John Argue recognised as world expert on water sensitive urban design, from University of South Australia work
The passion of University of South Australia adjunct professor John Argue for water sensitive urban design was applied to New Brompton Estate (later Rowley Reserve) built in Adelaide’s City of Charles Sturt in 1991. Argue's water-saving system (inset, left) for the reserve (at right) was the first inner-city example of water sensitive urban design in Australia.
Images courtesy Stormwater Australia and Water Sensitive SA (South Australia)
John Argue’s work at University of South Australia made him an authority on stormwater engineering around Australia and an expert on water sensitive urban design around the world.
Argue’s stormwater management and water sensitive urban design achievements earned him awards, including an officer in the Order of Australia (AO) in 2013 and being inducted into the halls of fame by the national committee for water engineering of Engineers Australia in 2014 and for Stormwater Industry Australia in 2016. He was given the highest honour of honorary fellow by Engineers Australia.
Educated at Sydney High School and University of New South Wales, he graduated with a bachelor of engineering in civil engineering in 1955 and a master of science from Iowa University in the United States, in 1973. He worked for the New South Wales government public works dept on planning/design including flood mitigation. In 1959, Argue joined the water research laboratory, University of New South Wales, at Manly Vale, and for four years, from 1961, he taught mathematics and mechanics at Sydney Grammar School.
In 1965, Argue became lecturer in hydraulics and hydrology at the South Australian Institute of Technology (SAIT) in Adelaide, rising to senior lecturer (1969), principal lecturer (1979), associate professor (1990) and academic leader of the civil engineering in 1996. In 1991, SAIT became part of the University of South Australia. Argue’s impact extended to being the academic leader of civil engineering and later adjunct professor of water engineering until 2021.
Argue was pivotal in setting up the university’s urban water resources centre in 1993 (its director until he retired in 1999) and in starting the joint universities’ masters programme in hydrology and water resources with Adelaide and Flinders universities. His influence went beyond traditional engineering to the broader context of stormwater drainage in growing cities.
Argue's involvement in urban stormwater management began in the late 1980s when he authored the ground-breaking Storm drainage design in small urban catchments: A handbook for Australian practice (1986).
In the 1990s, Argue's passion for source control of stormwater gained prominence as he spearheaded the water sensitive urban design movement's work. This work was first applied when the New Brompton Estate (later Rowley Reserve) was built in Adelaide’s western City of Charles Sturt in 1991. Instead of conventional stormwater infrastructure, the site had roof water runoff stored in an aquifer 30 metres below ground. The stored water was then harnessed to replace mains water for open-space irrigation. The pioneering project was recognised widely for being the first inner-city example of water sensitive urban design in Australia, apart from constructed wetlands.
Argue’s writings on sustainable urban water management extended to the WSUD [water sensitive urban design]: Basic procedure for source control of stormwater, recognised with prestigious awards in 2005. Argue contributed significantly to academic supervision, mentoring many philosophical doctorates and masters candidates. His research output included three published books and more than 75 publications.
