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AEC Markets
AEC Experience
Experience: 35 years
Qualifications: B.Sc., Civil Engineering, University of Salford, 1966 M.Sc.,
Engineering Hydrology, Imperial College,London,1969 Member of the Institution
of Civil
Engineers, 1972 Microsoft Certified Professional, 1999 Chartered Engineer
Year of Birth: 1944
Nationality: British
Languages: English
David has long experience in flooding, hydraulics, water resource planning and related hydrological skills. He has provided supervision and specialist inputs and has led multi-disciplinary teams on large studies and projects. Assignments have included economics, social and environmental issues, liaison with Government departments and other clients, and training of local staff. Technical work has included statistical analysis, flood estimates, catchment modelling, yield assessment and simulation. He has developed models for unsteady state flows in rivers, the planning and operation of water resource systems for maximum benefit or minimum cost with an emphasis on ease of use by relatively inexperienced staff. He has worked in the Philippines, southern Africa, Indonesia, Algeria, China, Malawi, Malaysia, Egypt and the UK, and is presently based in the UK.
Hydrology, Water Resources Planning, Simulation and Operational Planning Models.
Developed operation rules to maintain supplies during drought periods. For Sutton and East Surrey Water plc. (January 2002)
Tarlac River Overall Improvement Works, Philippines. Team Leader responsible for supervising and managing all activities of the study, leading to a Master Plan for flood protection and river improvement. High sedimentation rates, riverbed aggradation and channel instability are particular features, following eruption of Mt Pinatabu in 1991 and continuing erosion of volcanic material in the headwaters. For HR Wallingford on secondment to Nippon Koei. (October - November 2001)
Software Development. Developed an interface to the Bewl-Darwell simulation model to facilitate data entry and presentation of results. Wrote a data analysis and presentation suite for borehole geophysical logging. Developed a database for easy archiving and presentation of hydrological data. For Southern Water. (December 2000 to October 2001)
Blackwall Lane, Ashford. Carried out an investigation into likely flood levels and their effect on planning proposals, taking account of recent extreme rainfall. For a private developer. (February/March 2001) Shalmsford Farm Flooding. Updated a previous study to take account of the extreme rainfall of October and early November. For a private developer. (December 2000)
Smallholders Flood Plain Development Project, Malawi. Engaged as Hydrologist/Irrigation Planner to determine surface and groundwater availability, identify potential irrigation projects suitable for smallholder development and operation, quantify flood risks, and develop measures for catchment protection and conservation. (1999 - Sept 2000, return visit April 2001)
Oasis Holiday Village Water Management. Carried out an inventory of water use, developed water budgets and recommended a water management plan for this major leisure and holiday complex in northern England. For HR Wallingford. (1999)
Lesotho Highlands Water Project. Retained to carry out further development of the operations scheduling model designed to maximise hydropower benefits and Royalty revenues. For Lesotho Highlands Development Authority. (1998 - 1999)
London Underground application migration. Carried out Y2K and other conversion work involved in migrating Access and Fortran applications from DOS/Win3.11 to NT4. For CMG (1999) Lesotho Highlands Water Project Further Phases Review. Engaged as Senior Hydrologist to review previous studies, assemble a hydrological database and carry out systems simulation studies in support of engineering, environmental and economic studies to compare future stages of the Highlands Project with alternative development strategies. For Lahmeyer-MacDonald Consortium. (1998)
Thames Water Storage System. Further developed an existing monthly model to optimise abstractions and storage of water from the Thames, supplying a major part of London's water demand. The model was converted to operate on a daily basis and upgraded to include a range of operational modes, realistic representations of pumping stations with multiple pumps, the behaviour of pumped storage reservoirs and losses in treatment works. For Sir William Halcrow & Partners Ltd. (1998)
Shalmsford Farm Flooding. Assessment of likely flood levels and frequency in the River Stour (Kent UK) relative to a proposed housing development. The work involved data collection and analysis, hydraulic computation and presentation of results for planning purposes. For a private developer. (1998 - 99)
Resource Modelling, Botswana. Carried out reviews of the data-base used by the model, developed in 1990-91.
Made major revisions to the model structure to include an additional major resource (the North South Carrier). Transposed the model environment to operate under Windows 95 with an improved interface for ease of use. For Parkman-Knight Piésold Partnership. (1998 - 99)
The Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP) delivers water to South Africa and generates electricity for use within Lesotho. As manager of the Water Resources Division, Mr Thorn was responsible for the collection and analysis of hydrological and meteorological data, extensive liaison with other Divisions of LHDA, their consultants and outside agencies, and established staff training programmes in collaboration with external institutions. He was directly responsible for dam-break hydraulic studies, the joint re-evaluation of hydrology (with consultants BKS of South Africa), and the development of planning and operational models covering yield assessment, programming of future phases and scheduling of monthly water deliveries to maximise net Royalty and hydropower benefits.
