So … impressed with the quality of Sydney water following desalination? I for one drank my first glass with skepticism … assuming the sea was already making its way down the pipes to my home, deliverance was swift; thirst quenched, what’s more, I lived on! Isolated islands have been doing this for time. Now this big dry island of ours must open our collective minds to the potential of storm water.
Work began with street trees used to collect runoff, examples like the rain-garden in Victoria park in Sydney, and everyone has noticed how well the harbour has been looking since restoration of Black Wattle Bay.
The politics of water is a hot topic, it will feature in Live Futures 2020 under the gaze of photographer Carlos Ambrosia T. Lina who has engaged the topic of flooding with the effects of global warming. A recent show at the College of Fine Arts by Alison Muir as part a Master of Design featured textiles informed by social and environmental issues relating to water, both these projects owe some of their material to collaborations with data collected from the University’s Environmental Science faculties.
On Thursday the 3rd of June a seminar was given as an overview of Cities as Water Catchments, a 5 year research program aimed at making use of stormwater. It is time to realise the potential of this resource, and its importance in terms of the design of future cities with larger populations, committed to the environment. Speakers included Professor Tony Wong, director of the Centre for Water Sensitive Cities. This national project is considered a world first, a collaboration between government partners from local to state, Industry and researchers from Monash, Queensland and Melbourne Universities.
This multi-disciplinary study received positive responses from those in attendance. With continuing support the project will analyse recent climate change data and ask how to harvest storm-water in a manner that improves the quality of rain runoff to waterways. Ever stood on the street in and watched a torrent of rain surge away like the waters of oblivion, and wondered ‘why aren’t we using that’? Never fear, so have scientists and urban designers. They have been hard at work, researching issues and solutions in using storm-water for drinking and other purposes, and consider storm-water harvesting potentially more economical and ecologically viable than more traditional technologies. The architectural designers of our cities now face a challenge, to demonstrate the findings in practical site based projects at a house, street and neighborhood scale. The project will provide a benchmark for future design.
So will it be safe to drink? Not so fast. Managing our storm-water better will rejuvenate our cities, ensure we can better maintain our streams, rivers and wetlands, that act as filters to our harbour, the plant life which will help cool our city and reduce our production of greenhouse gases. Once developed the experts suggest it will be more effective than other water management solutions. This includes imput by Civil Engineers, Environmental Scientists, Water Management experts, Economists, industry partners, various councils and government bodies.
It is once again a matter of educating people to change their perspectives, look forward to a continuation of the progressive work done to make our cities Water Sensitive, and doing so by establishing partnerships. The health of our waterways and streams are gradually improving and as this occurs widespread use of stormwater as a source of water will be a more viable, and economically valid option.
Thanks to Kate Black from Water Sensitive Urban Design for providing information on the program and helping with the article. For more info see:
http://www.wsud.org/cities-as-water-supply-catchments/
Ryan McLean
