Water Journal May 2006 by australianwater

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Journal of the Australian Water Association

Volume 33 No 3 May 2006

OPINION AND INDUSTRY NEWS OPINION DDay, President, AWA Eduation • For Community and Our Industry CDavis, CEO, AWA Where to for Water Research and AWA? MMouritz My Point of View AWA NEWS Includes: AWA Water Policy Update; National and Branch highlights, National Interest Groups: Developing Communities, Young Water Professionals; International Water Association CROSSCURRENT Industry News: National, State & Territory, International, Personalia; Cyclone Larry Report; Cryptosporidium Isolates AWA MEMBERSHIP NEWS Water Directory listings updates; New members

4 5 6 8

22 42

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT NATIONAL EVENT CALENDAR Upcoming seminars and events

46 48

CONFERENCE REPORTS Master Class 'The Price of Water'; Water Quality Assessment

TECHNICAL FEATURES ( ·,

indicates the paper has been refereed )

DEMAND MANAGEMENT ~ End Use Research in Melbourne Suburbs

Specially modified meters and dataloggers recorded usage data at very high resolution Smart Water Metering It is vital to know when, why and how water is used Demand Management: When is Enough, Enough? Haven't we resolved the big issues by now?

STORMWATER INNOVATION Effectiveness of 'Pervious Pavements' in the Improvement of Surface-Water Quality A field-scale project comparing two types of pervious paving for a car-park {] Urban Stormwater Pollutants: ASurvey in Three Sydney Sub-catchments Street sweeping and two gross pollutant traps were monitored for pollutant capture.

PRoberts

GHauber-Davidson, EIdris

MInman 60

NJayasuriya, AJarrar, KJesse

MGalloway, SLoffan, PSmith

COMMUNITY CONSULTATION ._, Cost-Sharing Scheme for Groundwater in South East South Australia New irrigators subsidise well-deepening for stock and domestic users J McKay, HDiwakora, S Barnell , Institutional Barriers to Decentralised Systems An organisation must be receptive to innovative ideas DLivingston, NAshbolt, HColebotch .._ Frustration, Confusion and Uncertainty - Qualitative Responses from Namoi Valley lrrigators Stakeholder reactions to procrastination in water sharing plans GKuehne, HBjornlund BENCHMARKING Benchmarking Pricing and Service Quality: A National Framework Progress towards consistent protocol

National Water Commission

WATER BUSINESS NEW PRODUCTS AND BUSINESS INFORMATION · SPECIAL FEATURES: SLUDGE DRYING & BIOSOLIDS; INSTRUMENTATION TECHNOLOGY ADVERTISERS' INDEX

86 94

OUR COVER

Stormwater hazards in Australia are normally limited to floods, some of them extremely destructive of property, but rarely, these days, of life. However, for some of our Pacific neighbours, the biggest danger is that of mud-slides and landslides. The recent huge land-slide in the Philippines, depicted on our cover, killed more than 1000 people. Kathryn Harries, of Sydney Water, the Notional Convenor of AWA's Developing Communities Interest Group, is a member of the Register of Engineers for Disaster Relief and was immediately called out to assist with water and sanitation for evacuees. Her story is on page 12. Photo by Dr Andrew McPherson from Geoscience Australia who was also on the AusAid emergency response team.

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SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL INFORMATION Dian e W iesner PhD · 6 1 2 9495 9906 dwiesner@awa.asn.au

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AWA BRANCHES: AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY and NEW SOUTH WALES Errin Dryden· 61 2 9495 9908 edryden@awa.asn.au NORTHERN TERRITORY c/o Ian Jarman · 6 1 2 9495 9911 ijarman@awa.asn.au SOUTH AUSTRALIA Sarah Carey· 61 8 8267 1783 sabranch@awa.asn.au QUEENSLAND Kathy Bourbon · 6 1 7 3397 5644 awaq@awa.asn.au

TASMANIA c/o Ian Jarman · 6 1 2 9495 991 1 ijarman@awa.asn.au VICTORIA Joe Owzinsky · 61 3 9509 2748 awwa@i.net.au WESTERN AUSTRALIA Cath Miller· 04 16 289 075 cmiller@awa.asn.au INTERNATION AL WATER ASSOCIATION, AUST. (IWAA) c/o Chris Davis· cdavis@awa.asn.au

DISCLAIMER Australian Water Association assu mes no responsi bility for opinion or statements of facts expressed by contributors or advertisers.

COPYRIGHT AWA Water Journal is subject to copyrig ht and may not be reproduced in any format without written permission of AWA. To seek permission to reproduce Water Journal material email your request to: scorlette@awa.asn.au

2 MAY 2006

Water

Journal of the Australian Water Association ISSN 0310·0367

Volume 33 No 3 May 2006

AWA WATER JOURNAL MISSION STATEMENT 'To provide a print journal that interests and informs on water matters, Australian and international, covering technological, environmental, economic and social aspects, and to provide a repository of useful refereed papers.' PUBLISH DATES Water Journal is published eight times per year: February, March, May, June, August, September, November and December EDITORIAL BOARD: Chairman: FR Bishop BN Anderson, CDiaper GFinke, GFinlayson, GA Holder, BLabza, MMuntisov, CPorter, FRoddick, GRyan, AGibson EDITORIAL SUBMISSIONS Water Journal invites editorial submissions for: Technical Papers and topical articles, Opinion, News, New Products and Business Information. Acceptance of editorial submissions is subject to editorial board discretion. Email your submissions to one of the following three categories: 1. TECHNICAL PAPERS AND FEATURES Bob Swinton, Technical Editor, Water Journal: bswinton@bigpond.net.au AND http://gemini.econ.umd.edu/wj (Editorial Express) Papers of 3000-4000 words (allowing for graphics); or topical stories of up to 2,000 words. relating to all areas of the water cycle and water business. Submissions are tabled at monthly editorial board meetings and where appropriate are assigned to referees. Referee comments will be forwarded to the principal author for further action. See box on page 52 for more details. 2. OPINION, INDUSTRY NEWS, PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT Sue Corlette: Marketing Communications Manager, AWA, scorlette@awa.asn.au Articles of l 000 words or less 3. WATER BUSINESS Brian Rault, National Sales & Advertising Manager, Hallmark Editions brian.rault@halledit.com.au Water Business updates readers on new products and associated business news within the water sector. ADVERTISING Brian Rault, National Sales & Advertising Manager, Hallmark Editions Tel: 61 3 8534 5014 (direct), 6138534 5000 (switch), brian.rault@halledit.com.au Advertisements are included as an information service to readers and are reviewed before publication to ensure relevance to the water environment and objectives of AWA. PURCHASING WATER JOURNAL Single issues available @ $12.50 plus postage and handling; email dwiesner@awa.asn.au BACK ISSUES Water Journal back issues are available to AWA members at www.awa.asn.au PUBLISHER Hallmark Editions, PO BOX 84, HAMPTON, VICTORIA 3188 Tel: 61 3 8534 5000 Fax: 61 3 9530 891 l Email: hallmark.editions@halledit.com.au

Journal of the Australian Water Association

END USE RESEARCH IN MELBOURNE SUBURBS P Roberts Abstract Yarra Valley Water (YVW) has undertaken a number of srnd ies inco how residential water is used. Appliance stock and usage behaviour surveys were undertaken in 1999 and 2003 and end use measurement was undertaken in 2004 utilising flow trace analysis. T he 1999 Forecasting survey was a detailed telephone survey of 1000 homes within YVW's service area. The 2003 Appliance Stock and Usage Patterns Survey involved household visits co 840 homes, and identified app liances by inspection, measured appliance flow races and gathered extensive data on usage behaviours. O ne hundred of the ASUP homes were lacer installed with specially modified meters and dacaloggers co record usage data at very high reso lu tion. Utilising water analysis software ch is data could subsequently be d isaggregated co end uses such as shower, coilec, dishwasher, clocheswasher, evaporative air conditioner, cap and garden i rrigacion usage. The find ings from YVW's end use research have been invaluable for the provision of d ata co Melbourne's end use forecasting model, for the assessmenc of demand management options and fo r che provision o f water usage information co customers

Introduction D emand management has always been i mporcanc co the water industry but now wi th an increased emphasis on sustainab le w ater supply and a reasonable probability of climate change it has never been mo re i m peracive co reduce the amounc of water w e use. In order co manage a successful demand m anagemenc program, water authorities need co know the answers co dozens of q uescions like "if we spend $ I 00,000 co g ive away AAA showerheads, how much water wi ll be saved?" Or "how does a rebate for front loadi ng washi ng machines compare in terms of cost and water saved w ith say an education program targeting s h orter shower duration?" T here is no shortage of demand m anagement concepts - there are literally h undreds of chem - you only need co re ference publications like Amy Vicker's

Instruments used for detailed monitoring: A ManuFlo meter connected to a Monatec logger.

(200 I) water co nservation bible co confirm chat. Therefore ic is critical co be able co evaluate the water savings from chosen demand management options and ulcimacely rank chem in order of most co lease effective. Th is process is only possible through understand ing che where, when, how and why of water usage.

Specially modified meters and dataloggers recorded usage data at very high resolution. Yarra Valley Water undertakes research fo r three major purposes: l. co "info rm " che end use model used for demand forecasting, 2. co provide info rmation for che design and subsequenc evaluation of dema nd managemenc initiatives, and 3. co enable behavioural change through the provision of detailed water usage info rmation co customers. T he fi rst com prehensive appliance survey undertaken by YVW was undertaken in I 999 by AC N ielsen and involved telephone surveys with 1000 households. T his survey asked respondents co identify their water using appliances and explain

when, where and how frequently water was used in thei r household. Whilst the results advanced our understa nding of residential water use co nsiderably, they were so mewhat limited by the methodology which rel ied on respondents co accurately identify che types of appliances in their household. For example it is feasible co ask respondents whether they have a dual fl ush toilet but not whether it is a 6/3, 9/4.5 or I 1/6 litre model. Similarly in the case of showerheads the responden t often may have no idea whether che efficiency of showers is AAA, AA, A or not raced. Consequently when rhe 2003 Appliance Stock and Usage Patterns Survey (AS UPS) was undertaken ir was decided co utilise household visits by quali fied assessors who could accu rately idencify appliances as well as measure rhe flow races of showers and taps. T o add co this improved quali ty of survey data acrnal end use measurement was undertaken in the 2004 Residential End Use Measurement Srndy (REUMS). High resolution meters and dacaloggers capable of recording 72 pulses per litre were installed in I 00 of the ASUPS homes. The loggers were programmed co captu re two weeks of summer data and two weeks of winter data in fi ve second intervals that could be analysed down co specific end uses by means of a purpose designed analytical software! Trace WizardÂŠ, a water use

Journal of the Australian Water Association

Water

MAY 2006 51

refereed paper

analysis cool developed by Aquacrafr Inc. (www.aquacrafc.com.au) was employed. In addition to providing valuable flow rate, frequency and duration data the end use measurement data also enabled a co mparison of respondent estimates of their usage patterns with their actual usage behaviour. This latter aspect wi ll be of benefit in the design of future research programs. T he ASU PS covered all types of residential dwell ings but the end use measurement phase was deliberately restricted to "separate" homes to maximise the collection of garden irrigation data since this is known ro be a sign ificant component of residential water use in suburban Melbourne. Consequently the fi ndings of the REUMS cannot always be interpreted as being representative of the co mplete residential cusromer base because flats, apartments and any other non separate

water Editorial Submissions Technical Papers Water journal welcomes rhe submission of papers equivalent to 3,000-4,000 words {allowing for graphics) relating to all areas of the water cycle and water business to be published in the journal. Topical stories of up to 2,000 words may also be accepted. All submissions of papers intended for the main body of rhe journal should be emailed to the Technical Editor, bswinton@bigpond.net.au and http://gemini.econ.umd.edu/wj (Editorial Express). Shorter news irems should be emailed to scorlene@awa.asn.au. A submitted paper will be cabled ar a monthly Journal Committee meeting where, if appropriate, ir will be assigned to referees. Their comments will be passed back co rhe principal author. If accepted and after any comments have been dealt wirh, the final paper can be emailed with the text in MS Word but with high resolution graphics (300 dpi riff, jpg or eps files) as separate files. Authors should be mindful char Water journal is published in a 3 column 'magazine' format rather than the full-page format of Word documents. Graphics should be sec up so char they will srill be clearly legible when reduced to two-column size (about 12cm wide). Tables and figures need to be numbered with the appropriate reference in rhe text e.g. see Figure I, nor just placed in the text with a (see below) reference as they may end up anywhere on rhe page when typeset. See index page 2 for more derails on chis and other editorial submissions.

dwellings have inherent differences to detached houses. Detailed reports from both the ASUPS and REUM studies are available on YVW's website. What fo llows is a summary of the key findings from both stud ies.

makes more sense ro consider seasonal usage on the basis of irs contribution ro annual usage. Per capita consumption estimates are derived from the repo rted number of people in the household ar rhe time char the survey was undertaken. In most cases this was shortly before the first logging period. It is assumed that the number of people in the household remained at this level throughout both rhe sum mer and winter loggi ng periods.

Summary of Research Findings â&#x20AC;˘ Household Size The household size (or number of people normally resident in the household) is clearly a major facror in determining the volume of water used. Although the relationship is substantially blurred by the very wide variation around the average usage for any given household size, the ASUPS data enabled an esti mation of household size elasticity ro be determined. T he household size elasticity is the change in usage for a given change in household size. For example an elasticity of 0.5 means that for a I o/o decrease in household size, average usage will decrease by 0.5%. Elasticiry was found ro be 0.47 for Houses, 0.78 for flats, units, apartments, etc and 0.59 fo r all residential dwellings. T hese estimates are used to forecast the i111 pact on usage of the long term trend decline in household size. Note that the elasticities are less than 1 co nfirm ing that declini ng household size has the effect of increasing per capita consumption, especially in detached houses.

Average daily indoor use per household was measured at 523 litres which eq uates ro an average of I 69 litres per capita per day (LpCpD). Figure l shows the measured average daily volumes fo r each non seasonal end use. Non-seaso nal use is similar to "Indoor" use bu t excludes evaporative air cond itioner use which is seasonal. This distinction is necessary in order to extrapolate from a short measuremenr period ro the typical usage on an annual basis. T he largest indoor use is shower at 49 LpCp D, followed by clothes washer 40 litres and roilet 30 li tres. These three end uses account for 7 1o/o of coral non-seasonal use. Nore that the average dai ly per capita toiler volume is understated slightly as a result of the retrofit of 4.5/31 dual fl ush toilets (Caroma SmartflushÂŽ October 2004) in about one-quarter of the logged homes between rhe summer and winter logging periods. T his retrofit trial is a joint project undertaken with Caroma Pry Led ro assess chis new 4A rared roiler. Without the impact of these roilets daily per capita toilet use increases by about 3% to an average of just over 3 1 LpCpO.

â&#x20AC;˘ Average Daily Indoor Per Capita Usage Indoor, or more correctly "non seasonal" usage, is considered on an average daily per cap ita basis because it is assumed ro occur in a similar pattern across the year. It is of little value ro include seaso nal use (irrigation, evaporative cooler, pool etc) in the per capita daily average analysis. It

Dishwasher ]2.1

Bath ] 3.2

Leak ==:J1u

127.0

Tap

130.4

Toilet

Cloth11wa1her

40.4

141.1

Shower

Total Non

1188.7

Seasonal 20

100

120

140

160

litres

Figure 1. Average Litres per Capita per Day - N on Seasonal Use (I ndoor). 5 2 MAY 2006

Water

Journal of the Australian Wate r Association

180

T he next biggest user of water was tap usage and this averaged 27 LpCpD . This refers co the combined usage fro m bathroom basins, kitchen si nks and laundry troughs. T he volu me of water identified as leakage was surprisingly high at just under 16 LpCpD. However care needs co be taken with the interpretation of ch is fi nding. Fi rstly rhe high per capita resu lt was due co very high leakage in a relatively small p roportion of homes. Secondly it is di fficult to translate this result into a general fi nding on leakage because, unl ike the other non seasonal uses, it can not be assumed char what has occurred over a short m easurement period will necessarily continue for the fu ll year. The 169 LpCpD shown in Figure I app lies to just separate homes. In order co estimate what rhe equivalent usage is fo r all customers the survey data is used together with rhe end use measurement co model rhe relationship between household size and usage. T he resultant estimated average usage across the whole residential customer base is 178 LpC pD. T his equates co an average a nnual non seaso nal usage of 166 KL for the average household of 2.55 persons. • Seasonal Use

The seaso nal uses are dominated by garden irrigation but also incl ude evaporati ve air co nditioner, pool and outdoor spa use. These collecti vely made up 32% of the volume used during the summer logging period. None of these uses were identified d u ri ng the winter logging period. For two reasons chis share in itself is of li ttle co nsequence. Firstly seasonal use varies with the cl imatic conditions so measurement over a short duration ca nnot be considered in dicative of usage over longer periods. Seco ndly th e use of water for garden irrigation was significantly curtailed during the logging period by Stage 2 d rought rescncc1ons. Because of these factors, estimation of the contribution of seasonal usage co coral residential usage is determi ned from billing d ata rather than on the basis of end use m easurement. ln co ral, seasonal use is es timated co account fo r 25.4% of coral annual residential use and of chis, irrigation accounts fo r 22% based on the relative sh ares of each of the seasonal uses during th e logging period. The estimated co ntribution of each end use is shown in Figure 2. T he cop fo ur uses of Irrigation, Shower, Cloches Washer and T oiler collectively accou nt for 79% of coral us age. T he fifth largest use is the combined bathroom, kitchen and laund ry taps accounting fo r around 12% of usage.

• Showers

T he ASUPS fo und char average frequency of showering is I per person per day. However in the REUMS the observed average frequency of showering was co nsiderably lower than chis at only 0.76 showers per capita per day. This latter resulr is lower than fo und by other comparable studies and should be viewed with some conservatism because of rhe uncertai nty around the num ber of people in the household throughout both logging periods. ln the AS UPS respondents estimated their average duration of showering at 6.2 minures whilst the REUMS measured a longer average duration of7. l minutes. N inety per cent of peo ple were found to shower within the range 4 to 10 minutes. Boch the ASUPS & REUMS confirm char the vast majo ri ty of respondents run their showers at well below rhe capacity flow rate fo r their shower type. T he average flow rare was measured at 9.5 litres per minute (LpM). T he ave rage flow rare fo r the more efficient showers (i. e. A, AA and AAA) was 7.6 LpM compared to l 0.5 LpM for the standard showers. Th is di ffe rential flow race would resul t in a saving of around 16 KL pa in an average size household.

• Toilets

T he pro po rtion of homes with at least one dual flush toil er has increased fro m 69% in 1999 to 82% in 2003. The penetration of dual flush toi lers is therefo re increasing at an average rare of 2.7% per year Around 22% of toilets are single fl ush and another 38% are 9/4.5 or 11/6 dual flush. Consequently there remains significant po ten rial fo r conversion to 6/3 dual fl ush or rhe new AAAA 4.5/3 Iiere dual fl ush toilet. Average per capita use is 3 1 LpCpD with standard deviation of 20 litres. Per capita use ranged from 19.3 litres fo r households with 6/3 dual fl ush toi lers co over 42 lirres fo r households with 11 or 12 litre single flush to ilers. Average flush volume overall was 7.6 li tres bur fo r the 6/3 dual flush toiler the average was 5.8 litres indicating a higher than expected ratio of full flush to half flush use. Average frequency of toiler use was measured at 4.2 fl ushes per perso n per day. The ASU PS rook actual measurements of toiler fl ush volumes and these were often fo und to be less than the specified volumes fo r the particular type of toilet. On average fu ll fl ush volumes were fo und to be 9% lower than rhe specified volume.

