Conference Presentations: 2013 Stormwater Victoria

Various / Clearwater

07/05/2013

This resource includes a selection of interesting presentations delivered at the 2013 Stormwater Victoria Conference, held on the 7th and 8th of May.

Integrating Integrated Water Management into the City of Casey (Obaid)
In this presentation (Obaid - Integrating Integrated Water Management in the City of Casey), Nausheen Obaid describes the process of leading internal engagement across council in the development of their Integrated Water Management Strategy. A summary of the steps involved in developing the strategy is given. Topics covered include integration with existing plans and strategies, challenges and risks and the use of a business case approach to secure greater commitment.

Bolin Bolin Billabong Wetland Project
A very interesting case study presented at the conference was that of the Bolin Bolin Stormwater Harvesting project in Manningham. Two presentations were dedicated to this project, which exemplifies an integrated water cycle management approach: the first (Johnson and Andrewes - Bolin Bolin Wetland Project) was a very thorough description of the whole project including objectives, constraints, opportunities and design. The second presentation (Johnson and Eggleton - A Tragedy of the Commons) focussed on the learnings from the project so far. In particular, it highlighted the complex problems that proponents of Integrated Management projects can face throughout the design, construction and operation phase of a project.

City of Kingston's prioritisation project - A Kaleidoscope of Stormwater Options
Often councils have a number of stormwater treatment and reuse projects in proposal stage awaiting decisions about where to prioritise spending. In this presentation (Whettenhall and West - A Kaleidoscope of Stormwater Options), Georgie Wettenhall described a prioritisation framework she developed with City of Kingston, a bay-side council in Melbourne's south east. A process is described that: mapped current and proposed projects; described their operation, performance and cost; provided a system for ranking projects according to multiple cost and benefits and; refined the council's stormwater treatment targets. 

Stormwater in a Liveable City
Dr Johnstone's presentation (Johnstone - Stormwater in a Liveable City) talked about the urban water cycle and how it has changed over the last 100 years from a 'water-supply-city' to an emerging 'water-sensitive-city' and the importance of urban stormwater management being more than just for stream health.  His presentation featured a concept called the hydro-social contract which is about the connection between community, its environment and strategic and policy planning. The hydro-social contract helps to create a sense of place and well-being in an urban environment which are key elements that contribute to liveability.

Full listing of Conference Proceedings are made available through Stormwater Victoria and can be accessed here.