Understanding water words - glossary
Making sense of the terminology
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Introduction
Click on any term to find its definition. You’ll also find other useful information related to that term, such as alternative words, related topics and useful resources.
Alternative water supplies
Definition: Water supplied from a diverse range of alternative sources including stormwater, recycled water, rainwater, desalination and groundwater. These sources provide an alternative to conventional water sources such as dams.
Alternative words: Water for purpose, Fit for purpose water, Purpose-specific water treatment, Repurpose water, Urban stormwater, Stormwater runoff
Related terms: Biofiltration, Fit for purpose water, Raingardens, Stormwater management, Water sensitive urban design (WSUD)
Related topics: Alternative water supplies, Design and implementation, Green infrastructure, Groundwater, Managed aquifer recharge, Operation and Maintenance, Rainwater and stormwater harvesting, Stormwater treatment, Water sensitive homes and buildings, Water sensitive streets and carparks, Wastewater management and recycling
Useful resources:
Biofiltration
Definition: The process of improving stormwater (or wastewater) quality and reducing stormwater volumes and runoff frequency through physical filtering, chemical binding, and biological processing and uptake of pollutants (e.g. suspended solids, chemicals, pathogens). Constructed biological treatment systems, referred to as biofilters, use soil and vegetation to mitigate the impacts of increased stormwater runoff associated with urbanisation on the natural environment (particularly waterways). Biofilters integrated with the urban landscape can also contribute to urban cooling and amenity.
You can go to our Communicating water words and visuals page, to find out how to use this term in your communications material.
Alternative words: Pollution control, Bioretention systems, Raingardens, Biofiltration systems
Related terms: Alternative water supplies, Raingardens, Stormwater management, Water sensitive urban design (WSUD)
Related topics: Alternative water supplies, Design and implementation, Green infrastructure, Operation and Maintenance, Rainwater and stormwater harvesting, Stormwater treatment, Water sensitive homes and buildings, Water sensitive streets and carparks
Useful resources:
Fit-for-purpose water
Definition: Fit-for-purpose water production provides water supply to meet the demands for water of various quality levels, based on its use (e.g. potable or non-potable)
You can go to our Communicating water words and visuals page, to find out how to use this term in your communications material.
Alternative words: Alternative water supply, Purpose-specific water, Repurpose water
Related terms: Alternative water supplies, Biofiltration, Raingardens, Stormwater treatment, Water sensitive urban design (WSUD)
Related topics: Alternative water supplies, Design and implementation, Green infrastructure, Groundwater, Operation and Maintenance, Rainwater and stormwater harvesting, Stormwater treatment, Water sensitive homes and buildings, Water sensitive streets and carparks, Wastewater management and recycling
Useful resources:
Green infrastructure
Definition: The public and private green spaces in our cities that can provide a range of water cycle benefits if they are managed as an integrated system. These green spaces range in scale from single trees in a city street to golf courses, parks and waterway corridors that can shape the urban landscape. Some are natural, such as areas of remnant native vegetation, while others are more engineered, such as green roofs, green walls, biofilters and raingardens.
You can go to our Communicating water words and visuals page, to find out how to use this term in your communications material.
Alternative words: Sustainable and resilient infrastructure
Related terms: Alternative water supplies, Biofiltration, Raingardens, Stormwater treatment, Water sensitive urban design (WSUD)
Related topics: Alternative water supplies, Design and implementation, Green infrastructure, Groundwater, Operation and Maintenance, Rainwater and stormwater harvesting, Stormwater treatment, Wastewater management and recycling, Water sensitive homes and buildings, Urban waterways
Useful resources:
- Adoption Guidelines for Green Treatment Technologies
- The climatic benefits of green infrastructure
- Ideas for the Subiaco Strategic Resource Precinct
- Planning for cooler cities: A framework to prioritise green infrastructure to mitigate high temperatures in urban landscapes
- Green infrastructure for cities
Greywater
Definition: Wastewater discharges from washing basins, baths and showers
Alternative words: Sullage, Light greywater, Light wastewater
Related terms: Alternative water supplies, Water sensitive urban design (WSUD)
Related topics: Alternative water supplies, Design and implementation, Wastewater management and recycling, Water sensitive homes and buildings
Related topics: Alternative water supplies, Design and implementation, Wastewater management and recycling, Water sensitive homes and buildings
Useful resources:
Integrated urban water management (IUWM)
Definition: The managed hydrological cycles and systems of a water sensitive city. IUWM seeks to change the impact of urban development on the natural water cycle, based on the premise that by managing the urban water cycle as a whole, a more efficient use of resources can be achieved, providing not only economic benefits but also improved social and environmental outcomes (Barton et al. 2009). IUWM builds on existing water supply and sanitation considerations within urban areas by incorporating water resources and their uses that lie outside of the piped supply and wastewater systems.