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• Clo thes Washers

T he penetration of front loading washing machines increased from 12% in 1999 to Journal of the Australian Water Association

Water

MAY 2006 53

21 % in 200 3, an average increase of 2.2% per annum. Even allowing for 95% confidence intervals around these sample proportions, at a minimum this reflects an increase of 1% pa in the stock share of front loading washers. Average per capita use is just over 40 litres bur there is very wide variation around the average with a standard deviation of 61 litres.

Dishwa sher

1.2% Bath Irrigation, Pool, Evap / ' Cooler, Spa

Seasonal Uses 25.4%

Toilet

13.3%

Usage is fairly negligible up to a maximum d aily temperature of around 25° bu r thereafter rises rapidly with rhe temperature. Average measured use on the days that the appliance was utilised was 155 litres with usage being significantly higher on weekend days than on week days. Modelled usage based on historical average dai ly maximum temperature suggests an an nual average usage of around 15 KL.

The average household will do about five and a half loads • Garden Irrigation of washin g per week. Observed average volume per N inety three per cen t of load across all types of washer households have a garden Figure 2. End Use Shares - Esti mated Annual Contri bution . was 143 litres. Significantly requiring watering. The most rhe average volume of front common waterin g load ing machines was just 75 methodology is the handsmall amount of tap use that occurs over 6 litres compared to the average for top held hose with around two-thirds of LpM is more likely to be fi lling demand as loaders o f 152 li tres. O n rhe basis of these households using this metho dology. opposed to flowing demand. The findings fin d ings rhe average household with a top Automatic sp rinkler systems were fou nd to confirm the previo usly held belief rhar loader would save around 22 KL pa by be not widely used with only 13% of there is little or no demand managemen t changing to an efficient fro nt loading households using th is method. Manual benefit derived from restricting the capaciry washing machine. sprinkler systems on the oth er hand are flow rate of taps in the residential setting. used by around one-quarter of households. There is a very strong relationship between • Baths the volume used for clothes wash ing and Nore rhar rhe method of irrigation (hand Bath use by adults is minimal with 84% of the household size with economies of scale held hose, manual sprinkler, automatic households having no adult use of rhe bath occurring for this end use as househo lds get sprinkler) is nor identified from the analysis at all. Average usage per ad ult is only 0.2 larger (and diseconomies as ho usehold size bu r rather from the survey. Many homes baths per week. Bath use by children on the decreases). use multiple methods of irrigation so from other hand is far more common. For rhe survey information an assessment is • D ishwashers househo lds with children less than 12 years made of rhe "main" methodology u tilised. Sixty two per cent of households have a of age rhe average use is 2 baths per child Consequently rhe analyses around dishwasher bur only 54% actually use their per week. irrigation methodology are not exact and so dishwasher. This compares to 43% usi ng On average the households that u tilise the findings can o nly be considered indicative. d ishwashers in rhe 1999 survey. bath do so less than 3 rimes per week and Stage 2 drought restrictions p rohibiting the The ASUPS respondents indicated chat on the average fill volume was measured at 123 watering of residential lawns were in place average they use their d ishwasher 4 .4 rimes li tres. during the summer logging period (Feb per week although during the logging The use of baths is a relatively minor end 2004). As a result it is problematic to period observed use averaged only 3.4 rimes use in volume terms even for those extrapolate from the end use measurement per week. households that regularly use a bath. For data to what might be typical usage in an T he d ishwasher is a relatively minor user of households using rhe bath chis end use unrestricted enviro nment. Consequently water. T he average measured volume per accounted for just u nder 7% of their non the findings relating to freque ncy and load was around 24 litres and on average seasonal indoor usage. duration o f garden irrigation need to be the d ishwasher is only used arou nd 3 times considered in chis context. • Evaporative Air Conditioners per week. The share of total use accoun red for by Whi lst around two-th irds of households • Indoor Tap Use garden irrigation varied considerably during have an air conditioner, evaporative units Miscellaneous cap use (bathroom basins, the summer logging period. For around currently only account for 30% of these. kitchen sin k, laundry trough) is a high 10 % of homes garden irrigation share was Overall 20% of households have an freq uency, low volume end use. zero whilst at rhe other end of the scale it evaporative air cond itioner. Australian accoun ted for 73% of total use fo r one Bureau of Statistics (ABS 2002) surveys O n average rap usage amo unts to 27 LpCp D with standard deviation of 21 househo ld. Overall irrigation accounted for ind icate rhar the popularity of evaporative litres. Each person uses a tap an average of 28% of the total summer logged volume. coolers is growing strongly 20 rimes per day with an average volume Average frequency of irrigation was 3.1 Around one-fifth of che logged homes had used of just 1.3 litres. rimes per week for those homes rhar an evaporative air conditioner and for these The measured average flow race of tap use was 3.3 LpM and a vast majority of events occur ar less than 7 LpM. l e would be reasonable to speculate rhar rhe relatively

homes water used by this appliance can be significant during summer. No use of this appliance was recorded d uring the winter logging period.

54 MAY 2 00 6 Water Journal of the Australian Water Association

irrigate. The average flow rare of irrigatio n was 16.3 LpM and the average duration was around 46 minutes per irrigation even t.

refereed paper

demand management The average duration of irrigation differed significan cly with the method of irrigation used. The duration of evencs with che hand held hose averaged 37 minutes compared co 66 minutes fo r che manual and automatic sprinkler system households collectively. The hand held hose method appears co have higher relative efficiency, used by 57% of homes as the main method of irrigation but accouncing for just 43% of irrigation volume. By concrasc manual and automatic sprinkler systems were the main irrigation methods used by 29% of homes bu r accounted for 52% of coral irrigation volume. â&#x20AC;˘ Other Outdoor Use

ASUPS found rhac 10% of households have swimming pools and rhis is only margi nally higher than rhe 1999 survey finding of 9%. Based on rhe survey estimates, annual cop-up volumes for swimming pools are typically in rhe 5 co 10 KL range. In REUMS overall pool use accounced for only 1.5% of rhe coral summer logged volume. However fo r che ni ne homes rhar registered pool usage rhis use on average accounced for 12% of their coral summ er logged volume.

was signifi cant although as previously scared chis fi nding needs co be considered with a degree of conservatism. Further research is needed into in-house leakage. 3. Finally, considerable scope exists fo r new wireless measurement technologies co be adapted fo r end use measurement and trialled against current methodologies like flow trace analysis.

Conclusions Without a detailed understanding of how water is used in the residencial sector it is difficul t co accurately evaluate and rank demand management options, understand trends in appl iance cake-up or develop projections fo r water demand in the future. Without such knowledge iris also difficult ro communicate co custo mers che sort of savings that can be associated with che adoption of efficient appliances or behaviours. As a result of ics research program YVW now has a derailed knowledge of how much water is associated with each end use and how chis varies with ocher factors such as applia nce type and household size.

The findings from chis research have been invaluable in populating the data incensive end use models utilised by che Melbourne retailers ro predict water and sewer flow demand into the future. Future end use research will focus on identi fying the best technology with which to undertake end use measurement from the perspectives of reliability, accuracy and cost effectiveness.

The Author Peter Roberts, an economist and statistician, is Demand Forecasting Manager, Yarra Valley Water, one of che three water retailers in Melbourne, email pecer. roberts@yvw.com.au. References ABS (2002} 4602.0 Environmental Issues, March 2002, Table 4.17. Caroma Pry Led. (2004) www.caroma.smarcAush.info Vickers, Amy (200 I) H andbook of Water Use and Conservation WacerPlowPress, ISBN 1-931579-07-5.

O nly 4% of households have an outdoo r s pa and chis has nor changed since the 1999 survey. Based on chis low incidence and rhe behavioural pamrns identified by che survey, the volume of water used in spas is unlikely co be significant. S ixty five per cent of households with cars wash at least one at home bur che frequency is low with washing occurring on average only once every two-and-a-half months. â&#x20AC;˘ Rainwater Tanks

T he ownership of rainwater tanks has in creased rapidly since che 1999 survey. In 2003 around seven per cenc of homes had a rainwater rank compared co only 1% in 1999.

Future Research 1. When multiple uses are sourced from the same cap ic is difficu lt co measure rhe relative contribution of each use. T his is particularly rhe case for outdoor use and yet ic is critical co the establishment of drought restrictions regimes char we know how irrigation volume divides inco lawn versus garden use. Separate measurement of lawn use and garden use over an extended non rescriccions period is needed. 2. In the ASUPS leakage observed by che assessors was found co be minimal. H owever leakage idencified by che REUMS

For over 80 years we have provided critical water infrastructure for our cl ients and communities. Using our specialist skills in engineering, environmental, risk, water resou rces and water cycle m angement, we provide integrated solutions for your b usiness. To find out more please contact Selwyn Mcfaul or George Khouri in Brisbane on (07) 3244 9600 or Gidi Azar in Sydney on (02) 8923 1555.

Success through Partnership

JWP

Journal of the Australian Water Association

Water

MAY

2006 55

SMART WATER METERING G Hauber-Davidson, E Idris Abstract Ir is surprising to see how much confusion, misinformation and myth exists around 'smart water meters' when the reality is so simple. This paper attempts to demystify smart water metering by defining what a smart water merer is and how it works. I t d iscusses the role of smart water meters in obtaining valuable water usage data. An overview is given of the technology which is utilised in smart metering and the set ups currently used. The paper emphasises the benefits and value of smart water merer data for large users through several case studies and examples.

~ -- .. -...... .

•• •• • •

Introduction Conserving water is becoming Figure increasingly important in Australia as the country faces a widening gap berween ever reducing water supplies due to climate change and increased demand from population growth. Water conservation means using less water as well as using alternate sources of water. Water conservation now goes well beyond flow restricting raps and showers and optimising toilet and urinal flu shing. Today's integrated p rograms comprise the use of water efficient ap pliances and technologies such as waterless urinals and electronic taps. Smarr irrigation application and control systems achieve fa r better water utilisation . Optimising water intense processes and cooli ng rower operation yields significant improvements. Automatic leak detection and monitoring systems permit to iden tify and then fix leaks, and even cut off the flow. Rainwater harvesting, greywater and black water recycling schemes are used to replace potable water. Education heightens user awareness. Incentives (rebates) and tighter regulation are yet another component. However, prior to undertaking such steps, it is viral to understand how, when and why water is used.

What is a Smart Water Meter? A Smarr Water Meter is a normal water meter linked to a device that allows continuous electronic reading and display o f the water consumptio n. It negates the

MAY 2006

especially with current water prices and even more so when rhe sewerage charges are fixed instead of being variable.

con,:;rol & monitoring

Water

1. Typical Smart Water Meter Set-up. need to manually read the meter d ial. Once chis information is available as an electronic signal, it can be captured, logged and processed like any ocher signal. Mobile phone technology, wireless modems, rhe internet and ocher data distribution tech nologies make it possible ro bring chis signal readily to a computer. Hence a Smart Water Meter can also be labelled a "water merer on your desktop " as shown in Figure 1. Readings are typ ically taken every 15 min, even though most systems allow for far more frequent readings. Yee, in most cases chis is found unnecessary, simply leading to an unnecessary flood of data rather than additional information.

It is vital to know when, why and how water is used. Who Should Get a Smart Water Meter? A smart water meter can be set up at any application be it small or large, domestic, residential, commercial, institutional or industrial. Obviously, the larger the water consumption measured, the better the economies of scale. The cost of a smart water merer is independent of the size of the meter it mon itors. le makes it hard ro justify its cost in domestic applications,

Journal of the Australian Water Association

Many water authorities experiment with smart water meters for their residential customers, largely ro better understand consumption patterns. Ir is hard to see how this could become main stream within the next few years due to the lack of economic incentives fo r ch is group, an d because manually reading the water meters is still cheaper. The situatio n is completely different for large water users, though . As shown in this paper, for chem smart metering their water consumption will soon become the norm rather than the exception.

Why Smart Water Meters? What you don 't measure you can't manage. A smart water meter shows the water co nsumption in real time. Ir can generate alarms fo r excessive use. It identifies abnormalities as they occur so chat a facili ty manager can rake action to conserve precious and increasingly expensive water. Ir helps to understand water consumption at a sire - and derive corresponding water saving actions from it. In turn, it improves decision making and optimum allocation of capital. Expected savings are based on data, rather than guess work. Smart Water Meters p rovide the robust platform upon which any integrated water management system should be built. The recently launched NABERS OFFICE Water (National Australian Builr Environmen t Racing Scheme for water consumption in offices) wi ll add further support for smart water metering. Offices are raced from one to five stars depending on their water efficiency. Smart metering will facilitate benchmarki ng and reporting under the scheme while ensuring that a star rating once achieved can be sustained. One simple leak not detected for a few months could void all the hard work and make a building lose its NABERS racing. Anecdotes abound where it rook literally years until blatant water wastage was stopped. Normally quarterly water usage

demand management bills are issued and rhis is rhe only data poinr rhar exists. Even if monrhly bills are issued they are often derived from quarterly readings. H ence, a whole year's worth of water consumption is described in nothing bur four data points. There is nothing else. No furth er information is available to draw upon should there be any queries. The case studies below ill ustrate this point. C ASE ST UDY I: Typical of other i nvesrigarions, ir all began with an abnormally high water bill. Since water bills were not passed on ro che end user, rhe accounting department looked ar rhe invoice, noted rhar it was higher than usual bur then paid ir since all other invoice derails were co rrect. Payment was accompanied with the hope that the next bill would be back to normal and rhar rhe problem would resolve itself. Yer, th ree months later another high water bill arrived. Some questions were raised, bur still no serious action was taken. I t rook a thi rd expensive water bill until so meone fi nally decided ro do something about ir. Upon closer inspection, a wee parch near che embankment of a sports faci lity was fo und. However, rhe facility m anager was adamant that there were no leaks. "[t must be an underground spring", was the exp lanation tendered. When the problem still hadn' t gone away after the fourth bill , an entire year later, a more thorough investigation was commenced. One night, all internal isolation va lves were turned off. It identified that indeed there was a large underground leak right after the main merer. CASE ST UDY 2: In another case a ca r park w ith no car wash faci lity or extensive cleaning co nsum ed almost 2,000 kL of water per quarter. After fo ur weeks of smart m eter moniroring, it was evident char there was a significant leak of IO Umin which o ccurred co nstantly throughout day and night. In addition, every morning at 6am th e next door neighbour was drawing some "free" water fo r illegal irrigation of his la ndscaping. Figure 2 shows the smart m etered water co nsumption pattern for this car park. CASE STUDY 3: During rhe first week of a three week smart water metering period, a toiler block was fou nd to have a base flow close ro zero at night, when nobody was in rhe bui lding. However, during the seco nd week of monitoring, rhe base flow overnight increased ro 8 L/min. This base flow increased again in the third week of monitoring to 16 Umin. The flow pattern of this railer block is shown in Figure 3. Upon investigation ir was found rhar rhe increase was due ro firs t one, chen rwo le aking cisterns. 1f chis had gone unreported

Water Consumption of a Shopping Centre Car Park from Thureday 26/01/06 to Thureday 09/02/06

40 ------------------------------, 6 am Fri

6 am Sun

6 am Tues

6 am Thurs 6 am Sat

6 am Mon 6 am Wed

:,0

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15 10

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Date and Time Logged

Figure 2. Water consumption of a car park recorded every 15 minutes (from Smart Water Meter data). for a whole yea r, water wastage would have amounted to around 8,000 kL or over $18,000.

What if Water is Paid for Tenants?

However, rhis should be looked upon as every dollar wasted is an opportuni ty to save a dollar. Ir is then simply up ro the creativity of a property manager how this can be turned into a win-win situation. In the words of one manager "if we save a tenant $5,000 off their water bills, if nothing else, ic increases their capacity to pay rent", not to speak of improved tenant retention and better relationships.

by the

Ar large offices, retail centres and multi dwelling properties rhe water bill is often paid for by the property manager. Costs are then distributed across the end users as "outgoings". H ence, some property owners believe rhar the cost of water does nor matter as it is simp ly passed on. On the same note, since rhe end users pay fo r water as outgoings and not per kilolitre of water co nsumed, they do not have a clear driver ro reduce their consumption. Hence, there is a lack of incentives fo r either parry to save water.

As water is getting more scarce and expensive, the government and the commun ity expect large water users ro manage this precious resource as di ligently as they are expected to monitor other critical parameters of their operations such as e.g. building temperature, ventilation or electricity. Adding water co nsumption ro rhe suite of electronic data rhac is already

Water Consumption of a Shopping Cenn's Female Tollets from Monday 28/11/05 to Sunday 18112/05 ol$

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Figure 3. Water consumption of a toilet block recorded every 15 minutes (from Smart Water Meter data). Journal of the Australian Water Association

water

MAY 2006 57

demand management collected will barely register as additional expense under this budget item, especially when co nsidering how simply this can be done as explained in this paper.

How Can Meter?

,._,-;

EHYIO INCi

I get a Smart Water

All conventional water meters have a mechanical device inside that turns in proportion to the volume of water passing thro ugh. In addition, most modern water meters are smart enabled, meaning they have a small hole (usually covered by a rubber cap) or a jacket where a probe can be inserted or attached that picks up a magnetic pulse every time the wheel turns (Figure 4). The probe can readily and separately be purchased from the meter manufacturer (Elster, Davies-Shephard, ABB, Kent, etc) . When ordering the probe it is important to know the exact type of meter which is often impossible to find out unless one rings the co rrespo nding water utility with the exact meter number. Alternatively, one can measure the length of the meter from end to end and its connection diameter (using a calliper, as it is surprisingly hard to estimate whether it is e.g. a 40mm or a 50mm meter!). In addition, the exact type of fi tting (flanged [round or oval) or screw connection) should be described . A photo (use yo ur mob ile if you can) can be an invaluable lifeli ne. If all fails and the wrong pulse probe is obtained, si mply return it and swap it fo r the right one. Pulse probes are inexpensive. Usually they cost anywhere from $30 to $50 with few probes costing more than $100. Once the probe (effectively a reed switch) is inserted into the water meter it picks up each tu rn of the wheel as an electric signal. Thereafter, it is a relatively standard process to capture and store this data and turn it into useful infor mation as explained above. The only other essential information required is ro know the volume of water that one pulse (one cum of rhe wheel) represents. Normal values are 1 litre/pulse, 5 litres/pulse or 100 litres/pulse, bur it depends on the size of the water meter.

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Figure 4. Cu t away sectio n of a typical water meter a nd p hoto of a physical meter (note pulse probe attached in 4 o'clock position).

slower and thus !er the water authority's cash register ring less often.

Options for Data Collection and Distribution The pulses generated are recorded and time scamped by a data logger. Th ere are then several methods how rhis reco rded water consumption data can be co llected and communicated to the end user. The two fundamental options are: The older style data logger, where data stays in the box until a technician comes and downloads it. T his has the disadvantage that no water consumption data is avai lable until the download has happened. If the

meter or logger fails the day after it was installed, it will take un til the next visit when it is noticed that four weeks worth of monitoring time have just been lost. The more modern systems relay their information directly to the web, or at least to a central server using wireless moderns, dial up links, secure connections via a company's LAN or ripple technology to send the signal via electrical wires. Feeding the meter via a direct cable connection into the existing Build ing Management System is another option. However, it can involve expensive cable runs. Where feasible, mounting another meter nearer the electrical or data connection point can

Available Data Transfer Options for Smart Water Meters Is It practical to s upply power to meter locatlon?

YES Is It a temporary Installation? NO

If a water meter is an older model and is not pulse enabled (i.e. it does not have a probe hole or a probe jacket), and there are no other methods to attach a pulse output device, one could install a new more modern smart enabled water meter downstream of the authority billing meter. However, rhe far better option is to call rhe water authority and request a meter replacement. Chances are they are happy to do so free of charge as most water authorities aim to replace their water meters every ten years as they lose accuracy, turn 58 MAY 2006

Water

iEND7

Wireless

Telephone wires

Is It practical to run a data cable? Link toBMS

iEND7 ~

YES Is LAN access practical?

~ JENo7

YES

-~ ~ water Meler

Corporate LAN

Figure 5. Options to convey smart meter d ata from the fiel d to a computer near you.

