What is Urban Water? What is Water Sensitive Urban Design? What is Integrated Water Cycle Management?
“Urban Water” is the water that is used and flows through our cities, towns and suburbs.
Many terms are now used to describe new ways of managing urban water that are more 'sensitive' to the value that Australians place on waterways:
- Sustainable Urban Water Management (SUWM)
- Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD)
- Integrated Water Cycle Management (IWCM).
All of these terms encourage thinking about most (if not all) of the "urban water cycle" in a more connected way - across potable (piped) drinking water to roofwater, waste water (grey water and sewage), stormwater, as well as the 'natural waterways' such as urban creeks, wetlands and groundwater.
Beyond Stormwater
Traditionally, urban drainage has focused on the sole objective of avoiding floods and conveying stormwater as quickly as possible, without pollution treatment, from our roofs, roads and footpaths to receiving waterways. The major stormwater trunk drains built during the depression in Newcastle, NSW - right - are a common sight in Australian urban settings.
Modern drainage engineering, hydrological and catchment science, as well as urban planning, design and landscape architecture now affords us the means to achieve more than conveyance when we manage stormwater.
By taking a 'multidisciplinary approach we open the door to a greater 'solutions set' that can provide multiple benefits into the future.
Water Sensitive Urban Design, or "WSUD" is about doing urban design, planning and development in ways that are more 'sensitive' to water by:
- Reconnecting neighbourhoods with local waterways, improving visual amenity and quality of life.
- Making better use of all water within our urban areas.
- Seeking to protect the ecological health of urban waterways from the negative impacts of urban development.
- Adding value to our water and waterways management activities.
Read more about these
WSUD Aims and Principles.
In Australia, stormwater assets are predominantly managed by local councils. This, along with council's role in urban planning and development control, makes WSUD very relevant to local government practice.
Integrated Water Cycle Management (IWCM) seeks to better link how we plan and manage water supply, waste water, sewerage and stormwater services, and make provision for environmental flows. It aims to consider all water resources in an integrated way - to create a more robust set of solutions within our catchments.IWCM tends also to focus more on sewage management than WSUD.
In NSW, IWCM is generally attempted by Local Water Authorities - who are charged with providing and planning for water supply and sewage services.
The responsibilities and fiscal arrangements for providing water, wastewater and stormwater services are often fragmented across different organisations - this creates very real institutional impediments to delivering IWCM opportunities.
Source: Hoban, A.T and Wong, T.H.F (2006:) WSUD and Reslience to Climate Change.