Water for Good

Water for Good is South Australia’s plan to secure sustainable water supplies for our health, our way of life, our economy and our environment - both now and in the future.  The plan can be downloaded from: http://www.environment.sa.gov.au/

Benchmarking Water Sensitive Urban Design – Payne Road

The Payne Rd project was an initiative by the Qld Department of Natural Resources and Water (DNRW) to quantify the water, energy and nutrient balances of a subdivision that incorporated a number of decentralised technologies, set in a context of Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD). The broader issues of the project were to quantify the water, energy and nutrient balances of a 22 house cluster, compare the gains and losses with a traditional subdivision, and track the residents’ satisfaction, and attitudes towards the alternative water and sewage services, through time.
 
The research report (#77) is available for download at: http://www.wqra.com.au/Reports.htm

Water Sensitive Urban Design Technical Manual for the Greater Adelaide Region

The South Australian Government is seeking to integrate Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD) into all urban development, buildings and open to achieve a more secure and sustainable future for Greater Adelaide.  The Water For Good plan and 30-year Plan for Greater Adelaide identify WSUD as a key instrument in pursuing more water efficient and sustainable urban development and public open spaces.
 
A comprehensive technical manual for WSUD in the Greater Adelaide Region has been developed which covers a range of techniques to integrate the management of all water resources and the total water cycle into the urban development process.

The technical manual includes practical information and different measures which can be adopted, depending on the size and nature of the development, building or open space.  Residential, commercial and industrial developments and buildings can all apply WSUD measures.
 
Those measures that are best suited to our region include (but are not limited to): demand reduction, rainwater tanks, rain gardens, green roofs, infiltration systems, pervious pavements, urban water harvesting and reuse, gross pollutant traps, bioretention swales and basins, swales, buffer strips, sedimentation basins, constructed wetlands, and wastewater reuse.

The manual also includes a chapter on designing a WSUD strategy for your development.

Go directly to www.planning.sa.gov.au/go/wsud or contact the Department of Planning and Local Government on 8303 0725 (email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) for hard copies or CD.

Further background …

The WSUD technical manual was developed in partnership with specialist consultants, government agencies, councils and industry groups. The project partners gratefully acknowledge all individuals and organisations that provided comments, suggestions and photographic material.
 
The Department of Planning and Local Government was the overall Project Manager working with the project Steering Committee which included representatives from:     Adelaide and Mt Lofty Ranges Natural Resources Management Board; Australian Water Association (AWA); Department for Transport, Energy and Infrastructure (DTEI); Department of Water, Land and Biodiversity Conservation (DWLBC); Environment Protection Authority (EPA); Housing Industry Association (HIA); Local Government Association (LGA); Department of Planning and Local Government (DPLG); South Australian Murray-Darling Basin Natural Resources Management Board; South Australian Water Corporation; Stormwater Industry Association (SIA); and Urban Development Institute of Australia (UDIA).

The Land Management Corporation and the Master Builders’ Association also contributed to the project.

A consultant team was engaged to provide specialist technical advice in preparing the Technical Manual - the consultants were Australian Water Environments, the University of South Australia, Wayne Phillips and Associates and QED.

Handbook to Help Engineers Design for Climate Change

Associate Professor James Ball of the UTS Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology has been appointed the Editor-in-Chief of the Australian Rainfall and Runoff (AR&R) Handbook. The Handbook which is published by Engineers Australia was last reviewed in 1987 and is the main reference manual for all engineering works in Australia; providing technical information for designing infrastructure to withstand the impact of extreme rainfall, flooding and storm surge.

On average, floods cost the Australian community over $300 million a year and this figure is expected to increase as a result of climate change.

National Guidelines

There have been efforts to create National Water Quality standards and they are formalised in the National Water Quality Management Strategy (NWQMS)

Metropolitan Adelaide Stormwater Management Study

In response to the Stormwater Management Strategy prepared by the Local Government Association in June 2003, State and Local Government jointly commissioned the Metropolitan Adelaide Stormwater Management Study through the Minister's Local Government Forum (completed September 2004). This document and the resultant modifications to the Local Government Act (August 2006) can be found via the link below:
http://www.lga.sa.gov.au/site/page.cfm?u=575