Journal of the Australian Water Association

demand management overco me chat, bur it can also be costly and it leaves part of rhe system unmonitored.

abnormal flows resulti ng from breakage, misuse, vandalism or changes in demand almost immediately wirhour paying fo r months of wasted water.

D epending on rhe sire, application and ease of insrallarion, rhe differenr options fo r data distribution are su mmarised in Figure 5. T he fact char water meters are often o ur in rhe srreer, nor secure, exposed to rhe weather and wirhour a readily accessible power point or data connection presents an extra challenge (Figure 6). Generally, lower capital costs fo r installation are accompanied by higher coses for ru nning rhe system, and vice versa. H ence, in the past short rerm monitoring campaigns were normally done by standalone loggers. However, rhe rapid fall in costs for w ireless modems and communications have quickly absorbed the cost of a service technician ro go our ro sire every time a data download is needed. In face, in certain scenarios, even permanent insrallacions can now be done cosr effectively via wireless technology.

Conclusion

Figure 6. Example of a field installatio n of a standalo ne smart water meter.

S ome boxes are now available such as the "ECS Smarr Water Merer" that can p erform chis task with a bu ilt in battery charged via a small solar panel co nnected ro it. Alrernarively, if supplied with a double b attery pack rhe unit, which has a special sleep mode, can last up ro th ree months wirhour re-charge, or it can be hooked up ro a permanent power supply. Sydney Water through NSW Department of Co mmerce use Ma nly Hydraulics fo r a st andalone data logger. Tr stays near rhe m erer and reco rds the water co nsump tion d ata unril a technician goes ro sire ro download it. Later models have an uplin k ca pacity as well. WarerSave have adjusted their automatic WarerGuard leak derecrion and Aow isolation device so rhat ir can also ace as a smart merer. Ir can connect ro a co mpany's com purer netwo rk by opening a secure port, or ir can communicate via a wireless modem. O chers such as EP&T , Intermoco or Metering Dynamics provide similar services either via web sires, e-mail servers or the BMS . R elaying rhe data via dedicated web sires provides addi tional fun ctionality. Some sires like iMoni ro rDara now even include sophisticated abso lute, relative and rule b ased alarm and exception reporting. Alarms can be set depending on rhe rime of ch e day and whether iris a weekday, a w eekend, public holiday or a school holiday. T hese servers allow sending our

automatic priority based notifi cations via voice mail, SMS, fax, email or via a ded icated web sire complete wi th a historic log. Adding rhe action taken ro address an alarm rounds off a co mplete active water co nservation management system. Ir enables users ro detect and respo nd ro

UPCOMING EVENTS Global Smart Metering Technology Summit 2006: Understanding the New Opportunities For Managing Demand Using Next Generation Domestic Metering Technologies, (29-30 June 2006, Hotel Russell, Russell Square, London, UK Today, global water companies require new solutions fo r curbi ng demand as pressures on resources intensify. The next generation of intelligent metering technologies offer many attractive advantages bu t "can smart metering technologies deliver rhe benefi ts, at the

right price?" After consultation with the international water industry, London Business Conferences are pleased ro host the first annual Smart Metering Technology Summit. This summit will help you gain a thorough understanding of rhe latest domestic metering technologies in rhe marker place, in terms of the associated coral benefits and coses.

Smart metering of water consumption is no wizardry. If done correctly ir is simple, robust and inexpensive. Ir can provide more rhan just usage data fo r water consum pti on issues. Ir is a powerful cool ro support an in tegrated water conservation management system ro achieve sustained water savings. By actively monitoring rhe water consu mption rhe asset manager can readily intervene as soon as an exception alarm is raised. Understanding where, when and why what water is co nsumed helps ro identi fy further water conservation oppo rruni ries and assists in achieving realistic savings. Leaks, going unnoticed fo r months on end, will become a rhing of the pasr. T he advanrages of smart metering are so obvious. Ir will nor be long befo re we wonder how we could ever have attempted to manage water consumption wirhour smart wa ter metering!

The Authors Guenter Hauber-Davidson (ghd@ecsausrralia.com) is rhe Business Manager of the Water Division at Energy Conservation Systems Pcy Led. Elisa Idris (e.idris@ecsausrralia.com) is a project engineer at ECS responsible fo r their smart water metering services. ECS is a medium sized national company providing rum key im plementation so lutions fo r integrated energy and water conse rvation systems. G uenter and Elisa are based in Pymbl e/Sydney.

References The Australian Energy Performance Contracting Association (AE PCA) , (2004) . A Best Practice Gu ide ro Measurement and Verification of Energy Savings, C ommonwealth of Australia. Herbert, Ray W ( 1999) "Australia: Smart Water-Met ering System May Even C all the Plumber". Watermarque, Issue 1.3, Jan/Feb . Marvin, S., & Guy, S. ( I 997), Smart Mete ring technologies and privatised utilities. local Economy, August, pp l 19 - 132. New York Srate Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) (2003) . A Primer on Smarr Meteri ng.

Journal of the Australian Water Association

Water

MAY 2006 59

DEMAND MANAGEMENT: WHENISENOUGH,ENOUGH? M Inman Rewind the clock; go back in time (1984 to be exact) - drought had been gripping the eastern states of Australia and concern regarding inefficient use of water in cities prompted 'Don 't be a Wally with Water' in combi nation with regulatory reform to signal the emergence of the dual fl ush toilet. While these events don't constitute the birth of water demand management in Australia, they do serve as a significant landmark and, given the ensuing 20 plus years, justifiably ask the q uestion - haven't we, by now, tackled and resolved the big issues in water demand management? Demand management, or effi ciency of use, remains a key theme in the water management p lans of major Australian cities - clearly there continues to be significant resources directed to improving water efficiency in urban areas. T his article explores the potential for furth er advances in demand management and assesses whether water effici ency improvements will continue to be made for the foreseeable futu re - or will, one day, enough be enough?

Service for Customers and Water Efficiency Somewhere close to the centre of the water efficiency debate lies the concept of service. The crux of this co ncept is that, for the most part, the volume of water used to perform a certain task is nor ultimately tied to that particular task - but rath er to the technology that is currently used to perform the cask. The phrase 'fo r the most pan ' has been included as uses such as water for drinking is an example of where it could be argued char water is in fact integral to the service provided, i.e. rehydration. Water use associated with toiler fl ushing though provides one of the more tangible examples of separation o f the service required from rhe use of water as rhe current means of providing that service. Prior to the launch of the dual flush toilet in Australia, the 1 1 litre single flush was the cistern of choice - n ot doubting fo r a moment that there were many 'brick-incisrern retrofits' at that rime. The most recent p roduct launch by Caroma (2004) sees a 4 .5/3 litre dual flush toiler enteri ng

60 MAY

2006

Water

the market place. Assuming one full flush for every three half flush es, as a rough example, this new toilet uses less than 40% of the water that the 11 litre single flu sh version. Equivalen t level of service for the householder, but less water required. Recurning to 1984, there were other important water use issues that received much less attention at the rime. Bureau of Statistics data can be used to estimate the change in market penetratio n of washing machines over rime and some interesting figures emerge. In major urban areas of Australia, automatic cop loading washing machines dominated the marker; slightly less than 20% of the market used manual wash ing machines; and, approximately 5% used automatic front loading washing machines. Just over 90% of householders had an app liance or fixcure for the purposes of washi ng clothes (ABS 2002).

Emerging technologies that might represent new demands for water need to be on the watch list. In the ensuing years, the majority of rhe manual washing machines were replaced with automatic top loaders and the overall size of the marker increased as a percentage of households - yet the marker penetration of the more water efficient front loaders increased only slightly. Ir has only been in the very recent past that front loading washi ng machin es have seen a marked increase in sales and this has, to a significant extent, been driven by rebates offered by stare agencies, (for example, W A Government, 2006: Sydney Water, 2006) and the raring and labelling scheme (WELS, 2005) . Comparisons of the arrival of the dual flu sh toilet with the 4 and 5A washing machine suggest char a number of factors are required to drive efficiency for a particular end use of water. â&#x20AC;˘ Technology development: how robust is the new, more efficient, technology? Are

Journal of the Australian Water Association

there any major Australian manufacturers in the market? The market for 4A and particularly 5A washing machines has been dominated by imported machines whereas Caroma, the company responsible for develop ing che dual fl ush toiler, is Australian. â&#x20AC;˘ Incremental cost in purchase price: what is che incremental cost for changeover? There is very little difference today in che purchase p rice of a 4A or 5A washing machine in comparison to a 3A (Nore char WELS wi ll be using a star rating scheme in futu re). Historically, there has been a significant incremental cost fo r the purchase of more efficient washing machines (front loading). â&#x20AC;˘ Are there any catalysts available to drive rhe cransicion? Regulatory reform effectively guaranteed the transition to d ual flush toilets. While regulation is on the horizon for washing machi nes in terms o f minimum performance standards, it is the various state-based rebate schemes that are driving changes in che washing machine marker today.

Service for Utilities and Water Efficiency T he questio n of service in this residential context needs also to extend beyond the property boundary. Tradit ional pipe networks designed to transport sewage require a minimum vo lume of water to operate effectively - so the use of water by a household is not only currently addressing a service requirement for the householders, but it is also provid ing a transport service for the sewerage network. So in the quest for more efficient use of water within a house, evaluation of che level of service ac the household as well as sewerage network is now becoming commonplace. Tests in the UK of a 1.5 litre Propelair flu sh toilet (see Buder D, 2005) which incorporates air pressure as part of the flushing mechanism, involve significant research into the effectiveness of transport with the sewerage network beyond the property boundary. Of course, this aspect of che research is primarily addressing co ncerns associated with the existing sewerage infrastructure - but importantly, existing u rban areas are the

demand management most challenging in achieving significant improvements in water use efficiency on a city scale.

Other Examples The consideration of service is direccly transferable co che non-residential sector - if there is a simple yet effective example of the separation of service from che technology used ro provide ch at service, it has co be che waterless wok. Issue: woks used by rescauran cs n eed co be cooled during operation co e nsu re quali ty of food prepared; Water context: fl ow races of 12 litres per m inute are not uncommon for cooling a nd cleani ng; Solution: provide che n ecessary coo ling funct ion using air instead of water. Significance? Potentially millions of doll ars and b illions of litres for one Australian city (Sydney Wa ter, 2005 ). There are many ocher areas of water use ch at are witnessing technology d evelopment chat either leads to potential for increased water use (automated sprinkler systems) or red uction in water use (AAA raced showers). In each case, the q uestion of level of service is central co che discussion of che crne efficiency of use. High levels of acceptance for more efficienc technologies co nfi rm chis relationship.

cu rrencly being exerted co drive the market co more water efficient machines one wonders what resources will be expended co airer a market in 2020 that is developing, or will develop, under the radar? There also needs co be greater collaboration between resource providers - a win for water efficiency at rhe expense of energy efficiency is a seep in which direction? Significant progress has been made in chis area and there is a much higher awareness of rhe potential for water and energy co-benefits as a result of improving water efficiency - witness the interest in che NGAC scheme in New South Wales as an example. Finally - che Sou ch Korean Ministry of In formation and Comm unication recencly an nounced a cargec of l 00% market penetration in che residential secto r fo r robots by 2020 - I couldn't help but wonder how long might the robot spend in the shower each morning?

The Author Dr Matthew Inman (email: Macchew.Inman@csiro.au) is a Research Scientist working with CSIRO's Water fo r a Healthy Country Flagship based in Sydney (postal address: PO Box 31 0, North Ryde NSW, 1670).

References ABS (2002) . 'Domestic Water Use, N ew Sourh Wales, O crober 2002' (report #4616.1 ) (derived data) Butler D (2005) in www.lec.lancs.ac.uk/cswm/ download/ ukwi r_3_i n fraandconsumer. ppr Caroma. (2004) http:/ /www.smarrflush.eom.au/ SydneyWarer (2006) www.sydneywater.eom.au/ SavingWater/WashingMachineRebare/ Sydney Water (2005) www.sydneywater.com . au/Publications/FactSheets/ Wok-srove-facr-sheec.pdf WELS (2005) ,vww.wacerraring.gov.au/ about/index.hnnl WA Government (2006) www. srn tewaterstraregy.wa.gov.au/ index.cfm? evenr=wrpWashing

The Future So ... what should be mad e of rnmours of the demise of water conservation ? The water use landscape of Australia is constan tly evolving as our standard of living and indeed, scyle of living, changes. T he race and extent of change potentially affects each end use of water (residential and non-residential) differe ntly. As such, the water demand profile for a city and respective efficiency of use is continually shi fting - some sectors or en d uses making gains, ochers becoming less efficient. In essence che goal poses are continually being moved - so the question of whether 'enough is enough' effectively becomes redundant. Even if current best-practice technologies co m inimise water use saw widespread ad option today, the question would still be valid tomorrow. Emerging technologies chat might represent new demands for water need co be on che watch list - che planning horizons of water utilities demand chat. In hindsight, should the 'Don' t be a Wally with Water' campaign have also targeted washing machines? Granted, it's a hypothetical - but given the efforts Journal of the Australian Water Association

Water

MAY 2006 61

EFFECTIVENESS OF 'PERVIOUS PAVEMENTS' IN THE IMPROVEMENT OF SURFACE-WATER QUALITY N Jayasuriya, A Jarrar, K Jesse Abstract This paper includes a description of pervious pavements and the issues related to design and construction of pervious pavements that are used to achieve Water Sensitive U rban Design. (WSUD). Furthermore, the paper details design aspects of the Pervious Pavement fi eld scale experimental setup located ar Centre for Education and Research in Environmental Strategies (CERES) in M elbourne, the tests carried out in designing the pavement, drainage d esign and rhe design feat ures of rhe pervious pavement constructed ar CERES.

Introduction Urbanisation has had a d etrimental effect on our surface water systems. The increase in impermeable area due to rap id urban d evelopment causes rhe quantity of runoff to significantly increase at rimes, stretching the capabilities of sto rmwater infrastructure. Pollutants carried by srormwarer to receiving waters are also a m ajor concern. The Victorian Government's White Paper on water, 'Our Water, Our Future' promotes the use of alternative sou rces such as stormwarer for substituting potable supply ro save water resources. One of the main fa ctors limiting fir-for- purpose use of sto rmwarer is the con cern that iris of'poor quality'. A pervious pavement is a load bearing structure rhar is permeable to water and which overlies a reservoir storage layer. The m ain di fference between a pervious and a conventio nal pavement is rhe permeability of rh e surface and rhe water holding capacity of rhe sub-base. Pervious pavements can reduce the flood peak as well as improve the quality of srormwarer at source before ir is transpo rted ro receiving waters or infiltrates rhe subsoil. Surface water infiltrates th rough the pavement to a sub-base reservoir, from where ir infiltrates slowly to rhe sub-grade soil and/or to drains. By reducing peak flow rares and volumes in downstream receiving waters, pervious pavements decrease overfl ows and recharge groundwater. Pervious pavemen ts

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also have the capacity ro reduce nutrients and contami nants in srormwarer runoff. Increasing stormwater infiltration can help return the urban water cycle ro som ewhat like its natu ral condition , increasing g roundwater recharge wh ilst decreasing the pressure on existing urban infrastructure. Since the 1980s European countries have experimented with rhe use of Pervious Pavements. Water Sensitive U rban Design (WSUD) is the integration of water cycle management in to urban planning and design. Key principles of WSU D listed in Urban Srormwarer-Besr Practice Environmental Managem ent Guidelines (Vicrorian Stonnwarer Committee, 1999) are to: protect natural systems; integrate stormwarer treatm ent into the landscape; protect water quality; reduce runoff and p eak flow. The construction of pervious pavements should satisfy all these principles. This paper includes a description of pervious pavements and che issues related to d esign and construction of pervious pavements that are used to achieve W SUD. Furthermore, the paper derails design asp ects of rhe Pervious Pavement fi eld scale experimental setup located ar Centre for Education an d Research in E nvironm ental Strategies (CERES) in Melbourne, rhe rests carried o ur in designing rhe pavement, drainage design and rhe design feat ures of the pervious pavem ent constructed at CERES.

A field-scale project comparing two types ofpervious paving for a car-park. Pervious Pavement Types Pervious pavements can be classified as either porous or permeable. Although the benefits of both are rhe same, they differ considerably in rhe way they operate and in their appearance.

Journal of the Australian Water Association

Porous pavem en ts are m onolithic and allow surface water infiltration over rhe entire surface area. These pavements consist of materials rhar h ave a high co ntent of voids, where water can be retained over rime. Permeable pavements are form ed from a material rhar is impervious (pre-cast concrete blocks) b ur, by virtue of voids formed in the surface, allows infiltration. T here are a number of issues char need to be resolved befo re adopting pervious pavements for m anaging stormwarer. Durability of the pavement material, srormwater permeability of rhe pavement, traffic load capacity, and maintenance of rhe pavement are som e issues that n eed resolving prior to use of pervious pavements. More laborarory and field rests are needed before pervious pavements are accepted by practising en gin eers, regulators and councils. A typical sub-base of a conventional pavement co nsists of C lass l sub- base material with large fines content (VicRoads, 1997). This gives the pavement its strength an d stiffness bur is adversely affected when the sub-base is in con tact with water. Pervious pavements require a single size grad ing (or open graded) to give open voids. Although ir will have a lower stiffness than C lass l material , stiffness will no r be significantly reduced by the presence of water within it provided there is sufficient fri ction between particles when saturated. T he choice of materials for use in cap ping and su b-base layers below pervio us pavements is therefore a com promise between stiffness, permeab ility and sto rage capacity Qayasuriya, 200 5).

Stormwater Infiltration Reduction of runoff from urban areas is a significant property of pervious pavements. Smith (1 984) carried out a field rest in rwo car parks of similar construction (grass, concrete and im permeable asphalt) to rest the runoff quantity. The results indicated rhar rhe runoff generated from the pervious car park was as low as 35% of the runoff from rhe impermeable car park. I r was also concluded that rhe number of dry days

A CDS Group Company

• Stormwater treatment • Filtration and reuse Figure 1. The pervious car park in construction at CERES Enviro nment Park in Bru nswick, Melbourne .

between srorms is an importan t facto r, as it affected the perfo rmance of pervious pavements. Bond eta!. (1999) mon ito red the runoff fr om a car park in Notti ngham, UK. Total d ischarge was reduced by 34% and 47% with blast furnace slag and granite subb ases, respectively. The rate of outflow was slower, exte nding rhe period of discharge co d ays due co the water srorage (wetting and absorption) in the constructed sub-base. H unt et al. (2002) installed a permeable pavement in an urbanised area of Eastern North Caroli na to test runoff reduction . T he pavement consisted of a block paver, w ith approxi mately 40% open space, overlying a bedd ing layer of sand and washed marl. The site was constructed on sandy soi l, which wou ld provide little impedi ment to in filtration. T he runoff coefficients (ratio between runoff to rainfall over a given ti me period) for this pavement varied between 0. 2 and 0.5, whereas for a normal impermeable surface the ru noff coefficient is as high as 1.00.