Responsible for management and staffing, day-to day running of the Group and the technical supervision of work covering hydrology, flooding, water resources, irrigation, environmental and economics fields. Also directly responsible for the following technical work: Batoka Hydropower Project, Zimbabwe. Water resource modelling studies to assess the hydropower potential of the Zambezi, including proposed projects and existing installations at Cahora Bassa, Kariba and Itezhi Tezhi reservoirs. The study included flood estimates and the benefits to be gained from conjunctive operation. Broad Oak reservoir, UK. Hydrological and water resource studies to identify the benefits of using this off-channel storage reservoir in conjunction with groundwater. Results showed that joint yields could be increased substantially whilst reducing total groundwater abstraction, with consequent environmental and economic benefits. Haihe Basin Development, China. Data collection and analysis, and development of planning models as part of overall studies for the basin, covering some 60,000 km2. The study was aimed at reconciling limited water availability with urban, industrial and agricultural demands. Also partly responsible for counterpart staff training and development.
Responsible for the establishment and management of the firm's Botswana office and technical and specialist work concerned with the specific studies and projects outlined below. Resource Modelling and Telemetry. Project Manager/Systems Specialist ultimately responsible for all aspects of this study aimed at developing control rules for the increasingly complex water resource system in south-eastern Botswana and the design and installation of telemetry systems in Francistown, Gaborone and Lobatse. Carried out the development of sophisticated optimisation techniques based on dynamic programming and simulation and was intimately involved in the hydrological studies. (1990-1991)
Joint Upper Limpopo Basin Study, Stage I. Project Supervisor jointly responsible for technical supervision and project management. The study was funded by Botswana and South Africa to evaluate opportunities for joint development on the Limpopo for irrigation and urban water supply to Gaborone based on multi-purpose dams. Political and social aspects formed an important part of the study. (1990-1991)
Bas Cheliff Irrigation Project, Algeria. Water Systems Specialist making two visits to Algeria to provide specialist assistance in hydrological analysis, derivation of design floods, and development of complex simulation models of multi-dam systems to supply irrigation and urban water demands. (1989-1990)
Motloutse Dam Feasibility/Preliminary Design Study. Project Manager of a multi-disciplinary team investigating the technical and economic feasibility of a dam on the Motloutse River to supply urban water demands in Eastern Botswana. Also carried out the assessment of design floods used for dam design and developed a simulation model to assess yields of Motloutse dam and its alternatives in a regional supply system covering eastern Botswana. (1988-1990)
Chobe Agricultural Prefeasibility Study. Team Leader/Water Resources Specialist responsible for a multi-disciplinary team to investigate the water resources and flooding of the Chobe River, together with agricultural and environmental aspects. (1988)
South East Botswana Water Development Study. Team Leader responsible for the supervision of all aspects of this study to identify medium term water development strategies for the region, centred upon the rapidly expanding city of Gaborone. Directly responsible for the hydrological work involved in the prefeasibility study of the Bokaa Transfer Scheme. (1987)
River Limpopo Water Utilisation Study. Team Leader to assess the water that could be developed for use in Botswana from this international river and establish Botswana's position prior to possible bilateral legal negotiations with South Africa. The study covered irrigation, economics, national and international legislation and environment. He was directly responsible for detailed hydrological and catchment modelling work. (1986-1987)
Team Leader carrying out a reappraisal of water availability from Mamak dam and responsible for technical supervision covering economics, engineering and other aspects of the overall study, concerned with development and rehabilitation of irrigation systems. (1986)
South Lombok Water Balance Study, Indonesia. Water Resources Modeller responsible for the development of a water balance model for South Lombok, based on linear programming, to assess the quantity of water which could be transferred to drier parts of the island. Directed a data collection and analysis programme covering meteorological, hydrological, irrigation and agro-economic aspects. (1986)
Lesotho Highlands Water Project, Lesotho. Senior Hydrologist reviewing hydrological aspects of the final report. (1986)
Secondment to World Bank, Review Visit, Egypt. Systems Analyst reviewing progress in refining the distribution model previously developed during an earlier secondment in 1980-1982. Advised on further data collection aimed at calibration and application of the model to scheduling the operation of Egypt's irrigation system. (1985)
Lesotho Highlands Water Project, Lesotho. Senior Hydrologist responsible for hydrological and catchment modelling studies, flood estimation, the development of software for water resources planning, and operational studies. This major US$2500 million project will transfer water from the highland catchments of Lesotho to the Vaal River and meet South African demands for water until the year 2020. (1984-1985)
East and West Fen Drainage Improvement Study, UK. Team Leader responsible for overall direction of a study to improve drainage and flood protection of 40 000 ha of land in eastern England. Co-ordinated economic, engineering and hydrological studies and was directly responsible for the writing, development and application of a complex computer model to simulate unsteady flows in hydraulic networks. (1983-1984)