Alternative words: Urban water management, Water cycle management, Integrated water management, Integrated water resource management, Integrated water cycle management
Related terms: Alternative water supplies, Water Sensitive City, Urban water cycle
Related topics: Alternative water supplies, Water sensitive precincts
Useful resources:
Liveability
Definition: Factors that improve the ‘quality of life’ or ‘wellbeing’ of the inhabitants of a city or place
Alternative words: Liveable cities
Related terms: Water sensitive city
Related topics: Amenity and urban greening, Water sensitive parks and open spaces, Water sensitive precincts, Waterway naturalisation
Useful resources:
Microclimate
Definition: Conditions and climatic parameters of a localised area that differ from those of the general region
Now, go to our Communicating water words and visuals page, and find out how to use this term in your communications material.
Alternative words: Localised environment, mini climate, local conditions
Related terms: Urban heat island
Related topics: Monitoring and evaluation, Mitigating climate change impacts, Urban heat island mitigation, Water sensitive streets and carparks
Useful resources:
- Determine the microclimatic influence of harvesting solutions and WSUD at the micro-scale. Presented as: FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
- Case Study: Dubbo Urban Heat Island Amelioration Project
- The climatic benefits of green infrastructure
- Trees for a cool city: Guidelines for optimised tree placement
- Planning for cooler cities: A framework to prioritise green infrastructure to mitigate high temperatures in urban landscapes
Raingarden
Definition: An innovative water sensitive urban design (WSUD) element whereby a specifically designed garden captures stormwater from hard surfaces, such as driveways, patios and roofs via downpipes, then treats it for reuse
You can go to our Communicating water words and visuals page, to find out how to use this term in your communications material.
Alternative words: Biofilter
Related terms: Alternative water supplies, Biofiltration, Green infrastructure, Stormwater management, water sensitive urban design (WSUD)
Related topics: Alternative water supplies, Design and implementation, Green infrastructure, Operation and Maintenance, Rainwater and stormwater harvesting, Stormwater treatment, Water sensitive homes and buildings
Useful resources:
Recycled water
Definition: Greywater or sewage that is treated, stored and reused for non-potable uses
You can go to our Communicating water words and visuals page, to find out how to use this term in your communications material.