Stormwater Quality T he role of pervious pavement in an integrated stormwater management strategy is more than infi ltration and reduction of p eak flow, it can also improve the quality of scormwater. Contaminates of particular re levance in pervious surfaces are mainly particles transferred to the surface by wind, water ru noff, and/or tracked in by wheels or footwear. Contaminates of importance include metals (zi nc, copper and cadmiu m) a nd hydrocarbo ns (oil, fuel and exhaust residue) . Small amounts of pesticides and h erbicides fro m garden maintenance are potential minor contaminants. If porous pavements are correctly designed and maintained, they can retain up to 80% of

• Flow regulation

sedi ment, 60% of phos phorus, 80% of ni trogen, 70% of heavy metals, and 98% of oils and greases in the incident water (Melbourne Water, 2003). Pagotto et al. (2000) reporred results from a study in .France to determi ne the impact of the type of pavement (conventional and pervious) on the hydraulic behaviour and quality of runoff water. They also reported chat the heavy metal loads discharged into the receiving waters reduced up to 20% Copper and 74% lead; solids were detained at a rate of 87% and hyd rocarbo ns were intercepted at a rate as high as 90%. T he reductions in the amount of hydrocarbons and metals were mainly due to retention of fi ne particulate poll ution by the poro us pavement. lt has been repo rted that the inclusi on of sand filters and retention trenches with a geotextile fabric lini ng can create a very effective stormwater treatment cha in. Legret and Coland ini (1999) set up a series of porous asphalt co res in the laboratory to test the amount of heavy metals retained when stormwater flows through the asphalt. It was reported that the quali ty of water draining through the pavement was significantly improved. Mo reover, samples taken from different layers of the porous surface and underlying soil demonstrated that metall ic pollutants remained in the asphalc layer and soil underneath and did not present any significant co ntamination after eight years of service. It was fou nd that lead was retained in the porous pavement whereas zinc, copper and cadmium infi ltrated fur ther down the structure. Dierkes et al. (2002) checked the poll utant retention capability of 4 types of pavement surfaces in Germa ny. According to these authors most metals were precipitated in

• Sewage treatment plants • Sewer overflow screening • Flow regulation and storage

WATER REUSE

• Compact treatment plants • Sewer mining plants • Water reuse systems

che upper 2 cm of the porous concrete (Dierkes et al., 1999). In the sub-base, higher concentrations of metals were found at levels down 20 cm aft er simulating 50 years of operation. They concluded that most structures showed no potential for groundwater contamination during che tests, and porous pavements made of concrete blocks could be used withou t fear of metals b reakthrough for a period of at least 50 years. However, groundwater co ntamination d epends o n depth to the groundwater cable and permeability of so il sub-grade.Dechesne et al. (2002) also analysed che retention of metals at different depths. T heir results were consisten t with chose of Dierkes et al. (2002) in rim the top soil layer acts as a pollutant crap and metals are concentrated in the top 30 cm of soil. Dierkes et al. also scared char the use of permeable pavements is sustainable, if adequate planning, construction supervision and maintenance were in place.

Maintenance Maintenance of a pervious pavement depends on the pavement type and the environment in which it is constructed. Proper maintenance is crucial to its operation, b ut is similar to that required for trad itio nal pavement. T he main difference is chat a pervious pavement sh ould be vacuu med rather than swep t. Vacuuming removes sediment and deb ris which block the percolation of runoff. Frequency of vacuuming depends on che amount of sediments carried by wi nd, vehicles or p edestrians etc. into the pervious pavement from neighbouring areas. T he US EPA (1999) recommended sweeping the pavement at leas t fou r times a year and hosing the top layer with high pressure water to remove clogging of the pavement.

Figure 2. Drainage pipes w rapped in gee-textile and laid on the impermeable geomembrane pri or to introduction of porous sub-base material. volume, drainage rime for design storm, construction , pavement p lacement and pretreatment be evaluated before constructing pervious pavements. T he correct ch oice of materials and components is critical co the success of a pervious pavement system at installation and throughout its operatio nal life. It is generally accepted chat a large percentage of pervious pavemen t failures is a d irect result of poor quality workmanship at installation.

Design Criteria In Au stralia Sh ackel et al. (1996) carried out a series of laboracory rests on the surface layer and bedding layer to determine che optimal structure of pervious pavements. T he above au thors compared the performance of an Ecoloc pavement with different bedd ing, jointing and drainage materials . T hey fo und that optimal water in filtration and maximum structural load capacity was achieved when same size bedding, jointing and drainage

materials were used. A good load bearing capabili ty was achieved using gravels with a maximum particle size of about 4 m m to 5 mm. The infiltration rate varied up to about 600 Lis/ha. The pavement was able to carry a load of 2 kN and achieved acceptable d eflection (2 mm). Sub-grad e evaluation is che ocher criterion of pervious pavement construction. Cook er al. (2002) preferred that some so il tests such as soil classification, moisture content (in per cent) and soaked California Bearing Ratio (CBR) should be d etermined before construction of the pavement. They pointed out char che optimal permeability and C BR values of a selected site sh o uld be greater than l.0xl0-5 mis and 5%, respectively for successful pervious pavements. T he slope of che selected sire should be less than 5%, otherwise the quantity of ru noff will be larger than th e infiltrated water. With regard to the risk of polluring groundwater, the minimum d epth from the bottom of sub-base to

Limitations Perv ious pavements have so me limitations. Durabil ity, stormwater permeability through the pavement, traffic load capacity and maintenance of the pavement are so me concerns. As seated by the US EPA (1999) th e major issu es related to use of pervious pavements are: • U nable to su pport heavy traffic • Many pavement constructors lack expertise in the laying of the pavement • Tendency to clogging if improperly installed or poorly maintai ned; • Risk of polluting groundwater; • Noc suitable fo r all subsoil and sire conditions. The US EPA (1999) recommended chat che site, traffic conditions, design sto rm storage 64 MAY 2006

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Figure 3. Sample Point showing entry of drainage pipe - effectively isolated from surrou nding catchment area.

Journal of the Australian Water Association

bedrock and seasonally high water table shou ld be higher than 1.2 m.

Atlantis (Turf) 2,. Graae

Field Application of Pervious Pavements A pervious car park has been built at the Centre for Education and Research in Environmental Strategies (CERES), in Melbourne ro: • Quantify the amount of stormwater that could be captured through pervious pavement infiltration • Assess improvements to water quality when storm water infiltrates a pervious pavement • Assess the durability of the pavement with time (clogging potential with time) . The size of the study area is 229 111 2 (18 rn x 13 rn). T he study area is separated into 3 sires with different pavement surfaces: ROCLA Ecotrihex pavers (Rocla Ecoloc), Aclantis Turf cells, and an impervious asphalt surface as the control site. As shown in Figure I , each pavement type will form effectively isolated 'catchments', separated from each other and from the surrounding lan dscape to avoid 'contamination' of the individual test sites. A subsurface geomembrane structure will mitigate lateral water flow between experimental sites. Each surface type will consist of 2 car park/entry spaces of 50 m2 (5 m x l O m). Stormwater will flow through the pervious surface and su bsurface media and be drained to the outlet via a geo-sock protected perforated header pipe (Figures 2 & 3). The design of the permeable pavement structu re was based on recommendations of Sh ackel et al. (2003). The design of the Aclantis Turf pavement was based on the information provided on www.atlantiscorp.com.au and personal communication with the Atlantis Turf cell provider, Wayne Alexa nder. Both pave ment structures were verified using LOCKPAVE Version 15.2. which is LOCKPAVE Version 15.2 is a software package used for structural des ign of the pavement. The asphal t pavement thicknesses and materials were specified according to pavement design guidelines, Auscroad manual (1 992). T he aggregates are according to the appropriate Australian Standard and VicRoads specifications for sub-base materials. T he pavement configurations, thicknesses of the bedding and sub-base, and the aggregate sizes for all three pavement types are shown in Figure 4. Laboratory tesrs were conducted to obtain the physical properties of the bedding and sub-base aggregates, particle size distribu tion of aggregate materials, and

Su~AUanu, Turf Ce!!

Subba" ~. 5 • 20mm open graded aog,ega1e

1 CIHnSend

II Subgrade

ROCLA Ecotrihex

S urlooa

R oda Ecobe Pever

Subgrade

Control Pavement Asphalt 2 % Grade

Surfa m Fino den•• • • Ph•II (tow votd . lm perme •t>._

Cl• •• 2 cruahed rock C BROO

Subgrad e

Figure 4. The pavement configurations , th icknesses of the bedding and sub-base, and the aggregate sizes for all three pavement types. relationship between moisture co ntent and density, specific gravity and saturated hydraulic co nductivity according to published Australian Standards. The physical properties of aggregates were determined in the soil laboratories at the School of Civil and Chemical Engi neering, RM!T University. The results are presented in the following sections. le is important co relate the particle size distribution of aggregate co the infiltration observed so that an optimum design can be identified and specified for construction. When constructing the pavement in the field it is important co use che correct moisture content which gives maximum density of aggregate leading co maximum compaction. The base layer should be co mpacted co achieve optimum moistu re content equal co 98% of max imum dry density. le was decided co use the same sub-

base material for both ROCLA Ecocrihex and Atlantis Turf Cell pavem ents. According co the test resul ts, the optimum moisrure content of the sub-base material is 3% when the max imum density is 1.744 g/cm3. According co the co nstant head permeability rate test the saturated hydraulic conductivity of the sub-base materials is 6.35x 10-2 mm/s (Zhang et al., 2006). The sub-grade so il type, the hydraul ic conductivity, CBR values and swell are important parameters in pavement design. Depending on the above values, the subgrade soil need co be treated before pavement construction. The soil (subgrade) of the car-park at CERES is classified as Sil ty Clay (soil profile records from CERES) and has the fo llowing properties: soaked CBR value of 4; swell 1/ °/o; optimum moiscure content 35% and 2

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MAY 2006 65

maximum dry density 1.470 ton/m 3. Although the silty-clay is impermeable, a geotexcile was placed (Figure 4) between the sub-base and che sub-grade in order co harvest all infiltrated water. The PC-SWMM model was used co design drainage in the two pervious surfaces. This program has been developed for the hydraulic design of eco-pavements and is derived from the well-known US EPA SWMM program Oames, 2005). The PCSWMM model uses the Green and Ampt infiltration model (Mein, 1980) to calculate the amount of water infiltrated and che surface runoff volume. The aggregate properties were used to calculate the Green and Ampc infiltration model parameters and the infiltration races (Zhang et al., 2006). For the hydraulic design , a drainage pipe (150 mm diameter Aggi pipe) was installed at the bottom of the sub-base to capture infiltrated water from the Ecocrihex and Atlantis pavements. This size was designed to capture stormwacer in fil trated from a 1: 100 year storm and to connect the flow meter and the water q uality monitor. The layout of che d rainage pipes is given in Figure 2. The construction of the pervious pavement was managed by staff ac CERES. le is anticipated to monitor stormwater quantity and quality at lease for twenty storm events d uring che next 24 months.

Stormwater Monitoring Program Three auto samplers were installed in special pies in the field to collect event based water quality samples from the three types of pavements. One sampler will collect surface runoff from the impervious surface (control surface). Stormwater from che control pavement surface will flow to the 300 mm400 mm channel. The other two samplers will be collecting che water infiltrated through the Ecotrihex and Atlantis Turf cells respectively. Samples will be collected from the drainage pipes laid on the base layer (Figure 2) . The stormwater passing through the pavement permeable concrete block and the turf cell is captured via a properly designed drainage system (Figure 3) and the water is diverted to a small onsite dam for productive recycling use in the fu ture. The quality of the infi ltrated water will be benchmarked against the surface water quality flowing through the conventional car park. Surface water quantity flowi ng over the conventional pavement and through pervious pavements after infi ltration will also be measured. Three flow meters also will be installed to measure the surface flow from che control surface and infiltrated water from the two pervious surfaces. The rainfall is to be

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collected from a nearby continuously recording rain-gauge that is available from Melbourne Water.

Conclusions The design of che pervious pavement is site specifi c. To achieve an efficient and durable surface careful design of the pavement layers, choice of surface pavement product and sub-base materials and treatment of sub-grade must be performed. Based on the above investigation a properly designed pavement system will function in the urban environment effectively. Test results from laboratory studies were used to select the aggregate sizes and compaction of the base and sub-grade of the car park. The paper presented design details of the pavement and the design features of the pervious pavement constructed at CERES. The paper also highlighted the experimental procedure in the field. The outcomes from the study will be useful to design environmentally friendly car parks, pedestrian paths, light traffic drive ways, sporting grounds and public areas in the future. Land developers and Local Government authorities will benefit from the results.

Acknowledgements This project has been assisted by funding from the Victorian Government through the Department of Sustainability and Environment as part of the Stormwater and U rban Water Conservation Fund.

The Authors Niranjali Jayasuriya is a Senior Lecturer (email: jayasuriya@rmit.ed u.au) and

Ammar Jarrar was a Research Assistant in the School of C ivil and C hemical Engineering, RMIT University, Melbourne (email: S308756 0@student.rmi c.edu.au). Keith Jesse is the Environmental Design & Green Technology Coordinator in the Centre for Education and Research in Environmental Strategies, Melbourne, email: keith@ceres.org.au.

References Bond P.C., Pratt C.J . and Newman A.P., 1999. 'A review of srormwater quantity and quality performance of permeable pavements in the UK'. Proc. 8th International Conference on

Urban Storm Drainage, Sydney, Australia, pp.248-255. Cook I. D ., Knapron J. and Morrell D., 2002 . 'A

New Design Method far Permeable Pavement Surfaced with Pave,,'. Institution of Highways & Transportation, Feb 2002 Dechesne M., Barraud S. and Bardin Jean-Pascal, 2002; ' Performance of srormwarer infiltration basins on the long term'; 9th International

Conference on Urban Drainage, Portland, Oregon, Pg 406

Journal of the Australian Water Association

D ierkes, C., Holte, A., Geiger W.F., 1999; 'Heavy metal retention within a porous pavement structure', 8th International

Conference on Urban Drainage, Sydney, pg 1955 - 1962. Dierkes, C., Kuhlmann L., Kandasamy J and Angelis, G., 2002; ' Pollution Retention Capability and Maintenance of P ermeable Pavements', 9th International Conference on

Urban Drainage, Portland, Oregon, Pg 444. EPA, I 999. 'Storm Water Technology Fact Sheet Porous Pavement'. Report EPA 832-F-

99-023, United States Environmental Protection Agemy. Jayasuriya, N ., Zhang J ., Setunge S. and Furniss J (2005); lmproved Srormwater Management by Pervious Pavements; 29th Hydrology and

Water Resources Symposium 21-23 February 2005, Canberra, Australia. James B., 2005. Computational Hydraulics Int. ,

PCSWMM far Permeable UNI ECO_STONE Pavements Version 3 .0.2, 36 Stuart St., Guelph, Ontario, Canada. Legree M. and Colandini V. 1999. 'Effects of a porous pavement with reservoir structure on runoff water: water quality and felt of heavy metal's. Wat. Sci. Tech. , Vol. 39, No.2, pp 111-11 7 LOCKPAVE Version 15.2; Concrete and Masonry Association of Australia; www@cmaa.com.au

Mein R.G. (1980). Recent developments in modelling of infilrration: Exrension of the Green-Ampt Model. H ydrology ad Water Resources Symposium, 4ch~6ch Nov, Adelaide. Melbourne Water, Website: H ttp://wsud. melbournewarer.com.au/defaulc.asp?carget= cools/paving.hem (14/ I 1/2003) Pagotto, C., Legree, M. and Cloirec P. Le., 2000, 'Comparison of the hydraulic behaviour and the quality of highway runoff water according to the type of pavement'. Water Research, Vol. 34, No. 18, pp 4446-4454. Pavement Design, A Guide ro the Structural Design of Road Pavements; AusrRoads; 1992. Shackel B., Kaligis J .O. , Mukciarro Y. and Pamudji, 1996. 'I nfiltration and structural rescs of permeable Eco-paving'. Proc. 6th

International Conference on Concrete Block paving, Telaviv. Shackel B. , Ball J. , and Mearing M ., 2003 . 'Using Permeable Eco-paving to Achieve Improved Warer Quality for Urban Pavement'. Proceedings of7th International

Conference on Concrete Block Paving, Sun City.12th -15th Oct 2003. Smith D.R., 1984. 'Evaluation of concrete grid pavements in the United States'. Proc. 2nd

Intl. Conf on Concrete Block Paving, Delft, the Netherlands, pp.809-814. VicRoads, 1997. l nvestigarion Into The Use Of Recycled Crushed Concrete For Road Base Use. Victorian Srormwacer Committee (1999): http:/ /wsud.melbournewacer.com.au/conrenr/ key/key.hem Zhang J, Jayasuriya, N. and Serunge S. (2006); Application of Pervious Pavements A Laboratory Scale Study; 7th Internat ional Conference on Urban Drainage Modelling and the 4th International Conference on Water Sensitive Urban Design; Melbourne, Australia, April 4-6, 2006,Vol I pp 227-234.

II. Âˇefereed paper

URBAN STORMWATER POLLUTANTS: A SURVEY IN THREE SYDNEY SUB-CATCHMENTS M J Galloway, S W Laffan, P G Smith Abstract Urban srormwater is the primary sou rce of many common pollu tan ts in waterways in Sydney. A range of treatment techniques are utilised to reduce srormwacer pollu tant loads, yet the pollutant loads carried in scormwacer and che fraction capcured by treatment techn iques are rarely evaluated in situ. T his research estimates annual pol lutant loads exported in srormwacer and annual poll u tant load s captured by two common treatment tech n iques, street sw eeping an d gross pollu canc craps (G PT s), fo r three urban Sydney sub-catchments. Research pollutants were nutrients (TN, TP), heavy metals (Cu, Pb, Z n) and sed iment. Loads in scormwater were determined through a mo nitoring program at sub-catch ment ou tlets, while loads captured by creacmen cs were d ireccly sampled. Results indicated che street sw eeping p rograms mo nitored achieved limited captu re of only [ . J0% of all pollutants from scormwater in the two subca tchments where they were p racticed infrequencly, and 24-68% in che chi rd subcat chment in which they were p racticed frequently. The specific G PTs mo nitored cap tured between 16-5 1% of total nutrients T h is paper was originally presented at the Young Water Professionals Conference, Sydney, February

2006.

and metals, and 5 1-81 % of sediment. H owever, che srormwacer moni to ring p rogram ac sub-catchment ouclecs was limi ted to only pollutant loads attached to <I mm particles, so treatment capture fi gu res are overestimates. When treatment capture figu res were also restricted ro <l mm particles, only 6-50% of the total nutrient and metal load in srormwacer fro m che three sub-catch ments was estimated to be cap tured by street sweeping and GPTs com bined . Fu rther treatments ro reduce loads ro waterways are required. These could include greater source controls, and srormwacer harvesting.

Keywords: pollutan t; sco rmwater; Syd ney; creann em; screec sweep ing; G PT

Street sweeping and two gross pollutant traps were monitored for pollutant capture. Introduction Urban srormwacer co ntains pollucan cs which d egrad e the health of waterways, particularly n utrients, sediment and heavy metals (Bickford et al., 1999; U.S. EPA, 1983) . Sources of many pollu tan ts are often related to weath ering and mobilisation of

materials in urban areas such as roo fi ng, house paim, vehicle com ponents, and road surfaces, as well as vegecacio n and atmospheric deposition (Davis et al., 199 9; G ro maire et al., 2002; Root, 2000; Shu et al., 1998). A range of treatmen t techn iques are often applied in urban areas to reduce pollu tant loads entering srormwacer and then polluting the environ men t. These common ly include stormwacer deten tion basins and wetlands, u rban street sweep ing, gross poll utant craps (G PTs), and sou rce controls such as commu n ity education and regu lation . Assessmen t of the poll utant removal perfo rmance of d ifferent treatments and the poll utant load s in srormwater is required ro approp riately evaluate perfor mance, and prioritise future treatment need s. T his is particularly the case in established urba n areas where treacmen t options are constrained due ro space and budget. However, d espite chis im portance, pollucam loads in urban srormwater and pollutant capture by treatment d evices are rarely quantified in situ. This study aimed co estimate the annual load of common pollutants expo rted in stormwater from th ree u rban Syd ney subcatchments, and th e annual load o f these po llutants cap tured by the two existin g treatment techniq ues used in chose sub-

C J R1al 0Ulne

CJ Cemelery C1eek

C::J Baig lnclust Est.ate

Figure 1. Study sub-catchments in Sydney. Ma nly local govern ment area (left, shad ed area; 1=Sydney Central Business District, 2=Sydney Harbour, 3=Manly Beach) . Sub-catchments within Man ly (right). Journal of the Australian Water Association

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MAY 2006 67

refereed paper

Figure 2. Street sweeping load sampling by coning and quartering.

catchments (street sweeping and GPTs) . The pollutants evaluated were the nutrients TN, TP; heavy metals Cu, Pb, Zn, and sediment. The sub-catchments chosen fo r chis research are located within the local government area of Manly, approximately 12km north-ease of che Sydney Central Business District (Figure 1). Manly is characteristic of coastal fringe urban development in Australi a. It is highly urbanised, with a high population density of 14,300 people per km 2 in residential zo ned areas (Manly Council, 2004). Ir is also a popular tourist destination, attracting an estimated six million tourists per year (Manly Council, 2004). Manly is surrounded by interconnected surface waters, with Sydney Harbour co che south and west, Manly Beach and the Pacific Ocean co the east, and Manly Lagoon, a 13 ha coastal lagoon di rectly co the north. Scormwacer from impervious urban surfaces in Manly is currently drained into all these waterways. Scormwater is the primary source of heavy metals and sed iments into Sydney waterways, and a significant source of nutrients (Bickford et al., 1999) . In Manly Lagoon for example, up to 920 kg/yr of Pb is estimated co be deposited via stormwater from the surrounding catchment (Patterson Britton & Partners Pry Ltd , 1999). Street sweeping and G PTs are employed throughout Manly co reduce scormwarer poll utant loads, bur their effectiveness needs co be evaluated.

