Design Rainfalls

Design flood support

Hundreds of millions of dollars are spent annually on hydraulic structures in Australia, ranging from small drains and culverts to bridges and large dams used for town water supply and irrigation.

Rainfall intensity, frequency and duration data plays an integral part in the design of these structures and the Bureau is undertaking a major revision of the information it provides in this domain.

The Bureau currently provides design rainfall data in the form of:

  • Intensity-Frequency-Duration (IFD) information for Average Recurrence Intervals (ARIs), from one to 100 years, which is used in the design of gutters, culverts, bridges and stormwater drains
  • Probable Maximum Precipitation (PMP) estimates for the design of large dams and for use in floodplain management.

Revising IFD information

The Bureau is revising the Intensity-Frequency-Duration (IFD) information using a greatly expanded national rainfall database and updated statistical methods.

Revised IFD information will be made available via a new webpage on the Bureau's website; it will also be included in the next edition of the Engineers Australia publication Australian Rainfall and Runoff.

Revised IFD estimates will be released by May 2013, followed by enhanced features later in 2013 and into 2014.

Read the Information Sheet (258 KB) to find out more about the revision project.


Creative Commons By Attribution logo
Unless otherwise noted, all material on this page is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution Australia Licence