Alternative words: Treated greywater, Treated sewage
Related terms: Alternative water supplies, Water sensitive urban design (WSUD)
Related topics: Alternative water supplies, Design and implementation, Wastewater management and recycling, Water sensitive homes and buildings
Useful resources:
Resilient city
Definition: A city that has communities, individuals, institutions, businesses and systems that are able to grow, develop, adapt, progress, recover and sustain in the face of challenges and drivers such as climate change, population growth, climate variability, urbanisation, and changing economic and institutional conditions1
Related terms: Water sensitive city
Related topics: Community engagement, Governance and policy, Flood resilience, Leadership and influence, Regulation and legislation, Urban planning (statutory, strategic, land use), Water literacy and behaviour change
Useful resources:
Scenario Tool
Definition: A CRCWSC planning support tool that enables users to assess the evolution of urban infrastructure, water networks and population demographics over time
Alternative words: Urban planning-support tool
Related terms: CRCWSC Modelling Toolkit, DAnCE4Water
Related topics: Benchmarking and decision support, Design and implementation, Green infrastructure, Monitoring and evaluation, Urban planning (statutory, strategic, land use)
Useful resources:
Sponge city
Definition: A city that is designed to passively absorb, clean and use rainfall in an ecologically friendly way that reduces dangerous and polluted runoff. Also, a city that has the capacity to mainstream urban water management into urban planning policies and designs
Related terms: Alternative water supplies, Integrated urban water management (IUWM), Resilience, Stormwater management
Related topics: Alternative water supplies, Design and implementation, Flood resilience, Governance and policy, Green infrastructure, Operation and Maintenance, Rainwater and stormwater harvesting, Stormwater treatment, Water sensitive homes and buildings, Urban planning (statutory, strategic, land use)
Useful resources:
Stormwater
Definition: Water generated predominantly from impervious surfaces (roofs, roads, footpaths and other hard surfaces) as a result of rainfall events. Rainwater (water originating from roofs) is a component of stormwater. The collection, treatment, storage and use of stormwater is referred to as stormwater harvesting.
You can go to our Communicating water words and visuals page, to find out how to use this term in your communications material.
Alternative words: Rainwater
Related terms: Alternative water supplies, Biofiltration, Green infrastructure, Raingardens, Stormwater management, Water sensitive urban design (WSUD)
Related topics: Alternative water supplies, Design and implementation, Governance and policy, Green infrastructure, Operation and Maintenance, Rainwater and stormwater harvesting, Stormwater treatment, Water sensitive homes and buildings, Water sensitive parks and open spaces, Water sensitive streets and carparks, Urban waterways
Useful resources:
Stormwater management
Definition: Technological and institutional initiatives and interventions to mitigate the impacts on the natural environment of excess stormwater (quality and quantity) resulting from urbanisation
Alternative words:
Related terms: Alternative water supplies, Biofiltration, Green infrastructure, Raingardens, Stormwater, Water sensitive urban design (WSUD)
Related topics: Alternative water supplies, Design and implementation, Governance and policy, Green infrastructure, Operation and Maintenance, Rainwater and stormwater harvesting, Stormwater treatment, Water sensitive homes and buildings, Water sensitive parks and open spaces, Water sensitive streets and carparks, Urban planning (statutory, strategic, land use), Urban waterways
Useful resources:
- blueprint2013
- Adoption guidelines for stormwater biofiltration
- Waterproofing the west case study
- Expansion of stormwater quality requirements in the City of Moonee Valley local planning scheme case study
- Kalkallo stormwater harvesting and reuse case study
- Valuing the benefits of local stormwater management
- Orange stormwater to potable Case Study
- Performance of two urban stormwater biofilters in an area with seasonally high groundwater
Transition
Definition: A fundamental shift in cultures, structures and practices as society changes from one pattern of socio-technological development to another (usually more sustainable) pattern
Related terms: Transition Dynamics Framework, Transition Pathways Framework, Urban Water Transitions Framework
Related topics: Community engagement, Governance and policy, Leadership and influence, Water literacy and behaviour change
Useful resources:
Transition Dynamics Framework
Definition: A module within the CRCWSC’s Water Sensitive Cities Transition Planning Process focused on identifying priority strategies for advancing the transition to water sensitive practices. The framework conceptualises how systemwide changes in practice (e.g. the transition to water sensitive practices) unfold over time, based on the establishment of key enabling factors: individual and organisational champions, platforms for connecting, science and knowledge, projects and applications, and tools and instruments
Related terms: Transition, Transition Pathways Framework, Urban Water Transitions Framework
Related topics: Benchmarking and decision support, Community engagement, Governance and policy, Leadership and influence, Training and capacity building, Water literacy and behaviour change
Useful resources:
Transition Pathways Framework
Definition: A CRCWSC framework for identifying three key pathways along which change needs to be pursued if cities and regions want to move towards more water sensitive systems and communities. The three pathways are enabling structures (the broader social, political and economic framework in which urban water management takes place), on-ground practices (what gets done on the ground to deliver Water Sensitive City outcomes), and socio-political capital (support for pursuing the Water Sensitive City goals).