The three sub-ca tchments chosen for this research are Cemetery Creek (38.9 ha residential), Rialto Lane (2.7 ha commercial), and Balgowlah Ind ustrial Estate (17.7 ha industrial and residential, Figure 1). Scormwarer from Cemetery Creek and Balgowlah Industrial Estate drains into Manly Lagoon, while scormwacer from Rialco Lane drains into waters off Manly Beach. Street sweep ing is conducted daily in Rialto Lane, but only once every three months in Cemetery C reek and Balgowlah Industrial Estate. Cemetery Creek and Balgowlah Industrial Estate both contain two different proprietary D irect Filtration Wee-Sump G PT s, while Rialto Lane does nor con rain a GPT. GPTs are cleaned approximately once every three months, or subject co inspection after large rainfall events.

Methods Scormwacer runoff bou ndaries fo r the three sub-catchments were defin ed using GIS data secs of topography, roads, and the scormwacer network, and refi ned using fie ld-observations during rainfall events. The annual poll utant loads ca rried in stormwacer from each sub-catchment were estimated based on the average po llutant Event Mean Concentrations (EM C) in scormwacer, and esti mated ann ual scormwacer volume (Choe et al., 2002; U.S. EPA, 1983). Average EMCs were determ ined from EMCs developed fo r 28

rainfall events monitored between 200 1-03 and during 2005 between the 3 subcacchmencs. Up co 24 discrete lL scormwacer samples were collected at 5 min intervals during rai nfall using automatic sampling machines, and analysed for poll utants. Pollu tant concentrations for each sub-catchment were then weighted by scormwacer discharge volume curves produced for every rainfall event using the USEPA Scormwacer Management Model (SWMM). T he annual scormwacer volume for each sub-catchment was es timated based on the Manly annual recorded rainfall (2004-05) and rhe average rainfall-runoff coefficie nts produced using SWMM. The annual poll utant loads captured by street sweep ing were determined by direct sampling and analysis of screec sweeping vehicle loads after each sub-catchment was swept (Figure 2) . This was repeated on two occasions for each sub-catchment, and two representative samples were collected by repeatedly co ning and quartering material on each occasion. T he annual pollu tant loads captured by the GPTs were determined by direct sampling and analysis of loads removed duri ng one three monthly maintenance clean. Material was suctioned our and scored in a tanker after preremovi ng and discarding surface water in che G PT. Fou r composite samples fro m waste removed from each GPT were then taken using incremental sampling (each n=30 sub-samples) . For both treatments,

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68 MAY 2006

Water

Journal of the Australian Water Association

A1j Gl.N COMPANY

refereed paper

Cemetery Creek

Rialto Lane

s-~ nu.m

Sourcw {tnf,tnwtJ

CU 0,()«2

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TP 0.1114 ra1"J Ctt 0.075 (59") Pb O ~ (afd"} Zn O.~lS (5~ S.,;J 144 261 (I"')

Figure 3. Estimated annual pollutant budgets for the th ree research sub-catchments displaying estimated annual loads captured by treatments and in stormwoter (a ll units kg/ho/yr to equalise for differences in sub-catch ment area). Percentages in brackets represent the fraction of the inferred total sou rce load. It should be noted that stormwoter pollutant loads ore based on pollutants < l mm and may underestimate the total pollutant load.

samples were dried and analysed, and < l mm material was also separated by dry sieving and analysed ro obtain annual pollutant loads in the <l mm frac tion. This allowed separate analysis of the <l mm fraction and the rota! pollutant loads. T he total annual loads captured by both treatments were obtained from main tenance records. Annual poll utant loads captured by each treatment technique and remaining in

sto rmwater were standardised for subcatchment area (kg/ha/yr), and compared usi ng a materi als budget framework (Whiteway et al., 2004).

Results and Discussion Esti mates of annu al pollutant loads in stormwater and the annual pollutant loads captured by treatment techn iques in the three sub-catchments are given in Figure 3. For purposes of compariso n, the source

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loads exported from sub-catchments were inferred to be equal to the sum of the pollutant loads in stormwater and captured by the trearments. The results indicate high source pollutant loads of up to l 5 kg/ha of TN, 4 kg/ha ofTP, 0.06- l.29 kg/ha of Cu, Pb and Zn, and I 063 kg/ha of sediment to be produced annually by sources in urban areas in this research. In the absence of any treatments, this is all likely ro enter stormwater and waterways.

TN 1.061 TP1 ,1·03 CUD,099

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Figure 4. Estimated annual pollutant budgets for the three research sub-catchments displaying only pollutant loads < l mm captured by treatments and in stormwater (expressed as kg/ho/yr to equalise for differences in subcatchment area). Percentages in brackets represent fraction of the inferred tota l source load . The actual pol lutant distribution is likely to lie closest to th is figure because all components contain pollutants in the same size range.

Journal of the Australian Water Association

Water

MAY 2006 69

I. refereed paper

T reacmenc success was variable between both pollutants and sub-catchments. Sed iment was captured with the most success, with between 6 1-87% of total source loads captured in che three subcatchments by the combined effect of both treatments (up co 9 19 kg kg/ha/yr). In comparison, 20-49% of TN and T P, and 19-57% of C u, Pb and Zn source loads were captured by che combined effe ct of both treatments (up co 5 kg/ha/yr TN, u p co ap proximately 0.5 kg/ha/yr Z n). Screec sweeping achieved limited pollutant removal in Cemetery Creek and Balgowlah Industrial Estate, where it is conducted o nly once every three months, o f between 1-5% of coral source loads fo r TN, T P, Cu, Pb, Zn and 6- 10% for sediment (up to 0.4 kg/ha/yr TN and u p to 0.01 5 kg/ha/yr Zn) . In Rialco Lane where street sweeping is carried out daily co accommodate higher pollutant loads fro m greater vehicle, commercial, and pedestrian activity, a higher capture of 24-57% of total source load s of T N, TP, Cu, Pb, Zn and 68% of sediment was achieved. Higher frequency of street sweeping was expected co directly increase capture performance through greater pollutant interception (Walker et al., 1999 ). G PTs achieved greater cap cure success than street sweeping in the sub-catchments where they were installed. 16-24% of total source loads of TN, TP, Cu, Pb and Zn were captured in Cemetery C reek, and 3751 % in Balgowlah Industrial Estate (F igure 3). GPTs were most successful at capturing sediment, with 51 % and 81 % of coca! source load s of sediment capcured in che two sub-catchments respectively. This was expected given sediment has rhe fastest seeding properties of polluranrs examined. H owever, ir should be noted chat, due co their d esign, automatic sampling machines used in scormwacer monitoring at subcatchment outlets generally only collected particles <l mm, and therefore also their attached pollutants. Estimated pollutant load s remaining in scormwacer were thus considered underestimated, and percentage capcu re of source loads by st reet sweeping and GPTs overestimated. To p rovide some correction for chis, pollutant budgets were also estimated containing only pollucanc loads attached to particles <lmm captu red by creacmencs (Figure 4). The treatment performance for <lmm pollutan ts was much lower for all subcacchmencs. In Cemetery C reek a combined capture by the two treatments of on ly 6- 10% of TN, TP, Cu, Pb and Zn was estimated, with 14-50% in Rialto Lane and I 6-36% in Balgowlah Industrial

MAY 2006

Water

Estate. This is nor surprising, since street sweeping and GPTs are nor designed to capcure fi ne pollutants (Walker et al., 1999; Sutherland , 2003). But given most of che total nutrient and metal loads in stormwacer occur in the <lmm size fraction (Sutherland, 200 3; Vaze et al., 2004), poor capture within this size fraction suggests street sweeping and GPTs provid e limited overall pollucanc capture in these sub-catchments. The limited estimated pollucanc capture indicates chat Manly requires further stormwacer creacmenc. Further treatment options incl ude greater source controls such as education and regulation (Taylor et al. , 20 02), higher frequency screec sweeping (given perfo rmance is dependent on frequency), improved street sweeping and G PT tech nologies, and greater diversion of scormwater from waterways which could p rovid e water harvesting and re-use benefits (DEUS, 2004).

Conclusions The results of ch is research indicate high pollutant loads are exported from urban areas in stormwacer. This is important for other urban areas because many have similar development conditions to those fo und in Manly. It suggests many ocher urban waterways receive high annual stormwater pollutant loads. It is also important for rural areas presen tly undergoing urban isatio n which may be likely co resemble development conditions presen tly fo und within Manly in the fucure. The research also ind icates chat, despite their utility and widesp read use in Australia, the street sweeping and the two G PTs monitored alone provide only limited capture of the coca! stormwacer pollutant flux. Further treatments are required co appropriately reduce pollutant loads in scormwacer and imp rove waterway healch.

Acknowledgements Manly Council provided funding for chis research and provision of access co stormwacer networks and treatment d evices.

The Authors

Michael Galloway graduated with a degree in Environmental Science with First C lass Honours from The U niversity of New So uth Wales in 2006. This scormwacer research was conducted as pare of his Honours thes is (Email: m.galloway@scudenc.unsw.edt1.au). Shawn Laffan is a lecturer in che School of Biological, Earth and Environmental

Journal of the Australian Water Association

Sciences (Email: shawn.laffan@ u nsw.edu.au) . Paul Smith is che Water Cycle Management Officer in Manly Council and faci litated chis research (Email: pauls@manly. nsw.gov.au).

References Bickford, G , T oll, J, H ansen, J, Baker, E, Keessen, R (1999) Aquatic Ecological and Human Health Risk Assessment of Chemicals in Wet Weather Discharges in the Sydney Region, New South Wales, Australia. Marin e Pollution Bulletin 39, 335345. C hoe, JS, Bang, KW, Lee, JH (2002) Characterizat ion of surface runoff in urban areas. Water Science and Technology 45, 249254. Davis, AP, Burns, M (1999) Evaluation of Lead Concentration in Runoff from Painted Structures. Water Research 33, 2949-2958. DEUS (2004) 'Integrated Water Cycle Management Guidelines for NSW Local Water Utilities.' Department of Energy, Utilities and Sustainability: NSW Government Gromaire, MC, C hebbo, G, Consrant, A (2002) Impact of Zinc Roofing on urban runoff pollutant loads: the case of Paris. Water Science and Technology 45, 113-122. Manly Council (2004) 'State of the Environment Report 2003-2004.' Manly Council Patterson Britton & Partners Pty Ltd (1999) 'Northern Beaches Stormwater Management Plan.' Northern Beaches Stormwater Management Plan Committee: North Sydney Root, RA (2000) Lead Loading of Urban Streets by Motor Vehicle Wheel Weights. Environmental Health Perspectives 108, 937940. Shu, P, Hirner, AV (1998) Trace Compounds in Urban Rain and Roof Runoff. Journal of High Resolution Chromatography 21 , 65-68. Sutherland, RA (2003) Lead in grain size fract ions of road-deposited sediment. Environmental Pollution 121, 229-237. Taylor, A, Wong, T (2002) ' Non-structural stormwater quality best management practices - an overview of their use, value, cost and evaluation.' Cooperative Research Centre for Catchment H ydrology: Australia U.S. EPA (1983) 'Results of t he Nationwide Urban Runoff Program.' W ater Planning Division of U .S. Environmental Protect ion Agency: United Scates. Vaze, J, Chiew, FHS (2004) Nutrient Loads Associated with Different Sediment Sizes in Urban Stormwater and Surface Pollutants.

journal ofEnvironmental Engineering 130, 391 -396. Walker, TA, Wong, T HF (1999) 'Effectiveness of Street Sweeping for Stormwater Pollution Control.' Cooperative Research Centre for Catch ment Hydrology, Australia. Whiteway, TG , Laffan, SW, Wasson, RJ (2004) Using Sediment Budgets to Investigate rhe Pathogen Flux through Catchments. Environmental Management 34, 516- 527.

fereed paper

COST-SHARING SCHEME FOR GROUNDWATER IN SOUTH EAST SOUTH AUSTRALIA J McKay, H Diwakara, S Barnett Abstract In southeast South Australia a co nflict between users of groundwate r has been serried by irrigarors subsidising rhe deepening of wells for the Srock and Domestic users. The cosrsharing arrangements were innovative and unique at rhe rime and a community survey shows them ro be quire effective. We recommend char areas fraught with water con flicts may seek a cost-sharing si milar scheme with modifications co su it their local conditions.

enable pum ps ro be installed when the pressure level falls below ground level, causi ng water supply problems during che irrigation season. In some cases, when the water level drops in a srock and domestic well, water can no longer be accessed . To maintain the water supply the landowner owner would need ro either (a) equip the well char was previously free-flowing with a pump, (b) lower rhe pump further down che well, or (c) replace the jet pump with a submersib le pump.

"""

Ocher facto rs con tributing ro water conflicts in che Tincinara , area are rhe broader, political and inscirucional arrangements. "whiskey is /01Âˇ drinking and T he Water Allocation Plan 100 water is for fighting over" (WAP) controls gro undwater Mark Twain development in rh e area, bur Figure 1. Location of Tintinara Study Area in South Australia. offers no protection or Introduction Source: Department of Water, Land and Biodiversity Conservation, compensation fo r stock and Government of South Australia, 2005. While water conflicts are domestic users affected by rhe pervasive worldwide, there are a irrigation-induced drawdowns. few examples of successful A cost-sharing scheme In addition, the Agricul ture and governance of resolution Resource Management Council of Australia whereby new irrigators mechanisms. The question is what are the and New Zealand (ARMCANZ) has key elements ofinnovative social response? developed a national framewo rk for subsidise existing stock This article examines the key elements of a improved groundwater management in semi-self-governed cost-sharing scheme Australia. One of the recommendations and domestic users. devised ro resolve conflicts, foc ussing on scares chat: groundwater conflicts in Ti nti nara, "in preparing groundwater management T his impact is pervasive when a landowner southeastern South Australia. Ir also plans, Scates should ensure rhar efficient with a bigger pump inflicts economic explores the 'good' and 'bad' aspects of the utilisation of groundwater resources is damage on rhe small landowner (Kaiser and scheme through drawing upon the farmer's nor compromised by protection of Skiller, 2001 ). acricude ro the cost-sharing arrangements. existing users with inefficiently designed The conflict being considered is in or constructed wells (particularly stock Groundwater Conflicts in Tintinara, Tinti nara, South Australia (see map, Figure and domestic wells)". Southeastern Australia I) where dryland farmers, who have long In 1999, the South Australian State used shallow bores in to a confined aquifer Irrigation in the confined aquifer causes rhe Govern ment recognised rhac the for srock and domestic purposes. pressure ro drop creating a cone of groundwater resource of rhe T intinara Drawdowns of several metres due ro depression around the extraction poi nt. Coonalpyn District was under threat from irrigation pumping from rhe same confined This drop in pressure affects shallow unrestricted irrigation development (South aquifer have caused some of the artesian rubewells maintained for srock and East Catchment Water Management Board domestic purpose within rhe zone of stock and domestic wells ro srop flowing [SECWM BJ, 2003) . This resu lted in rhe and normally, ch is would simply mean influence. There is a direct correlation imposition of restrictions in January 1999 between deeper wells drilled into aquifer equipping che bore with a pump. However, and rhe area was Prescribed in 1999. The and the negative impact on shallower wells. in some cases the well casing is roo small ro process of Prescription under rhe then

Key words: Groundwater confl icts, social response, costsharing

.- . +..-------

Journal of the Australian Water Association

Water

MAY 2006 71

refereed paper

Water Resources Act, 1997 involved development of a Water Allocation Plan. It is a legal document, wh ich fac ilitates the managem ent of grou ndwater and extractions within sustainable limits while balancing the eco nomic, environ mental and social d emands of the resource. Included in this plan is an assessment of the capacity o f the gro undwater resource, and the sustainable limits for extractio n (Barnett, 2002). Although the rules for water allocation and transfer of licensed allo cation rules are set by the WAP, bona fide unlicensed water users such as stock and domestic owners are left out. The licensed extraction of groundwater has led to aquifer drawdown, which has affected wells owned by stock and domestic water users. T h is has resulted in water confl icts. According to the C atchment authority, throughout the WAP p rocess th e community had an u nderstanding that a Cose-S haring Scheme would be established to assist stock and domestic water users affected by Iicensed use of the reso urce for irrigation (SECWMB, 2003).

The Setting In 20 03-04 39.7% o f the total area was irrigated by centre pivot. T intinara is located in rhe upper South East of Sou th Australia ap proximately 2 00 kilometres sou theast of Adelaide and covers an area of 3,423 km 2 and is a part of the Murray Basin which is a large sedimentary grou ndwater basin covering 300 000 km 2 of Southeastern Australia (Figure !). In the confin ed aquifer in the Tintinara Coonalpyn Prescribed Wells Area (TCPWA), there are th ree grou ndwater managemen t areas, namely, Tauragat, Tolmer and Kynoch with the water con fl icts most ap parent in the To lmer M anagement Area,. Water remains available fo r allocation in the con fi ned aquifer management areas of the South East Prescribed Wells Area for industrial o r public water supply purposes. Confined aqui fe r allocations for irrigation purposes are available through the transfer of existing allocations. The available statistics suggest that almost 25 per cent of the total water allocated in T intinaraCoo nalpyn is accessed from the con fined aquifer. Of 1,228 hectares (ha) o f irrigated area, lucerne accounts for about 47.5 per cen t (583 ha) and used almost 54.5 per cent of the water (4562 ML. O lives account for 41 per cent (506) and used 38 per cent (3200 mega litres) of the total water (DWLBC, 2005). 39.7 per cent of the total area was irrigated by centre pivot in 200304.

MAY 2006

Water

Social Response: A Cost-Sharing Scheme Water conflicts, and mechan isms to resolve them, require collective action to build better institutions to address them. Examples from other co untries such as USA (Blomquist 1992), and Mexico, Egypt, India, and Pakistan (S teenbergen and Shah 2003) show that groundwater users have organised themselves without the help of for mal organisations to manage groundwater reso urces. Su ch organisations ach ieve so cial sustainability in chat a shari ng arrangement is agreed upon but it is not clear if they always ach ieve environmental sustainability. However, in Tintinara, the Sou th East Catchment Water Management Board has supported the community's desire to establish a scheme that assists stock and domestic users to access grou ndwater. T his scheme is a 'unique' and ' innovative' approach to manage water conflicts in Australia. T he motivation fo r affected farmers to negotiate with irrigarors came d irectly from the o riginal Cost Sharing Scheme in Mallee Prescribed Wells Area in southeastern Australia and the farmers started to modify the rules to suit their local need s and conditions. Accord ing to the group which started negotiating, they had to be big enough to form a 'committee' to lobby agai nst the irrigators. The first interim committee started with 13 members co nsisting of only stock and domestic owners. The second com mi ttee involved 11 members, 3 representing stock and domestic users, 3 irrigato rs from confined and 3 irrigators from unconfined aquifer and 1 local government representative (Coo rong Council) and 1 representative fro m the Catchment board (SEC WMB). Ar p resent, the T inrinara Coonalpyn Cost- Shari ng Management Committee has 4 members of which 1 is a neutral party, 1 is a local co unci l representative, and 1 each represent irrigators and stock and domestic owners.

