The recent and abrupt shift in rainfall patterns in Southern Australia has forced the accelerated uptake of Integrated Water Cycle Management (IWCM), which has fundamentally changed the way engineers see the water challenges of urban centres in Australia. IWCM allows designers and engineers to look at the real water uses and needs in urban developments, matching water sources, treatments, and fit-for-purpose uses together to create much more robust and sustainable urban systems. This is different from the standard "input-output" approach of assuming that dams and desalination will always apply more water than is needed for urban centres, while ignoring social and environmental impacts of those water systems. A shift from "grey" infrastructure, to a greener infrastructure has occurred integrating biological features and water quality improvement into engineering systems.
There have been many pioneering IWCM developments in Melbourne and around Australia. How can we now integrate IWCM into mainstream developments? This paper will look at both: recent case studies of successful implementation of IWCM; as well as the regulatory and planning frameworks into which they sit. For example in Victoria IWCM has been integrated into the planning code under clause 56 for all new subdivision developments. This paper will show how developers are responding to clause 56 in mainstream developments.
This paper will also cover recent shifts in integrating IWCM into lot scale developments and buildings. This is being driven by accelerated uptake of the Green Star green building rating system in large commercial projects. Many pioneering projects have been recently completed using innovative systems such as on-site wastewater treatment, with treated wastewater used for toilet flushing and irrigation. This paper will look at trends in large commercial building design and some of the methods and techniques desigers used to apply IWCM thinking into hydraulic systems.