Northern Plains Irrigation Project, Mauritius. Hydrologist responsible for a review of previous studies of water availability and re-evaluation of the water requirements for overhead irrigation of sugar cane. (1983)
Reconnaissance Study of Lower Shebeelle Swamps, Somalia. Responsible for data collection, current land use and field studies related to identification and study of potential swamp reclamation and flood control projects. (1983)
Alternatives to Bardheere Dam, Somalia. Team Leader/Hydrologist responsible for hydrological and computer-based simulation studies for assessing the storage requirements at various sites on the River Juba to meet flood control and irrigation water supply objectives. Responsible for overall co-ordination of specialist inputs covering engineering and economic aspects. (1983)
Transmigration Settlement Planning Advisory Group, Indonesia. Systems Analyst for detailed proposals for a computerised information system for the Planning Group and the City and Regional Planning Directorate of the Ministry of Public Works. The system covered monitoring of projects and studies, document retrieval and the storage and retrieval of planning data. Detailed proposals for staff training were made. (1982)
Secondment to World Bank, Egypt. Systems Analyst providing specialist input to the Egypt Master Water Plan in setting up a multi-user computer system, development of planning models and establishment of an agro-economic data base. The planning models cover a wide range of techniques including simulation/optimisation models of the Equatorial Lakes, the Upper Nile and Lake Nasser; linear programming based models of the agro-economic sector and an allocation model for distribution of water in the irrigation system; and statistical methods of flow forecasting for the Nile River. Most of these models drew data directly from the project data base that included a very large amount of data covering irrigation and drainage systems and the agro-economic sector. Staff training in computer management and techniques was an important part of the assignment. (1980-1982)
Penang Water Supply Project, Malaysia. Hydrology Specialist providing short-term specialist input on studies involving flood flow prediction, low flow analysis, crop water requirements calculations, surface drainage predictions and general water resource planning. (1980)
National and Shire Irrigation Study, Malawi. Hydrologist responsible for all hydrological aspects of this nation-wide study including river flow analysis, with particular emphasis on floods and dry season flows, collection and analysis of climate data, calculation of surface drainage requirements and a study of trends in the levels of Lake Malawi. (1980)
Thaniyat - Red Sea Railway, Saudi Arabia. Hydrologist seconded to British Rail investigating the alignment of the railway. Responsible for defining catchments, flood flow estimation and the location and outline design of flood protection works. (1979)
Mogambo Irrigation Project, Somalia. Hydrologist responsible for the evaluation of flood flows and low flow estimation for the Juba River including a review of reservoir operation. Also calculated water requirements for a range of irrigated crops. (1979)
Bali Design Team, Indonesia. Team Leader in planning and design studies for irrigation development in Bali and on-the-job training of local counterpart staff in the Department of Public Works. (1977-1979)
Kediri-Nganjuk Irrigation Project, Java. Project Manager responsible for all phases of this 4000 ha irrigation scheme based on tubewells, including planning, detailed design, contract preparation, supply and installation of equipment and setting up an operation and maintenance system. (1974-1976)
Water Resources Study, North East Scotland, UK. Engineer undertaking planning studies for future water demands and the assessment of potential supplies for urban, rural and industrial users in a rapidly expanding development area. (1973)
Northern Plains Irrigation Project, Mauritius. Engineer/Hydrologist undertaking collection and analysis of hydrologic data, assessment of irrigation efficiencies and water requirements and studies on the integration of groundwater and surface water supplies for irrigation. (1972)
Study of the application of operational research methods to the control and operation of water resource systems. Responsible for the development of practical dynamic programming methods and directed research into the use of linear programming for operation of water supply systems.
Design, supervision and administration of pipe-laying contracts, planning water resources, computer analysis of distribution networks, groundwater investigations. M.Sc. course in Engineering Hydrology. 1966 - 1967 Trevor Crocker and Partners, Sierra Leone and UK, Assistant Resident Engineer Responsible for hydrographic surveys and design of sewers and concrete structures
Principal author of the following publications: Multiple Resource Studies. Technical Memorandum 67, Water Research Association, 1971.
Artificial Recharge Fed from Upstream Storage: Derivation of Control Rules. Presented at the International Association of Scientific Hydrology. 1971.
The Practical Application of Dynamic Programming to Reservoir Systems with Pumped Inputs. Presented at 1st Symposium on Problems of Water Resources Systems, Czechoslovakia. 1972.
Improved Dynamic Programming Procedures and their Practical Application to Water Resource Systems. Water Resources Research (American Geophysical Union). April 1974.
Control Rules for the Empingham Pumped Storage System. Institution of Water Engineers, Midlands Section. October 1974.
Mathematical Modelling of the River Conon. BHRA 2nd International Conference on the Hydraulics of Floods and Flood Control, Cambridge, UK. September 1985.
Flood Protection and Drainage of the East and West Fens. Series of three papers covering Hydrology, Flow Modelling, and Engineering and Economics. 2nd International Conference on Hydraulic Design in Water Resources Engineering. University of Southampton. 1986
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