Social Research Tinrinara was selected for a social research study with the objective of analysing the dispute resolution mechanism. Prior to data co llection, approval from the H u man Research Ethics of the University of South Australia was obtained . T he M arketing Science Centre, at the U n iversity of South Australia was em ployed to conduct the telephone interviews. Farmers were sam pied after a focus grou p meeting held at local C ouncil Office (Coorong Council) . The researchers had meeti ngs with the officials from the

Journal of the Australian Water Association

Department of Water, Land and Biodiversity Con servation, members of the Coorong Council, C hairperson of the CostSharing Sch eme and irrigators and stock and domestic owners. During the meetings, the possibility of a fi eld survey was discussed, using an openended questionnaire. After telephone con versatio ns with the chai rp erson of the cost-sharing sch eme and a few farmers, it was finall y d ecided to use a telephone interview in June and July 2005. A sample of 23 farmers responded and provided the information required fo r the purpose of th is research. O f 23 farmers, 15 of chem were irrigators and the remaining 8 were stock and domestic owners.

Results This section describes the key elements of the Cost-Sharing Scheme in T intinara, management of the scheme and attitudes to the sch eme.

Key elements of cost-sharing scheme: South Australian model The aim of the Tintinara-Coonalpyn CostSharing Scheme (TCCSS) is to assist stock and domestic fa rmers affected by the legitimate aquifer drawdown. To u nderstand the key aspects of the collective action (cost-sharing scheme), in what follows, some key elements ofTintinaraCoonalpyn Cose-Sharing Scheme are presented: Support is available fo r: • Lowering pumps • Changing the type of pump • Well deepening for wells in u ncon fined aquifer • Well replacement for 50 mm to 80 mm wells, and • Equipp ing p reviously unequipped wells Support is not available fo r: • Wells used for irrigation • Wells constructed or relined after 13 January 1999 • Degraded wells • Well maintenance

• An u pgrade of pump (increase yield) • Wells wh ich are the subject of well orders • Wedge holes

Management of the Cost-Sharing Scheme A sub-committee under the Catchment Board, comprising a chair, project officer and two members, manages the TintinaraCoonalpyn Cost-Sharing Scheme. The committee develops and provides recommendations to the Catchment Board

refereed paper

for approval. Both irrigators and stock and domestic farmers are involved. Since the inception of rhe Cose- Sharing Scheme in the year 2003, two rounds of assistance have been sought and approved co legitimate applicants. In the first round in Novembe r 2003, 13 applications were received tota ling 25 wells. Of this 10 applications were approved which required A$39,699 and one well approved subject co the completion of works. In the second round in J uly 2004, a coral of 4 applications were received , of which three applications were approved, which required a modest amount of A$43,268 (SECWM B 2005) . For the th ird round applications were called in July 2005 . Because irrigation is not expanding fu rther, the number of further applications is expected co decrease. Th e funds required co rnn this scheme are raised through levies. T he eligible water licensees in the TCPWA contribute co the cost of adjusting stock and domestic water supplies. • T he funds raised in a management area may be used in any other managed area buc shall be repaid co the management area of ong111 • Surplus cost-sharing funds will be reimbursed ro TCPWA li censees in che form of a discount co the following year's Catchment Levy Catchment Levies are a Scare Government ini tiative under rhe Water Resources Act 1997. Warer allocation li cense holders are required co pay the Carchmenr Levy set for 2004-05 ar A$9.85 per Hectare Irrigation Equ ivalent (HaIE) for those licenses expressed in H alE; or A$l.97 per mega lirre (ML) on licenses expressed in ML. The catchment levy and cost sharing levy are calculated based on rhe coral volume of annual allocations (nor metered extraction) and levies are subject co review ann ually (usually in summer season). According th e recenr ann ual review, rhe Catchment Board has app roved the Tintinara-Coonalpyn Cose-Sharing levy for rhe unconfined aq ui fe r beginning 2005-06 co balance rhe amount collected. T he Board retains A$ l 000 per management area to provide fu tu re ro unds of the Tintinara-Coonalpyn Cost-Sharing Scheme. The levy will continued co be collected in the Tolmer Management Area until the amount raised reaches rhe amou nt expended (SECWMB 2003). T he levy type and Cost-Sharing Levy are provided in Table 1. An applicant co the cost-sharing scheme has co incur a non-refundable application fee of A$ 50. The fi nancial support available co affected stock and domestic owners is based on criteria or guidel ines under five

Table 1. Tintinara-Coonalpyn Cost-Sharing Levies in Tintinara-Coonalpyn Prescribed Wells Area. Levy Type

Cost-Shore Levy

Cost-Share Levy

2003·04

2004-05

2005-06

(AS/ ML/Year)

(AS/ML/Year)

(AS/ ML/ Year)

Cost-Share Levy

Unconfined aquifer licensees

$0.25

$0.00

Confined aquifer licensees

$ 1.50

$1.50°

$1.S0b

landholders (no license)

$0.00

Source: South East Catchment Water Management Board 2003 Note: a & b levy is for To/mer Management Area only in the confined aquifer and other management oreo in the confined aquifer will not contribute.

Table 2. Key Features of Guidelines for Financial Assistance by Categories. Categories

Features

Category A

A grant of up to l 00 per cent of the benchmark cost of lowering pumps to on approved depth.

Category B

A grant on a sliding scale for replacement of a centri fugal pump (or any other type of pump that is no longer sufficient to draw water) with the benchmark cost of a submersible pump of the some capacity. The age of the pump determines the fund contribution rote os per sliding scale. To account for the value of the existing centrifugal pump this contribution rote is applied to the di fference between the new submersible and the new centrifugal price.

Category C

A grant of l 00 of the benchmark cost of deepening wells in the unconfined aquifer that were constructed before 13th January 1999. In addition up to A$400 towards mobilisation costs.

Category D

A grant towards the eligible cost of drilling new wells in the confined aquifer to replace wells with on internal cosing diameter of less than or equal 80 mm, constructed before 13th January 1999.

Category E

A grant towards the benchmark cost of equipping previously unequipped wells to a maximum of A$4000 for the first well and to a maximum of A$ l 000 for additional wells to contribute to the cost of a pump or windmill, storage tonk and reticulation

Source: South East Catchment Water Management Board 2003 Note: a. well replacement contribution; 50 to 80 mm casing = A$4000 for the first well plus on additional A$2000 for extra well; Relined 50 mm casing = A$3000.

categories. Some of key fea rnres of these categories are summarised in Table 2.

Attitude Towards Cost-Sharing Scheme

Sliding Scale Contribution towards Replacement of Pumps

Communi ty arricudes toward the costsharing scheme are mixed among borh the irrigarors and stock and domestic farmers. T he arricude ro the scheme was measured on a scale of I co I 0, where I = very positive, 5 = neutral and l O = very negative. le is observed rhar, of 15 irrigarors, 7 of chem were neutral; however, 5 of chem were quire pos itive about the scheme. On the ocher hand, 3 stock and domestic farmers were qui re positive towards the scheme and 3 of them were neutral. Ir is also evident rhat a few individuals representing both irri garors and stock and domestic farmers view the scheme as negative (F igure 2) . This suggests char not all participating fa rmers are satisfied with rhe existing scheme. Ir would be interesting co discern their reasons. T he positive and negati ve aspects of the scheme as perceived by bod, irrigators and stock and domestic farme rs are presented in rhe next section.

The sliding scale contribu tion in the Cost-S haring Scheme entails replacing two types of pumps (J) Electric pumps, and (2) windmill pumps. T he age of the pumps and fund contribu tion slightly varies for both types of pumps. Electric pumps less than 3 years old wo uld receive 75% of fund; between 3 and 5 years old, 60%, between 6 and 7 years, 45%; between 8 and 9 years, 30% and a IOyears old electric pump would receive 10% of the contribution. Electric pumps over 10 years old do not receive fu nding. Similarly, for windmills of less than 3 years 80% of rhe funds will be provided, between 4 and 7 years, 60%; between 8 and 11 years, 40%; between 12 and 15 years, 20% and windm ills over 15 years old do nor receive any conrribucion. Recond itioned pumps receive 70 per cenr of the fund conrribucion.

Journal of the Australian Water Association

Water

MAY 2006 73

refereed paper

It is important to note chat almost all irrigators and stock and domestic farmers were aware of the p rocedures to develop che scheme (see Figure 3). Our field observation suggests chat at the beginning only chose representatives who could lobby were involved. However, given the small community there appears to have been a good network between farmers to discuss the issues.

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Water conflicts and institutional arrangements co resolve them pose a key challenge to water managers and policy makers in both develop ing and developed countries. Managing water conflicts requires substantial social investment, which is shared between th e irrigators and ocher users. This paper examined and demonstrated that an innovative approach to resolve water conflict is possible with some institutional support from che relevant authorities involved in groundwater allocation and management.

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and Laws and form er Program Leader CRC Irrigation Fucures Planning for Change; Diwakara Halanaik is a Ph D Scudent ac the Centre for Comparative Water Policies and Laws, School of Commerce, University of So uth Australia, Adelaide GPO Box 2471, SA 5000, Australia. Email: Jennifer.mckay@u nisa.edu.au; Steve Barnett is Prin cipal Geologist, D epartment of Water, Land and Biodiversity Co nservation, Government of South Australia, Email: Barnett.Steve@saugov.sa.gov.au

References

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Awareness of Procedures to Develop Cost-Sharing Scheme in Tintinara

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Professor Jennifer McKay is D irector of

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The authors thank che Cooperative Research Centre for Irrigation Fu cures

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(CRC IF) for their Postgraduate T op up Funding to carry out ch is research. We have beneficed from the following people: Graham Gares (Coorong Council), Hugo Hopton and Jodie Berkefeld (South Ease Catchment, Mc Gambier, South Australia), Mari Rihcards, Graham Harkness, Richard H arkness, James Fairbairn , Bill Patterson, Lesley Cameron, Di Ash by. We thank Kirscy Willis and staff of the Marketing Science Centre for conducting the telephone interviews.

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While the cost-sharing arrangements are an innovative institu tional approach to overcome water con fl ices, they are not an end in themselves. A continuous evaluation of their effectiveness is required. Given the di fferent socio-economic, cultural and demographic backgrounds in different regions, a tailored version of the South Australian Model of Cose-Sharing scheme is believed to be a potential groundwater conflicts management response witho ut much dependence on Govern ment Agencies.

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Barnett, S.R. (2002) . Water Resource Assessment of the T intinara Coonalpyn Prescribed Wells Area. South Australia. Department for Water, Land and Biodiversity Conservation. Report, DWLBC 2002/20 . Blomquist, William (1992). Dividing the Water:

Governing Groundwater in Southern California. San Francisco: !CS Press. Kaiser, Ronald and Skiller, F. Frank (2001). " Deep T rouble: Options for Managing the H idden T hreat of Aquifer Depletion in T exas." Texas Technology Law Review, 32: 250-303 . South East Catchment Water Management Board (2003). Water Allocation Plan. Tintinara Prescribed W ells Area. pp.76. South East Catchment Water Management Board (2003) . Companion t0 Tintinara Coonalpyn Water Allocat ion Plan. Tintinara Prescribed Wells Area. pp.53. Steenbergen, F. van and Shah, Tushaar (2003). "Rules rather t han Rights: Self-regulation in Intensively used Groundwater Systems." in Ram6n Llamas & Emilio Cust0dio (eds.)

Figure 3. Awareness of the Procedures to Develop the Cost-Sharing Scheme

Intensive Use of Groundwater: Challenges and opportttnities, The Netherlands: A. A.

Tinti nara [Question: Were you aware of the procedures to develop thi s scheme?].

Balkem a Pub! ishers.

74 MAY 2006 Water Journal of the Australian Water Association

II.

community consultation

fereed paper

INSTITUTIONAL BARRIERS TO DECENTRALISED SYSTEMS D Livingston, N Ashbolt, H Colebatch Abstract Decentralised urban water system s are technically and cost viable, bur limited implem entation of such systems suggests an institutio nal barrier. Four Australian case studies of urban water management projects were researched by m eans of in terviews analysed through the lens of in stitutional theory. Key participants of each proj ect refl ected a number of recurring discourses. In each case there emerged a dominant d iscourse chat shaped the project o utcome. The nature of the do minant discourse depended primarily on the insti tutional base (organisational str ucture, knowledge and values) with in the proponen t o rganisati on. For decentral ised innovation to be successful , it wou ld ap pear tha t attention need s to be paid to the organisatio nal design within which water projects occu r, as well as to the specific project planning process.

Successful adoption requires organisations where innovative ideas are 'accepted speech'. Keywords: decentralised water m an agement; discou rse analysis; inscicmions; organisations

Table 1. Fo ur cases of (potential) decentralised innovation. Case

Location

Green/ brownfield

Outcome

Bundeeno Moionbor Priority Sewerage Project (1991-20021

Southern edge of Sydney Metropol itan area (NSW)

Brownfield (1200 lotsl

Conventional centralised water and sewerage

Pimpomo Coomera Woterfuture (2003-1

Northern end of Gold Coast [Qld)

Payne Rd subdivision (2003-1

The Gap, Brisbone (Qldl

Currumbin Ecovilloge [2004-)

Currumbin Volley, Gold Coast [Qldl

Greenfield (50,000 lotsl Mix of centralised and decentralised options Greenfield [22 lots) 75% reliance on rainwater; greywoter Greenfield [ 144 lots) Self-sufficient for water

(Mitchell, 2004) and Decentralised Sanitatio n and Reuse (Lens et al., 200 1). Through the history of urban water m anagement the tendency has been to continuing growth and cemralisacion of systems, with justifying arguments including technical effi ciency and economies of scale. H owever, now there are downsides appearing as lim its to natural supplies are approached, signi ficam energy is required for treatment and transport, and environmental concerns persist with disposal of wastewater. Decentralised approaches to urban water management may include innovative techno logical options such as recycling (including advanced wastewater cceacmenc technology) as well as more traditional optio ns such as rainwater can ks. The scale of systems referred to may be anywhere

fro m onsite (such as rainwater tanks) to suburb-level (such as third pipe recycling systems). A wide net is d rawn around che range of app roaches labelled here as decentralised. As such they provide a relatively new way of chinking and operating water services, compared ro conven tional centralised systems, characterised by big pipe, o nce-th rough linear systems (Loudon , 200 4). There are a number of adva ntages of decentralised systems, including reduced demand on source waters, reduced transport energy costs, possibility of source separation and provision of water fit for purpose on-site or nearby, lower initial cost, and greater potential to mimic or preserve local natural water cycles. We do not suggest chat decentralised systems are the best or only way forward

Introduction The need for more sustainable and diversified urban water supply optio ns together with demand management is widely appare nt in che Australian water in d ustry (Water Services Association of Australia, 200 5). A variety of tech nical approaches aimed at solving water scarcity have been developed in recent years. T hese include water recycling, desalinatio n, the use of rainwater tanks and demand m a nagement techniques. T here are also new concep tual approaches to the way water is perceived and val ued, such as Integrated Ur ban Water Management Th is paper is an updated version of a paper presented at t he Young Water Professionals Conference, Sydney, February 2006.

Daniel manning his poster at the Young Water Professionals Conference. Journal of the Australian Water Association

Water

MAY 2006 75

Innovative Organisations (e.g. Gold Coast Waterfuture project, private developers)

Traditional Organisations (e.g. Sydney Water in Bundeena Ma1anbar case)

Figure 1. Discourses present in case studies (ellipses) and their approximate alignment with proponent organisations (boxes). for sustainable urban water management. Rather chis paper explores rhe institutional support chat would be d esirable for chose cases in which decentralised systems are appropriate. Technical knowledge of decentralised systems is relatively well developed, bu r there has been li ttle experience of their operation . The problem with decentralised schemes seems not co be in designing chem but in putting chem into practice. Because of chis perceived barrier, and because o f the history of centralised technical bureaucracies dominating urban water management (Livingston et al., 2005), the understanding of d esirable institutional suppo rt for decentralised systems was identified as an area needing further research. An institutional approach based on Scott's (1995) formulation was used as the theoretical framework. According co Scott, institutions are the carriers of social order and practice through established o rganisations, ideas and values. These three institutional pillars were investigated in four Australian cases of urban water management improvement proj ects, as outlined in Table 1.

Methods For each case study key players were identified by the snowball method (Babbie, 2004) and 80 semi-structured interviews (M inichiello, 1995) were given. The interview length ranged from IO minutes to alm ost 2 hours. Most were recorded; and written transcripts were made of all interviews. The transcripts were analysed co iden tify the values and ideas (values and ideas are referred co hereafter as discourses) held by participants. Interview data was also complemented by written documentation. Real life organisational processes may appropriately be studied using case study analysis (Yin, 2003) . However this method has its limitations. As is generally rhe case, each o f the four cases was quire different, and never could any single variable be isolated and reseed. Thus it 7 6 MAY 2006

Water

Journal of the Australian Water Association

was impossible to make statistical generalisations. However, the foll owing qualitative results allowed fo r conceptual generalisations.

Results and Discussion D iscourse both refl ects and shapes action (e.g. Foucau lt, 1972). The interest in identifying the discourses present in the p lanning and decisionmaking of each of rhe case studies was ro identify how discourse influenced the selection and justification of particular courses of action. l n each of the four cases there was a wide variety of ideas and values evident in both interview transcripts and written documents. They are categorised into several main discourses (F igure 1) . In each of the cases there emerged from the multiple d iscourses a dominant one that gained sufficient currency with the decision-makers co determine the outcome. From an engineering perspective, it may be argued that technical and multi-criteria assessment were the cools used to determine outcomes (in the case of rhe Pimpama Coo mera Waterfucure and Bundeena Maianbar Priority Sewerage Projects). However, inputs co these processes (e.g. the selection of criteria and weightings, and ch e background of the people who conduct the process) reflected the knowledge and values characterised by particular discourses. (The decision-making of rhe ocher rwo cases was by private developers who sec out co achieve integrated water cycle management from the o utset.) Nocwirhscand ing rhe several significant physical constraints char p redisposed each case coward particular outcomes (such as existing versus greenfi eld development), chis research identified the institutional characteristics associated with che outcomes o bserved. T he determi ning discourse in each of the case studies was one chat had values and knowledge consistent with the proponent organisation. The usefuln ess of chis finding is char fo r innovation co occur, attention needs co b e paid

refereed paper

to the organisational structure within which a project is to occur. There needs to be an organisational location in which the supporting discourse for a particular outcome is 'accepted speech' (Livingston et al., 2004). W here decentralised innovation was enabled - in each of the Q ueensland cases - there was a new organisational structure established wi th in which the project operated. This was of necessity for the two subdivisions by private developers, however, Gold Coast Water deliberately established a new ream - the Warerfuture ream including seconding water industry recycling experrs. Ar the heart of the Warerfuture app roach was a steering co mmittee co ntaining all key stakeholders, who operated throughout the planning process. T hus there was an organisational location where not only could all discourses be discussed in a collaborative environment (the steering co mmittee) bur the project ream was equipped with capacity in nontraditional approaches to water management. One of the seni or managers in Gold Coast Water revealed much about their organisational awareness and capacity, saying "We try looking at our own organisation and saying 'OK, what do we have to realign in our own organisa tion to make this happen?"' Another difference between the organisational co ntext in Sydney and Sou theast Queensland is char integrated management of the total water cycle is more possible in Southeast Queensland where water and sewerage, stormwarer and planning are all located in the local co uncil - often in the same bu ilding - allowing fo r greater orga nisational integration.

