Any proposal to provide non-drinking water in a new urban development should:
- meet required water quality standards to protect public health and the environment
- reduce demand for drinking water supplies without increasing the total volume of water used
- consider site-specific constraints to non-drinking water schemes, such as proximity to conservation category wetlands or for locations within public drinking water source areas and the availability of groundwater.
- deliver sustainable solutions that take account of environmental, economic and social considerations.
Better Urban Water Management
The Better Urban Water Management framework (WAPC, 2008) provides guidance on the implementation of State planning policy 2.9 Water resources (Government of WA, 2006), which was a requirement of the State water strategy for Western Australia (Government of WA, 2003). The two documents are available from the Western Australian Planning Commission website.
The framework is designed to facilitate better management and use of water resources by ensuring an appropriate level of consideration is given to the total water cycle at each stage of the planning system. The document assists regional, district and local land-use planning, as well as subdivision and development phases of the planning process. The document is to be used by all stakeholders and decision makers and has state-wide application for new urban, commercial, industrial and rural-residential developments.
This framework provides a mechanism for the investigation and discussion of impacts on the quality and quantity of the state's water resources that alternative sources can have for a specific area and scheme.
The Department of Water has produced several guidelines to assist in the development of strategies and plans required under the framework. These are available on the department's website.
Urban water capacity building program for local governments
The Department of Water's urban water capacity building program works one-on-one with local governments to provide seminars on the Better Urban Water Management process and best practices for stormwater management, based on the Department of Water's Stormwater management manual for Western Australia (2004–2007) and the Better Urban Water Management planning framework. Contact: stormwater@water.wa.gov.au for more details.