Flood Resilience

Flooding poses a major risk to communities and economies in many cities and towns. Urban areas are commonly located near waterways and coastlines, where increased frequency of rainfall events will increase flood risk. Furthermore, in urban areas, drainage systems were often built to service areas which have since become substantially more impervious than what was planned for due to increasing densities and paved areas. Water sensitive city solutions can be used to intercept and store runoff to minimise downstream flood risk, and to also adapt urban spaces to become more resilient to flooding.

Non-drinking water in the City of Salisbury is called ‘Salisbury Water’ and is a mix of treated stormwater and native groundwater which is used to irrigate parks, reserves, schools as well as used in industry and for toilet/garden use in some new residential developments. Collection, storage and distribution of the water uses constructed wetlands, Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) and over 150km of ‘purple pipe’ distribution network across the City.

The low-lying suburb of Elwood in inner Melbourne has had ongoing flooding issues for a long time. A proactive engagement was delivered to partner with communities and develop a shared understanding of the challenges and co-design possible solutions.

A natural depression, Elizabeth Street in Central Melbourne is prone to flooding, having an impact on local economies and communities. The Integrated Water Cycle Management (IWCM) Plan for the catchment seeks to integrate the inclusion of stormwater harvesting and storage at the top of the catchment to reduce flood risk.

Transformation of a parklands area to a multi-functional landscape in Kunshan, China. The parklands include ecological wetlands that provide water quality treatment for the adjoining canal network, and provides storage of flood water when needed.

This scale and profile presented a unique opportunity in building water sensitive cities, as the economies of scale help to support novel infrastructure approaches and ‘best in class’ approaches to water servicing and urban development.