Conclusions Decentralised water management represents a sign ificant institutional change, and calls fo r change in organisational structures, also in understanding and values. T raditional centralised structures are unlikely to foster decentralised innovation. Therefore to seriously attempt to in troduce decentralised urban water management it is important to pay attention to the regulatory co ntext and organisational design withi n which a project is to operate. To stare with options assessment is more likely to replicate ex isting options rather than to innovate.

References Babbie, E. R. (2004), The practice ofsocial research, Wadsworth, Belmont, Calif. Foucault, M. (I 972), The archaeology ofknowledge and the discourse on language (translated by A.M . Sheridan Smith), Pantheon Books, New York. Lens, P. , Zeeman, G . and Lett inga, G. (Eds.) (2001 ), Decentralised Sanitation and Reuse: concepts, systems and implementation, IWA Publishing, London. Livingston, D., Colebatch, H . K. and Ashbolt, N . J. (2004), Sustainable water paradigm shift: does changing d iscourse mean change in organisation?, Submitted to Water Policy. Livingston, D. J., Stenekes, N., Waite, T. D., Ashbolt, N . J. and Colebatch, H. K. (2005), Governance of Water Assets: A Reframing for Sustainability, Water, Journal ofthe Australian Water Association, 32(5), 19-23. Loudon, T. L. (2004 ), Bringing O nsire and Decentralized Wastewater Technologies into the Mainstream , In, Pl'oceedings, 6th !WA Specialist

Conference on Small Water & Wastewater Systems; and 1st International Conference on Onsite Wastewater Treatment & Recycling, February 11 - 13, Murdoch University, Fremanrle. Minichiello, V. (l 995), In-depth interviewing principles, techniques, analysis, Longman, Melbourne. Mitchel l, V. G. (2004), Integrated Urban Water Management: A review of current Awtralian practice, CSJRO Urban Water. Score, W . R. ( 1995), histitutions and organizations, SAGE, Thousand O aks. Water Services Association of Australia (2005), Testing the Water. Urban

water in our growing cities: the risks, challenges, innovation and planning, WSAA Position Paper No. 0 I, Ocrober 2005, http://www. wsaa .asn .au/ pd f/bookshop/200 5/ pp050. pd f. Yin, R. K. (2003), Case study research: design and methods, Sage Publicat ions, Thousand Oaks, Cali f.

Uptake of decentralised alternatives is enabled by an organisational location where innovative (even dissident) ideas and values are 'accepted speech'. Such a location requires ongoing inpu t from and relationships among key stakeholders, and may also be aided by adaptive capacity within existi ng organisations or establishment of a new organisational un it for decentralised innovation.

Acknowledgements The authors would like to acknowledge the financial support of the Australian Research Co un cil (primary author) and the Cooperative Research Centre fo r Water Quality and T reatment. The fore running research and guidance of for mer and current UNSW colleagues Rebekah Brown and Nyree Srenekes is gracefully acknowledged and appreciated. And the partici pation of the case study interviewees is also gratefully appreciated.

The Authors Daniel Livingston is a PhD candidate, and scholarship holder in the CRC or Water Quality and Treatment. He is studying at the University of New South Wales School of Civil and Environ mental Engineering. His PhD thesis is almost complete and associated publications are fort hcomi ng. More derails at www.iwm research.com. Email: daniel @civeng.unsw.edu.au; Nicholas Ash bolt is Professor and Head of the School of Civil and En vironmental Engineering at the University of New South Wales. Email N.Ashbolr@unsw.edu.au; Hal Colebatch is currently Associate Professor of the Department of Public Policy and Administration, University of Brunei Darussalam. Email: hal@fbeps.ubd.edu.bn Journal of the Australian Water Association

Water

MAY 2006 77

~fereed paper

FRUSTRATION, CONFUSION AND UNCERTAINTY - QUALITATIVE RESPONSES FROM NAMOI VALLEY IRRIGATORS G Kuehne, H Bjornlund Abstract

Namoi Valley groundwater extraction 1985 - 2002

The Namoi Valley, of Northern New South Wales, has a problem with over-allocation of entitlements. This paper reports on a survey to determine the concerns of groundwater licence holders in the Namoi Valley, in relation to the development of the Water Sharing Plans (WSP). The development of these plans, designed in pare to address the over allocation problem, provides an example of a consultation process that is open to criticism. The survey demonstrated that negative concerns can escalate when implementation of an already controversial policy is delayed.

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Introduction T he Namoi groundwater resource is now the most intensively developed in NSW and extractio ns from the resource constitute 40% of the total groundwater extractions in that state (Ivkovic, Letcher & Croke 2004). Concern was raised when it was recognised that as a result of the drought years of 1992-3 to 1994-5 the annual aquifer extraction, had increased to almost double the annual average aquifer recharge, (See Figure 1), (NGMC 2001).

Why Were Entitlements Over-allocated? The over-allocation appears to have been caused by at least four interrelated factors: 1) there was a lack of scientific research quantifying the available recharge; 2) the relevant Scace Government department responsible for developing the dams on the Namoi River actively sought to encourage the use of water up until the 1970s (Career, Crean & Young 2000; Hamstead 2004); 3) while concerns were raised by some irrigators from the early eighties regarding the potential fo r over extraction it was thought that the resource could be " mined " for a period of time, and then recharge would occur when wet years returned (Namoi groundwater management committee 200 l); and 4) water, at lease initially, was not highly valued. This meant that some of the licences granted remained inactive. The department mistakenly believed that this was going to be a

78 MAY 2006

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Figure 1. Th e effect of Drought on groundwater extractions (Graph adapted from Namoi Groundwater Taskforce Final report with additional data provide by Department of Natural Resources). permanent situation; and appear to have allowed an under-use factor of up to 30% in their planning rather than issuing new licences concurrently with the withdrawal of unused licences. (Haisman 2003) lrrigators warned of the potential for unsustainable use of the resource to occur as early as 1983. Hamparsum (2003) explains " ... once the success of one irrigator was acknowledged, a lot of ocher irrigators were encouraged by government to also develop." They were given engineering advice, as well as grants to sink bores and low-interest loans to develop the water.

Stakeholder reactions to procrastination in water sharing plans. lrrigators clearly blame rhe State Government for undertaking, or allowing these actions which lead to over-allocation, but chis could be a convenient oversimplification. The department, when under pressure from landowners wanting access to licences, would have found it hard to resist without credible scientific

Journal of the Australian Water Association

information to defend their position. I r is also likely char the existing licence holders were reluctant to challenge the furthe r issuance of licences when chis could lead to accusations of greed from ap plicants and involve a public process.

The Impact of the Over-allocation The total yearly licensed groundwater entitlement of the Namoi Valley is 471,823 ML which is over double the estimated sustainable yield (ESY) of 212,625 ML. Considering rhe valley as a whole, the average use since more stringent monitoring was introduced in 1985 is below rhe ESY, but chis ignores the unsustainable extraction within some zones, and does nor recognise the problem char could be caused by the activation of inactive licences (Career, Crean & Young 2000, NGMC 2001). Farmers have activated inact ive licences as a coun ter to drought, which becomes all rhe more significant because of rhe generally larger demand for water at char time (Figure 1).

Water Sharing Plans to Fix an Over-allocation Problem The WSP are a product of a process that began with the Council of Australian

refereed paper

Governments (COAG) meeting of 1994. The COAG agreement required that water rights be unbundled from property rights so that they could be freely traded and acknowledged the legitimate right to water for the environment (COAG 2004) . To allow chis to happen the over-allocation issue needed to be fi xed.

Table 1. Chrono logy of the Water Sharing Plan development. Feb 1994 1996/97 Mar 2001 Dec 2001 Dec 2002 June 2003 Aug 2003 Oct 2003 June 2004 July 2005

The WSP set the rules, for a specified period of rime, for the sharing of water between the environment and the various users, such as irrigators, stock and domestic and town supplies (NGMC 2001 ).

Delays to the WSP Th e WSP for the Namoi groundwater sources were initially expected to be implemented from July 2003. So that they m ight be adjusted to bermÂˇ fi r with COAG's National Water Initiative, the Minister deferred the introd uction of the plans; initially for six months bu t then fo r ano ther six months fo r the same reason (COAG 2003; Knowles 2003). In June of 2004 the plans were again deferred (to J uly 2005) to allow them to be reworked to all ow a greater emphasis on history of use in accordance with COAG policy (COAG 2004). T hey were deferred again in June 2005 (to July 2006) to allow the structural adj ustment package associated with the plan to be implemented concurrently (T able I).

COAG initiates water reform "Voluntary" cuts ol 10-35% Water sharing pla n work begins Draft water sharing plan released for comment Water sharing plan Gazetted Plan deferred to Jan 2004 COAG develops National Water Initiative Plan deferred to July 2004 Plan deferred to July 2005 Plan deferred to July 2006

10- 35% in 1996-97, bur the curs to achieve sustai nability were going to be much more severe. Licence holders in general did not favo ur HOE (Nancarrow, McCreddin & Syme 1998) but active irrigators did have a justifiable expectation based on statements from departmental staff (e.g. Kailirzis, O'Keefe & McDonald 2000) that the State Govern ment would favour HOE as the preferred option (Carter, Crean & Yo ung 2000; GMC 2001), however this was not to be the case, as AT B was chosen in August 200 1.

In November 2003 it was an nounced that the method of reduction would be re-exam ined (Hamsread 2004). The WSP continued to describe the cuts as ATB until amendments were made to the Water Management Act on 7th December 2005. The second reading speech su mmarises the change,

There was concern over the across-the-board approach to reducing entitlements in these over allocated aquifers . .. T he method has now been refined and will cake into account rhe past water use of licence holders when determining their entitlement reductions. (NSW Government 2005).

The WSP were also the subject of a legal challenge by the irrigarors, in the NSW Land and Environment cou rt, fro m mid 2003 through until early 2005, at which time the action was withdrawn (Upper Namoi Water Users Association Inc & Ors v Minister for Natural Resources 2003) . This was happening while the State and Federal Govern ments were politicking and jockeying fo r position and actually contributi ng to the delays.

See us at Enviro 2006

History of Extraction vs Across the Boord Integral with the development of the WS P was defining the method of enti tlement reduction. The two options under consideration were History of Extraction (H OE) or Across-the-Board (AT B). H OE weighted the reductions to rake into accou nt past usage and favo ured the active user while AT B requi red an equal red uction from all licence holders regardless of past usage, and favo ured the inactive or low user. Active users argued that HOE maintained economic activity within the com munity and reduced the effect of stranded assets. Low users argued that because they had been frugal and responsible with the water HOE would unfa irly disadvantage them. Inactive users exp ressed concern that cuts based on HOE wou ld unfai rly affect their property values. The Namoi Groundwater Management Com mittee was unable to arrive at a consensus decision on the method of en titlement reduction. Licence holders had already agreed to voluntary AT B curs of

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Journal of the Australian Water Association

Water

MAY 2006 79

refereed paper

Research Methodology T he aim of che research was co establish the managem en t response co che reduced water entitlem ents face d by che g roundwater licence holders, che concerns of che irr igacors and the likely response co che policy prior co the actual policy implementation. A fi ve-page questionnaire was developed and pre-reseed on a similar group of irrigacors from a neighbouring district. T he questionnaire consisted of 24 questions collecting d emographic and p roperry data, an d 8 questions regarding irrigacors' percep tions of the W SP. T he questio nnaire was posted co 54 5 groundwater licence hold ers. The coral number of responses was 261 resulting in an overall recurn race of 47%, which was reduced co 24% when allowances were made for duplicate records and those choosing not co participate. Responses were grouped into themes. While che m ain aim of the survey was co explore the managem ent response of the respondents, what respondents chose to communicate were perceptions and feelings related to the d evelop ment of the WSP. The common themes uncovered were: â&#x20AC;˘ Criticism s regard ing che consultation process.

have seen t he duplicity, bungling and political point-sco ring at close range, it means t he WSP, to me, is sym bolic of a Public Service out of control and elected politicians withou t the ability to manage anything other t han getting re-elected.

High HOE users also suggested chat by taxing che wider com muniry the government could have bo ugh t up all the unused allo catio ns and red uced the active users by a smaller am ount. Low H O E irrigacors suggest chat che Scace Government should have admitted char chey made a mistake. T hey feel chat che governmen t was in control of licensing; therefo re chey were th e ones who were responsible, not the landowners. T hey rei nforce chat irrigacors had warned chat rhe reso urce was over-allocated and that trouble would arise in the futu re. One irrigacor suggests " .. and ir gor co a point where rhere were a lot of objectio ns, and so th ey changed the systems, so fa rmers h ad co go to court and appear, co obj ect against the new guys' licences; and fa rmers wouldn' t do it". Another Low HOE irrigacor suggested that "Instead of approaching che d ebate with a pre-determined agenda (the government sho uld actually have) listened co all concerned parries and attempted to get ou tcomes requi red without che inequities that will most likely be applied".

In an effort to further understand the behavio ur of licence holders, chey were classified into th ree d ifferent groups acco rding to their history o f extraction from the aquifer: I ) inactive; 2) High HOE those with a high history of extraction , who will be facing cues co their water usage; and 3) Low HOE - chose char, alchough they are active irrigacors, will not be required co m ake cuts to th eir water usage.

This group repeatedly cr iticises the d epartment for its consulcacion process and their failure co cake a m ore involved interest in what was going on at ground level. They widely believe chat the d epartment was not caking peoples' concerns into consideration. One inactive licence- holder responded, "Th e wo rd 'consult' with ind ustry is a joke". Their opinio ns on the department's role range from a moderate criticism that they should have listened to the people, through co a suggestion char it is driven by "bureaucracy, enviro- rerrorisrs & poli tical agendas".

Deteriorating Relationship with Government and Consultation Issues

Overall, the actions of the Scare Government are criticised in strong terms.

â&#x20AC;˘ Criticism o f che D epartmen t â&#x20AC;˘ U ncertainty resulti ng from not knowing the details of the final W SP

Stace G overnment actions were strongly criticised by High HOE irrigacors who suggest that they should "communicate and nor dictate" . It was suggested that authorities should "understand rhe impact of che decisions of office staff on practical people" . Another irrigacor summarises h is concerns by suggesting that the government sh ould be "getting their act together, paying for their scuff ups, replacing inefficient de partmental staff, and being honest with peopl e" . On e irri gator who seems co sum up the concerns o f chis (H OE) group respo nded , Because T have participated in the socalled consultatio n process, and because I

80 MAY 2006

Water

All user groups suggest char more approp riate consul tation with rhe people affected would have been useful , bur the high HO E are the m ost critical o f rhe government's role, understandably because of the amount of resources char they have at risk. One irrigator seems to be speaking for all che licence h old ers when he says, T he WS P could have been rhe most revo lutionary cha nge introduced inro Australian farming if all stakeholders felt chat they have been consulted and t heir ideas caken o n board to produce a sustainable and workable fu t ure fo r rural business people. I nscead rhe p rocess has been continually t hwarted by bureaucratic rime wasting and cover-u ps

Journal of the Australian Water Association

and also by poli rical point scoring and tightening of the p urse strings wh ere rural communities are left co shou lder rhe fi nanc ial and emorional cost.

The WSP Deferrals and Uncertainty T he tortured path taken fo r th e developm ent of the water sharing plan and the repeated deferrals of the implem entatio n date are criticised by the high HOE irrigators. They suggest that it would h ave been an improvement if a m ore effective co nsultation process had been sec up in the early stages to shorten the time fram e of the who le process . T hey m entio n that after several years of battling som e peo ple were "wearied and o r cuned our. " O chers, expressing their frustration ac the four p ostponem ents to th e plan , suggest chat chey wan t the government to, "get o n with the plan instead of m ucking about". T hey say chat not knowing wh en the WSP will be fin ally implem ented, as well as n ot knowing if they' re eligible fo r struccu ral adjustm ent fundin g, hinders long term decision making. The lack of long-term security of water also contributes co their u ncertainty, along wi th the D epartments ability co change the water allocations from year to year. The low H O E irrigators express similar concerns to chose of the high H OE irrigacors; chey recognise that che resource is b eing used unsustainably, and would prefer that che implementatio n o f ch e plan an d rhe distribu tion of compensatio n fo r affected irrigators occur sooner rath er than later. E ven so, they still fee l chat che WSP imp lem en tation process has created uncertainty: so me blaming th e perception that W SP rules can be changed at the whi m of politicians.

Discussion Licence holder responses suggest that their main concern is with the p rocess rather th an ch e ou tcome. Up un til now ir is perceived as having been u n fa ir, co nfusing, frustrating and respo nsible for a great deal of uncertainty. This cri ticism o f the p rocess is, in essence, a criticism of the procedu ral fairness . Bu t is the main co ncern with the process because the outco mes have still not been experienced ? Could it be chat wh en the ou tcom es of the WSP are experien ced, and the fu ll eco no mic and social effects of the reductions are fe lt that the considerations of the process will beco me less important, and be replaced w ith a criticism of the ou tco me? T here co uld be a number of reasons fo r licence ho lders' disco ntent. T he "fair process effect" d escribed by va n d en Bos suggests that if people only have in fo rmation abou t their

refereed paper

own outcomes and do not The issue of whether rhe water INFORMATION - CONSULTATION - PARTNERSHIP - DELEGATION -CONTROL have in formation about the management committees were outcomes of ochers, their responsible for the LOW INVOLVEMENT HIGH response is to examine the formula tion of che plan or jusr fairness of the process only for the provision of advice to Figure 2. Consultation model (Bridgman & Davis 2000). as it relates to themselves the department was one of the (Van den Bos et al. 1997). points of claim identified by Those who have a more principal act identifying chose parties the irrigators in their court proceedings accurate idea of their expected ourcomes, needing to be consulted with, when taken against the Minister for Natural either because of their closeness to the preparing a plan, was amended to allow the Resources (Upper Namoi Water Users Minister to carry out this consultacion at process or a greater interest, if faced with a Association Inc & Ors v Minister for Natural his discretion (Millar 2005) . negative outco me, (and for most licence Resources 2003). The Act covering the holders there will be so me negative effects), Another problem licence holders faced, form ulation of the water sharing plans, is would be expected to report lower fairness which in this case has led to increasing worded in such a way that licence holders judgements (Leung & Li 1990). Ir could be levels of fr ustration was identifying and could believe chat they were to prepare the chat when che plan is eventually understanding the role chat they were to draft plan rather than just simply advising implemented che focus will shift onto the play in the process. Bridgman and Davis on the preparation of the plan (NSW outcom e rather than the process. (2000) describe fi ve di fferent types of Government 2000). It seems that the consultation process consultation, all fall ing on a continuum. Like ocher regions experiencing reductions associated with che development of the They describe "Co nsultation" as an in allocations, the Namoi Valley licence WSP's could have been better managed. "exchange, though the decisio n makers holders reported a strong feeling of The effects of an imperfectly conducted remain in charge of the agenda and the uncertain ty (Bjornlund 2004) related to consul tative process on the stakeholders outcome ... The goal is to improve policy, water availability, and the situation that involved are clear: and enhance its acceptability, by taking into they will face after the ten year lifespan of Poorly designed and inadequate measures account the comments and interests of the WS P. However, it also comes from a for information, consul tation and active those likely to be affected. " They describe distrust of politicians, the government and participation in policy-maki ng can "Partnership" as hand ing so me control over their motives. While li cence holders may be undermine government - citizen concerned chat the Minister could change shaping policy to the affected parties relations. Governments may seek to the plan any time during the ten-yea r term, through things like seats on advisory inform, consult and engage citizens in under the conditions of the Act, it would boards, (which is what happened in the case order to enhance quality, credibility and trigger compensation payments to chose of the Namoi). Because of chis involvement, legitimacy of their policy decisions ... only affected . Compensation would also be it is likely that the licence holders expected to produce the opposite effect if citizens payable for changes to subseq uent plans if co nsultarion to provide them with more discover that their efforcs to stay chose changes were as a result of a changed co ntrol over the result and not just an informed, provide feedback and actively government policy (NSW Government participate are ignored, have no impact at abili ty to express an opinion. If chis is the 2005). all on the decisions reached or remain case chis misplaced belief has manifested unaccounted for. itself in the frustrations chat are now being When the licence holders are certain of the (OECD 2001 ) degree of their cutbacks and their eligibility felt. Even if they were only involved at the lower level, some irrigators believe that for structural adjustment fund ing, it could Perhaps an indication of the NSW there is no evidence in the final WSP that be expected chat th eir uncertainty will be Government's approach to consultation eased. This uncertain ty could then be with the community was given when the rhe minister had taken their comments into replaced by a more pronounced reaction original Water Management Act 2000 was account, and that the Minister had not against the outcomes of the plan. Because amended in 2004. T he section in the explained why th is is.

