used, from which you can make assumptions about the water supply.

For the location of the bore holes, we don’t have any specific information about where they are located, but I’d challenge you to think about why this information is important to your project? Is this necessary information for you to have, and how can you work without having this information?

However, it is important to note that the focus of your project should be on tools for monitoring groundwater quality, any additional benefits (such as water supply) is an added bonus, but should not be the focus.

Hope this helps!
Rachel

[Lucas NguyenParticipant]

Hi,
Is Dawul Wuru Aboriginal Corporation currently employing a licensed plumber? By any chance, do they have people who already have plumbing skills?

For my team’s solution, the cost will be lower if Dawul Wuru could use one of their own people instead of engaging someone else who is not connected with their organisation. Nonetheless, if they don’t have anyone who is a licensed plumber, that will still be ok, because our solution would still be affordable despite the fee from engaging an outside professional.

Thanks

[Rachel AlfordKeymaster]

Hi Lucas,

Great question, and glad to see you’re aiming to use the skills already existing within Dawul Wuru.

Many of the maintenance crew employed at Dawul Wuru have a wide range of skills, and some are qualified tradespeople, however there are no licensed plumbers employed at present. Dawul Wuru have an interest in upskilling their staff in trade related skills, including plumbing, so if there is an opportunity for them to be involved in some capacity (depending on your design requirements, of course!).

Please let me know if you have any further questions.

Thanks,
Rachel

[Lucas NguyenParticipant]

Hi Rachel,

I have a question about what as mentioned at 1:04:25 of the recording of the 5th of april stakeholder event that was uploaded on Youtube. Gavin mentions that currently Dawul Wuru has an “underwater drone” and an “aerial drone”. How much did this cost them? I tried googling the prices of drones online, but they vary by quite a bit.
I figured that if I had this information, I can estimate what their potential budget is.

• This reply was modified 2 years, 6 months ago by Lucas Nguyen.
• This reply was modified 2 years, 6 months ago by Lucas Nguyen.

[Rachel AlfordKeymaster]

Hi Lucas,

Are you able to talk me through how this information will inform your budget?
 
Dawul Wuru receives funding through a variety of mechanisms, which includes tied and untied funding. You can assume that the drones were purchased with tied funds through a grant program, for example the Indigenous Land and Sea Programs funding from the government. As such, it is not an accurate way to determine a budget for an organisation based on a piece of equipment. 

As I’ve mentioned in a previous thread to you, determining the budget can be one of the more challenging aspects of the EWB Challenge, where you have to justify the value your project gives. Rather than thinking about it as how much money Dawul Wuru has to spare, you could reframe your thinking as what value your project provides, and how much is a reasonable cost for this. For example, your project could justify a higher upfront cost if you were able to demonstrate that it could provide revenue for Dawul Wuru (as you were mentioning in another thread). 

Thanks,
Rachel

[Lucas NguyenParticipant]

Hi Rachel,
I’ve realised that I asked a silly question. I understand now that I must think deeply and articulate clearly into words the benefits that our design will provide (which Dawul Wuru will value). After doing this, a reasonable price for our design should become clear. It’s all about a reasonable price in the end.

The reason why I wondered about the price of the drones was due to this phrase from the Big Tricky Questions explained document: “To understand what an appropriate budget looks like, you’ll want to consider what you know about the context of your project,…, and examples of other projects completed by this organisation or in a similar location”. In a way, the drones are like a “completed project”.

But now I see how I was wrong. Thanks for clearing things up.

I have just one more question and this is regarding the skills of the maintenance crew emplowed by Dawul Wuru. I asked before if there were any plumbers. Now, I’d like to ask if Dawul Wuru is affiliated with any people who have experience with excavation? Do they know how to use excavation machines, for instance? Do they have experience digging through rock (which is the hardest type of excavation)?Or perhaps, they do projects with shovel and pickaxe only? Or perhaps, they don’t do any excavation at all? It’d be great if they have experience with this already, because this will certainly put downard pressure on costs.

• This reply was modified 2 years, 6 months ago by Lucas Nguyen.
• This reply was modified 2 years, 6 months ago by Lucas Nguyen.

[Lucas NguyenParticipant]

Hi Rachel,
I also have one more question. Since our design requires at least one roof, I should confirm with you, does Dawul Wuru currently have access to/own any roofed buildings at each of the Dungarra, Wangetti, and Taylor Point sites? Of these 3 sites, are there any that currently have no roofed buildings on them? (After looking at the interactive series, I assume Taylor Point probably doesn’t have any roofed Dawul Wuru buildings there, yet? Am I right?)

[Rachel AlfordKeymaster]

Hi Lucas,

Yes, the budget is one of the trickier aspects of the EWB Challenge and it is a skill to be able to articulate the value of a design, but it sounds like you’re on track!

In terms of your other questions, I’ll get back to you about the excavation experience of staff. As I mentioned earlier, the maintenance crew are trained in some trades, and will have general handy skills, but I’m not certain about excavation specifically so I will check this and let you know.

For the three potential sites, they currently sit as they appear in the interactives – that is, there are no structures (roofed or otherwise) associated with Dawul Wuru there.

Thanks,
Rachel

[Rachel AlfordKeymaster]

Hi Lucas,

Thanks for your patience!

It doesn’t seem like anyone on the team has any excavation skills specifically – as mentioned the maintenance crew has some general handy skills such as building experience. However, even if there were skills within the team, it’s important to think about what would happen long term for this project (eg if that particular staff member was to leave). In my earlier reply to a question about skills held by the team in Dawul Wuru I believe I mentioned that they are interested in upskilling, so thinking about how you could do that is also of interest.

Please let me know if you have any further questions! 
Rachel

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