Device and Practice Selection
Strategic Water Management Plans
Selecting devices and practices to use in urban settings is not straightfoward. They need to be chosen so that their net effect suits the ecosystems downstream and upstream. Strategic water management plans provide guidance on what this means in practice.
- Ecological Contexts (Urbanwater.info)
Developing Plans (Urbanwater.info)
- Catchment Management Plans
- Water Cycle Management Plans
- Stormwater Management Plans
- Water Management Planning Tools
Existing Plans (NSW; Urbanwater.info)
Selection Guidelines
There are many devices and practices available:
Guidelines to selecting devices and practices don't cover every option, let alone every possible combination. The guidelines come in two basic flavours:
- those focused on stormwater, where the needs of receiving water bodies are central, and
- those focused on the whole water cycle, as it plays out in urban areas, so they also emphasise opportunities for water conservation, reuse, etc.
Ecologically subtler selection processes are needed - as outlined in Ecological Contexts.
Water cycle focus
Engineers Australia - Water Sensitive Urban Design guidelines (Engineers Australia)
A guide to WSUD framework, best practices and case studies. Sourced from a draft version of Australian Runoff Quality (ARQ) which is a design guideline that provides an overview of current best practice in the management of urban stormwater in Australia.
WSUD Technical Handbook (WSUD.org) - Caution 3MB
This document can provide guidance to councils, master planners, developers and builders through provision of best management practice design specifications for a number of WSUD measures
Water Sensitive Urban Design (Melbourne Water)
This is a comprehensive site which details the various types of stormwater treatment devices and provides guidance on appropriate selection, design and costing. Use the 'selecting a treatment' and 'integrated water cycle tools' on the left hand menu.
BASIX guide to selection a stormwater treatment measure around the home (BASIX - DIPNR)
A good guide to the types of treatment devices that are appropriate for different types of dwellings. There is also information on the suitability of the particular treatment to various stormwater management objectives.
Urban Stormwater Device Guide and BASIX Assessment (iPlan - DIPNR, NSW)
A comprehensive guide to stormwater treatment devices for new urban development or redevelopment. This document is part of the BASIX assessment program for NSW and provides detailed information on calculating pollutant loads and likely device performance.
Coverage of water efficiency, stormwater reuse and wastewater reuse in these guides is fairly weak. For further background on these see:
see also Ecological Functions of Devices and Practices
Stormwater focus
In stormwater management, treatment trains are fundamental.
Many criteria are important in their design. The ecological context of the urban area is the starting point. It tells you what outcomes you are designing for. Diverse criteria then come into play when we select treatments and combine them to achieve environmental, social and financial objectives. For example, some devices are more appropriate for residential areas, some for gently sloping sites, others for particular pollutants. The guidlines below provide logical paths through the options.
Australia
Catchment Pollution Calculators (Urbanwater.info)
"Back of the envelope' calculations (actually using spreadsheets) of the contributions of particular land uses to pollution loads, and of the relative cost-effectiveness of different strategies to reduce the pollution loads imposed on water bodies.
Using receiving water quality criteria to select treatments (Institute of Engineers, Australia)
Receiving water quality guidelines and catchment discharges can be used to select the most appropriate stormwater treatment device. Sourced from a draft version of Australian Runoff Quality (ARQ) which is a design guideline that provides an overview of current best practice in the management of urban stormwater in Australia
Treatment Techniques for Managing Urban Stormwater (DEC, NSW)
A guide to the designing of common treatment techniques including appropriate formulae, implementation guidelines and basic diagrams.
Nonstructural stormwater quality best management practices (pdf) (CRC Catchment Hydrology)
"research into the use, value, cost and evaluation of nonstructural best management practices to improve urban stormwater quality (non-structural BMPs). Such BMPs include town planning controls, strategic planning and institutional controls, pollution prevention procedures, education and participation programs, and regulatory controls."
New Zealand
Stormwater Treatment Devices: Design Guideline Manual
The Auckland Regional Council webpage that provides guidance on designing and constructing stormwater treatment devices.
United States
Stormwater Best Management Practice (BMP) Handbooks (California Stormwater Quality Association)
An excellent, very comprehensive account of best management practices.
Protecting Water Quality in Urban Areas — A Manual (Minnesota)
"a manual [...] to help local government officials, urban planners, developers, contractors and citizens prevent stormwater-related pollution"
Selection Matrices for Treatment Devices (SMRC Website - Center for Watershed Protection)
This site contains a range of resources that can be used to guide designers and managers in the selection of appropriate stormwater treatment devices. To access the selection criteria, click on 'Manual' and then on 'STP Selection Matrices'. This is a U.S. website therefore some nomenclature may be different.
Low Impact Development Urban Design Tools (US)
Urban design oriented interactive tool.
Interactive Treatment Selection Tool (Texas Stormwater Task Force)
From this table of contents, scroll down to Chapter 5 to start the interactive selection tool.
A suggested methodology for preliminary evaluation of stormwater filtration systems (paper)
see also Ecological Functions of Devices and Practices
Special Constraints
Urban salinity
In some locations, e.g. parts of Western Sydney, urban salinity is a major constraint. Infiltration devices and aquifer recharge, for instance, excacerbate urban salinity problems by raising the water table. The following documents provide a good introduction to the issues and to appropriate water cycle management in these contexts.
Urban Salinity (wsud.org)
Water sensitive urban design practice note.
Urban salinity good housekeeping guide (WSROC)
Urban salinity processes pamphlet (WSROC)
see Groundwater