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Journal of the Australian Water Association

water

MAY 2006 81

refereed paper

COAG 2003, 'Council of rhey are currently uncertain of Acceptance Australian Governments' rhe outcomes they' re no t able to Of Need Communique', 29th August 2003. evaluate them properly, they can COAG 2004, 'Council of only evaluate the process, and Australian Governments' Size they have resoundingly Communique', 25th June 2004. of described the process as Haisman, B 2003, ' Impacts of Effect water rights reforms in Australia', unsatisfactory. Ir appears that paper presented at the Internacional during these years of working conference on water involvement with rhe WSP they Low rights: inscirucional options for have beco me more accepting of improving water allocation., H anoi, '.!00'.! '.!005 the science behind the WSP and Vietnam. February. Timeline of W SP Defen-als rhe need for action than they H amparsum, J 2003, NSW Senate might have been when rhe - Rural and regional affairs and Figure 3. Increasing perception of unfairn ess as WS P is transport references committee: concept of WSP's were first repeatedly deferred. Rural water usage in Australia, introduced, (Figure 3) . They 26t h August, have, however, increasingly h ttp://wopared.aph.gov.au/ informed of rhe role that they are to play rejected or criticised the way of achieving hansard/senace/commccee/ S6817.pdf (page and nor allowed to be under any it. 56). misapprehension regarding rhe demarcation Hamscead, M 2004, 'Reform of water of their responsibilities. T his research has Conclusions management in N SW • Progress and fucu re also highlighted the swamp of negative directions', paper presented at the Irrigation The mail-out survey used for rhis research sentiment rhar can develop around a policy Aust ralia 2004 Conference. has allowed licence holders to express their rhat starts with limi ted acceptance at rhe l vkovic, K, Letcher, R & Croke, B 2004, opinions freely. While licence holders best, when implementation is delayed. 'Groundwater · river interactions in the disagree among themselves as to rhe Namoi Catchment, NSW and their implicamethod of reduction they are strongly Acknowledgements tions for water aJlocacion.' paper presented at rhe 9th Murray-Darling Basin Groundwater united in reporting char they perceive the This research is part of a larger project Workshop 2004, LaTrobe Universiry, process of the development of the Water fund ed by the Australian Research Council Bendigo Victoria, February. Sharing Plans as having been un fair, and six industry partners: Murray-Darling Kailitzis, P, O'Keefe, V & McDonald, J 2000, confusing and frustrating. Up until now the 'The Long and Winding road to groundBasin Commission, Department of Natural plans, with changing methods of water sustainabiliry in che Namoi valley, Resources; Department of Sustainability entitlement reduction and repeated NSW', paper presented at t he Xch World and Environme11.t1 Goulburn-Murray Wacer Congress, Melbourne, March. deferrals of implementation dates have also Water, Department of Water, Land and Knowles, C 2003, Water Sharing Plans, NSW been seen as contributing to their Biodiversity Conservation and UpMarket Legislative Assembly, 28th October 2003, p. uncertainty, rather than reducing it. Softwa re Services Financial support is also 420 1. Co mbined, this has led to feelings of Leung, K & Li, W 1990, ' Psychological provided by the CRC for Irrigation Futures disillusionment and disaffection. Mechanisms of Process-Control Effects', and the Rural Industries Research and Some of their disquiet can also be journal ofApplied Psychology, 75, 6, Development Corporation. December, 6 13-620. arrribured to a, now apparen tly mistaken, Millar, I 2005, Testing the Waters: Legal belief that they were to be involved with The Authors Challenges to Water Sharing Plans in NSW, the formulation of the WSP rather than Geoff Kuehne is a PhD scholar and Sydney, EDO. just providing an opinion. It seems chat chis Namoi groundwater management committee Henning Bjornlund is an Associate co mbined with rhe failure to consult 2001, Draft water sharing plan for upper and Professor at the Centre for Regulation and appropriately has further damaged an lower Namoi groundwater sources, NGMC. Marker Analysis, University of South already strained relationship berween Nancarrow, B, McCreddin, J & Syme, G 1998, Australia, North Terrace, Adelaide SA licence holders and the government. Developing fair processes for the re-allocation of 500 1. Henning is also a Canadian Research groundwater/or long term sustainability in the Despite serious co ncerns with rhe Chair in Water and rhe Economy Namoi Valley, Perth, CSIRO Land and consulrarion process most licence holders Water. In ternacional, U niversiry of Lerhbridge, are indicating a reluctant preparedness to NSW Government 2000, 'Water Management Alberta Canada. Emails: accept rhe pain of the WSP, which for Ace 2000', Legislative Assembly, Ace No. 92 geoff.kuehne@unisa.edu.au and of 2000, 8th December 2000. most is reduced access to water. It is henning.bjornlund@unisa.edu.au. NSW Government 2005, 'Water Management possible rhac when rhe plans are fin ally Amendment Bill 2005', Legislative Assembly, implemented the dissatisfaction with rhe References Act No. 118 of 2005, 17 th N ovember 2005. development of the plans, and with rhe Bjornlund, H 2004, 'What impedes wacer OECD 2001, Engaging Citizens in Policy· way rhe consultation process was markers?' Water, 31, 7, 47-51. making: Information, Consultation and Public co nducted, will be replaced with a criticism Bridgman, P & Davis, G 2000, The Australian Participation, Paris, OECD. Policy Handbook, 3rd edn, Allen and Unwin, of the outcomes. Upper Namoi Water Users Association Inc & Sydney. Ors v M inister fo r Nacural Resources 2003, The findi ngs suggest rhar in the futur e, A, Crean, J & Young, R 2000, Career, NSWLEC 175 . when dealing with sensitive stakeholder 'Assessing rhe on-farm impacts of groundVan den Bos, K, Lind, E, Vermunt, R & Wilke, groups, attention should be paid to carrying water reallocation policies in the Namoi H 1997, ' H ow do I judge my outcome when out the consultation involved with the Valley', paper presented at che 44th annual I do nor know che outcome of ochers? The implementation of new policy in a way rhar conference of rhe Austral ian Agricultural and Psychology of che Fair Process Effect', does not create furth er problems. Resource Economics Society, Sydney, 22journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 25rh January. 72, 5, May, 1034-1046. Co mmunity groups should be clearly

MAY 2006

Water

Journal of the Australian Water Association

BENCHMARKING PRICING AND SERVICE QUALITY: A NATIONAL FRAMEWORK National Water Commission The Benefits In J u ne 2004, the National Water Initiati ve (NW I) was signed by the Prim e Minister and the Premiers of N ew South Wales, Queensla nd , Victori a and So uth Austral ia, and the C hief Ministers of the Australian Capital T err itory and the N orthern T erri tory. The Premier of T as mania sign ed up co the NWI in June 2005 and the P remier of Wes tern Australia signed in April thi s year. T he NWI sets out objecti ves, outcomes and actions for the ongoin g pursuit of nat ional water reform , and t imelines to achi eve this reform. Amo ng the 70 or so actions listed in the N W I , parties have agreed to report independently, publicly, and on an annu al basis, on benchmarking of pricing and service quality for urban and ru ral water milities. In terms of its coverage of the water sector, this will be a first fo r Australia. Evid ence from the urban water and energy sectors suggests that this type of perfo rmance reporting can not only hel p improve performan ce, but also build co nfidence in the performan ce of provi ders. Urban water utilities have reported significantly imp roved perfo rmance since repo rting commenced, with benefits to customers resulting from better services and standards.

• in fo rm the decision making processes of government, regulatory agencies and water businesses, and • enco urage greater transparency around pricing and price setting processes. National benchmarking reporcs will be based on a nationally consistent performance reporti ng framework which builds on those already in place in the water sector.

The Roundtable Group Developing the reporti ng fra mework is the work of che National Benchmarking

Roundrable Gro up (the Roundtable G roup). T his gro up, fo rmed in September 2005, was instigated by the National Water Commission. T he Roundcable Gro up co mprises representatives of relevant state/terri to ry government age ncies. Since fo rming, the group has met a number of times to discuss the proposed approach to national perfo rmance monitoring and reporti ng while also working to develop natio nal perfo rmance indicators and defin itions. Discussio ns have also been held with Water Services Association of Australia

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Journal of the Australian Water Association

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Water

MAY 2006 83

benchmarking (WSAA), the Australian Water Association (AWA) and the Australian National Com mittee on Irrigation and Drain age (ANCID). The Round table's recommend ed fram ework will ultimately be considered by M inisters in the Natural Resource Management (NRM) Ministerial Co uncil. The design of a national benchmarking framework that delivers the des ired outcomes poses a number of challenges. These include: • reconcilin g the d ifferent and co mplex legislative and pol icy arrangements affecting different businesses within the water sector, and the introduction of a national framewo rk which is o ccurring at a time of significant policy d evelopment and change in the water secto r • reconciling the expectations and obligations being imposed on the water utilities by government, regulators and customers ' service delivery needs and preferences • ensuring that the approach to a national framework strikes an appropriate balance between the n eed s of water custom ers, water businesses, policy makers and regulato rs

• ensuring that the national framewo rk reflects th e diverse nature of the services provided and t he d ifferent operating environments faced by urban and rural water utilities • ensuring that data co ll ection arrangem ents are manageab le and effici ent across the different ju risdicti ons, caking into account cu rrent reporting requiremen ts • ensuri ng chat the co ses o f compliance fo r smaller water u tiliti es are not unduly o nerous, and • ens urin g that consultation and decisio n making o n key issues occurs withi n relatively tight cimelines . W ith these challenges in m ind, che Rou nd cable Group undertook to: • establish p rinciples to guide the development o f a nat ional fra mework • identify the broad areas in which performan ce should be monitored • identify the p erformance indi cato rs chat shou ld apply to urban and ru ral water u cili ties

T he survey requests historical and analytical data from each utility's previous fisca l year. Data collected from individual utilities will remain confidential but will provid e aggregate information for benchmarking. Each participating mility will then receive its own statistical summary to compare to the aggregate data. The Benchmarking Program is a jo int effort of the American Water Works Association (AWWA) and the Water Environment Fed eration. The 22 benchmarks are in five areas: Organizational D evelopment, Business Management, Customer Relations, Water Operations and Wastewater Operations. More than 200 utilities participated in the 2004/2005 survey. A comprehensive data analysis report that more fully interp rets each benchmark indicator is available through the AWWA Bookstore (www.awwa.org/bookstore). The full report, Benchmarking Performance Indicators Survey and Analyses, will b e

84 MAY 2006

water

The Round table Group recogn ises the need to consider aspects of b oth industry and regulatory repo rting, and b e mindful of the different services provided by urban an d rural water busi nesses and facto rs influencing their p erforman ce. The following p ri ncip les, therefore, have guided the Ro undtab le G roup in the developing of a natio nal fra mewo rk and selecting and definin g indicato rs: • performance ind icators need to be relevant to the services provided by each business and to a national assessment of relative performance • performance indicato rs need to be mean ingful and relate to key issues affecting both businesses and their customers • performance indicators need to be defined and collected on a consistent basis across busi nesses to p rovide a valid measure of actual performance and to allow reasonable co mparisons

• develop definitions and thresholds to gu ide che collection of p erfor man ce d ata, and

• the accuracy and reliability of in formation provided by b usinesses must be verifiable

• estab lish processes a nd timelines for repo rting performance data and

• the costs of collecting informa tion and data need to be balanced against the benefi ts of coll ecting the informatio n (the

BENCHMARKING OVERSEAS USA

auditing information to verify its accu racy.

produced every three to four years and presents summary analyses and interpretive text for each performance indicator.

UK In mid-2005, the Water UK report, Towards Sustainability 2003-04, was publish ed. It is the fifth in an annual series, and the second using a full set of indicators. It shows a gradually improving picture, with some key challenges for the future. T h ese 'quality of life' indicators, based on the five kinds of capital defined by Forum for the Future, are: Theme G - Governance, Strategic Planning and Management Theme N - Environment (Natural Capital) Theme S - Society (Social Capital) Theme H - Employees (Human Capital) T heme M - Assets (Manufactured Capital T heme F - Finance (Financial Capital)

Journal of the Australian Water Association

framework should focus on a core set ofkey performance indicators, so it is not unreasonably onerous or costly to implement), and • wherever possible, the framework sho uld draw on accepted existing performance indicators and processes to minim ise the costs o f coll ecting information and to aid comparisons over rime. In relation to chis last principle, the Roundcabl e Gro up is very co nscious chat water businesses already collect and report perfor mance data on a range of indicators fo r various purposes and b odies . Accordingly, a number of info rmation sources have assisted the Roundcabl e Group in d etermining ch e scope of the natio nal fra mework and considering indicators. T he group has given a lot of co nsideration to: • the reporti ng requirements of government agencies • performance indicators and definitions u sed by water businesses for the purposes of commercial reporting to boards and the government, and

• benchmarking activities undertaken by water industry associations such as W SM , AW A and AN CID. The Roundcable Group has been working wi ch industry associations to ensure char the scope of the national framewo rk and associated perfo rmance indicators is mea ningfu l and avoids any unnecessa ry duplication or inconsistency with current performance reporting. Existing performance reporting fram eworks cover the co re issues of public health , quality, network reliability and efficiency and customer service. Information on fi nancial perfo rmance, expenditure against fo recasts and prices is also reported by some businesses. Environmental performance indicators are curren cly repo reed, refl ecting th e importance of susta inability issues in th e water sector. Reporting on the des ign and structure of prices provides a signal to customers about the costs of providi ng services and ensuring that customers und erstand th e nature of the prices being charged.

more meaningfu l reporting and co mpariso n at a national level. The Roundtable G roup form ed a technical sub-group to provide advice and assist in establishing appropriate indicators and definitions, and realistic thresholds where relevant. The technical sub-group consul red closely with WSM to ensure a high level of co nsistency between the defini tion of the proposed narional performance indicators and WSM key performance indicators. T he Roundtable Group has agreed rhat urban water utilities with greater than or equal to 10,000 co nnected properties will be required to report as pare of che national benchmarking framework. T his threshold was chosen to maintain consistency with ch e l 999, 2000 and 200 1 Perform ance Reports fo r Australian Non major Urban Water Utilities, by AWA. .

Progress to Date A consulcacion paper relati ng specifi ca lly to the development of an urban

performance reporting model as pare of the national framework, and which dera ils che perfor mance indicators and high level defin itions, was released on 28 Feb ruary 2006 (visit www.nwc.gov.au/refor m/ nacional_benchmarking.cfm to view a copy of chis paper). This targeted co nsul ta tion ran until 3 1 Ma rch 2006, and has been an important part of developing a relevant and meaningful national framework. A fu ture consultation paper will focus on the developm ent of rural perfo rmance reporting. The Round cable Group will fi nalise the proposed national benchmarking fram ewo rk after giving consideration to comments on the proposed urban performan ce reporting model, and on the indicators and defi ni tions, received through the co nsul tation process. It is expected the NRM Ministerial Co un cil will make a decision on the proposed national benchmarking fram ework in November 2006.

Key Areas Based on these considerations, the Roundtable Group co nsiders that rhe scope of the national benchmarkin g framework should provide information in the foll owing key areas:

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• baseline explanatory data (for example, general uti lity and resource management data such as customer numbers and length of mains) • social data (for example, data relating to charges and bills and levels of service) • health data (fo r example, compliance wi th water quality guidelines and standards) • environmental data (fo r example, data relatin g to residential co nsumpti on per property, environmental compliance and re-use and recycling), and • financial data (fo r example, data rela ci ng co pri cing, operating cost per prope rty, full cost recovery and financial perfo rmance).

The si gnificant differences in the na ture of urban and rural water utili ties and the diversity of operating environments faced by these businesses make it impractical to develop a singl e sec of national performance indicators across both sectors. T he R oundtable G roup agreed chat reporting the performance of urban water utilities and rural water utiliti es with separate sets of indicators would res ul t in

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Journal of the Australian Water Association

Water

MAY 2006

Supplying Panel Tank Systems TankTech is distributing the Sekisui Panel Tank system in Australia. Constructed from panels made from glass reinforced polyester (G RP), and manufactured with the exclusive Matched Metal Dye (MMD), considered the most technically advanced form of manufacture today, the Sekisui Tan k systems range from 250 litres to 5 million litres in volume, making them very versatile.

Water Business aims co keep readers alert co business news and new product releases within the water seccor. Media releases should be emailed to Brian Rault at b rian.raulc@halledic.com.au or Tel (03) 8534 501 4. AWA wishes to advise readers that Water Business informatio n is supplied by third parries and as such, AWA is not responsible for the accuracy, or o t herwise, of che infor mation submitted. users, on average, reduced shower volumes by 14.8% - the equivalent of 54 showers per person each year.

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Commercialisation Partner Sought for Smart Water Meter An Australian company, Invetech, has developed a 'smart' shower meter that gives people a user-friendly, flexib le way of monitoring shower water usage in real time as well as prompting them to reduce their water consump tion. According to results from a recent fivemonth trial involving ho useholds across Melbourne by I nvetech, the participating

Trial results demonstrated consistent and stable savings over its d uration as a result of newly established water efficient showering habits reinforced d uring the exercise. O ne of the in novative features on the Smart Shower meter, was a data logging faci lity allowing water usage co be monitored and savings to be assessed. The p roject was co-funded by lnvetech and the Smart Water Fund, which consists of Melbourne's water businesses - City West Water, South East Water, Yarra Valley Water and Melbourne Water, together with the Victorian governmen t. A h igh p roportion of participants indicated that they would consider p urchasing a Smart Shower Meter if it was commercially available. This is furthe r sup ported by a rapid payback period compared co other household water saving products. Indeed, the results showed that the most efficient water users in the trial would payback the device within just 18 months.

Invetech is currently seeking a partner to commercialise the device. www.invetech.com.au www.smartwater.com. au

Bangkok Water Authority to Use Flowmeters to Reduce Water Loss ABB's instrumentation factory in the UK is supplying 400 MagMaster electromagnetic

water meters as part of a $4 million contract to help the Metropolitan Water Authority (MWA) in Bangkok reduce the volume of water that it doesn't get paid for. This so-called ' non- reven ue' water is mainly lost though leaks, although metering inaccuracies and authorised unbilled consumption (for example, by the fi re services) all play a role. MWA supplies 4.3 million cubic metres of potable water per day to customers through a 22,000 kilometre pipeline network covering Bangkok and the surrounding district. This region is home to a growing population currently estimated to be around 13 million people, with a service area covering some 1,5 15 square kilometres. ABB Italy is supplying CTU800-CPE remote terminal un its to transmit the flow and pressure data from the water meters to ABB's Information Management System (PGIM) and Water Leakage Management System (WLMS). This allows MWA to access all the information fro m a central location.

ABB Magmaster Flowmeter Additionally, ABB's scope of supply also includes the expansion of an existing ABB SCADA system, AC800M controller and System 800xA, at MWA's D istribution Con trol Center (DCC). T his enables MWA to share information between the water leakage control center and DCC to achieve greater overall operational efficiency. ABB MagMaster meters are ideal for this type of application. D istrict metering accurately measures the flow of water into different sectors as a way of monitoring patterns of water consumption as well as checking for leaks. Detailed analyses are made at night, when domestic consump tion ' ' 1' s at a minimum.

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MAY 2006

Water

Journal of the Australian Water Association