Vector-borne diseases and water sensitive urban design Exploring the climate impact on mosquito habitats and disease spread Aitken Creek. Photos: Melbourne WaterBackground Climate change affects multiple aspects of urban water management. An emerging public health issue relates to vector-borne diseases and the potential connection between water sensitive urban design (as breeding habitat), mosquitoes (as vectors) and climate change (changing the …
Protecting headwater streams: Ideas for Aitken Creek Identifying novel solutions to protecting headwater streams under pressure from new urban development Aitken Creek. Photos: Melbourne Water We are working with Melbourne Water, the University of Melbourne and Alluvium to develop guidance that can be applied at various scales and across jurisdictions. Background Headwater streams – the starting point of all river …
45 Shand Road, Reservoir Taking an innovative approach to water sensitive urban designOriginal case study 2022Updated case study 2024The Shand Road affordable housing development proposed an innovative approach to water sensitive urban design (WSUD) as a part of a broader strategy to achieve long-term sustainability.The innovations included WSUD features to provide flood mitigation as a sustainable alternative to on-site ‘grey …
Valuing Green–Blue Infrastructure Understanding the social and environmental values of green and blue infrastructure Sub-regional boundaries We are working with Perth’s Water Sensitive Transition Network to put environmental, social and economic values on the benefits of green and blue infrastructure in Perth and Peel. GREEN–BLUE ASSET WORKSHOP REPORTBackground Lower rainfall over the past 40 years has significantly affected stream flows …
Economic Evaluation for Regional IWM Understanding the benefits of integrated water management in regional centres We worked with water practitioners in regional Victoria to improve their capacity to undertake economic evaluations of integrated water management (IWM) projects. This project was supported by the then Victorian Government Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (now the Department of Environment, Energy and …
Applying water sensitive urban design to small infill developments Creating WSUD guidelines for developments with fewer than 20 lots We are working with Josh Byrne and Associates, the Department of Communities and the City of Rockingham in Western Australia to encourage adoption of WSC approaches in small lot developments (fewer than 20 lots). This project is supported by the Water …
Engaging local government councillors and senior executives Building WSC capacity of local government decision makers We are working with Urbaqua in Western Australia to improve local government decision makers’ understanding of and role in promoting application of water sensitive cities principles and practices. This project targets mayors, councillors and senior executives in Western Australia. This project is supported by the …
Understanding WSC lifecycle costs Better investment planning and budgeting for WSC infrastructure We are working with partners in Victoria and Western Australia, and Water Sensitive SA to improve understanding and use of lifecycle costs information of WSC infrastructure. Practitioners will be able to use this information to compare the real cost of smaller scale water sensitive investments with larger scale …
Building community water literacy Creating engaged communities who actively participate in decision making about water We are working with Monash Climate Change Communication Research Hub to develop and test practical strategies to develop and evaluate engagement activities that help build community water literacy. Background Water literacy refers to the community’s knowledge of water and understanding about how their actions can …
Urban WaterGuide: A guide for building sustainable and resilient citiesPhoto credit: Kunshan Bureau of Housing and Urban-Rural DevelopmentUrban WaterGuide: A guide for building sustainable and resilient citiesThe Australian Government, Australian Water Partnership and the Cooperative Research Centre for Water Sensitive Cities partnered to develop a framework to improve water outcomes in international cities and towns, based on Australia’s urban water …