Related terms: Transition, Transition Dynamics Framework, Urban Water Transitions Framework, Water sensitive cities
Related topics: Benchmarking and decision support
Useful resources:
Urban heat island effect (UHI)
Definition: The effect of a localised increase in heat (temperature) within urban areas relative to surrounding natural or rural environments, as a result of the greater amount of impervious surfaces and thermal mass within those urban areas. Heat mitigation actions, such as increasing green spaces, limits the magnitude and/or rate of warming within urban environments.
You can go to our Communicating water words and visuals page, to find out how to use this term in your communications material.
Alternative words: City climate, City heat, Inner city warming, Urban heat island effect
Related terms: Green infrastructure, Microclimate
Related topics: Green infrastructure, Monitoring and evaluation, Mitigating climate change impacts, Urban heat island mitigation
Useful resources:
- Determine the microclimatic influence of harvesting solutions and WSUD at the micro-scale. Presented as: FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
- The climatic benefits of green infrastructure
- Trees for a cool city: Guidelines for optimised tree placement
- Case Study: Dubbo Urban Heat Island Amelioration Project
- Planning for cooler cities: A framework to prioritise green infrastructure to mitigate high temperatures in urban landscapes
Urban metabolism
Definition: The process of resources flowing through and being transformed and consumed within an urban entity, to sustain all the technical and socio-economic processes that occur within in it
Alternative words: City water and energy flows, City metabolism
Related terms: Urban water cycle, Urban water mass balance
Related topics: Urban metabolism, Urban waterways
Useful resources:
Urban water cycle
Definition: The natural and anthropomorphic movement and use of water within a city, including rainfall, stormwater flows, evapotranspiration, groundwater movement, water supply and use, wastewater collection, storage, treatment, recycling and disposal
Related terms: Alternative water supplies, Integrated urban water management (IUWM), stormwater management, Urban metabolism, Urban water mass balance
Related topics: Alternative water supplies, Groundwater, Rain and stormwater harvesting, Stormwater treatment, Urban metabolism, Urban waterways, Wastewater management and recycling, Water sensitive urban design (WSUD)
Useful resources:
Urban water mass balance
Definition: In the context of hydrology, an equation that describes the flow of water in and out of an entity/system (sum of the inflow = sum of the outflows and the change in storage), with the change in storage acting as a check for the conservation of mass. The concept of the urban water mass balance is a useful starting point for understanding the water performance of an urban area. It quantifies all water flows through an urban area, in both the natural water cycle and the urban water cycle, to show how they are influenced by urban development.
Related terms: Integrated urban water management (IUWM), Urban metabolism, Urban water cycle
Related topics: Urban metabolism, Urban planning (statutory, strategic, land use), Urban waterways
Useful resources:
Urban water Transitions Framework
Definition: A framework that conceptualises six different forms of urban water servicing as a city responds to evolving drivers: Water Supply City, Sewered City, Drained City, Waterways City, Water Cycle City, and Water Sensitive City
Alternative words: City states continuum
Related terms: Water Sensitive City
Related topics: Benchmarking and decision support
Useful resources:
Wastewater
Definition: Greywater and sewage discharged from a variety of sources including domestic, industrial, commercial and agricultural waste
Alternative words: Greywater or Sullage, Black water (sewage discharge)
Related terms: Alternative water supplies, Water sensitive urban design (WSUD)
Related topics: Alternative water supplies, Design and implementation, Wastewater management and recycling, Water sensitive homes and buildings
Useful resources:
Water Sensitive City
Definition: A place that:
- serves as a potential water supply catchment, providing a range of different water sources at a range of different scales, and for a range of different uses
- provides ecosystem services and a healthy natural environment, thereby offering a range of social, ecological and economic benefits
- consists of water sensitive communities where citizens have the knowledge and desire to make wise choices about water, are actively engaged in decision making, and demonstrate positive behaviours.
You can go to our Communicating water words and visuals page, to find out how to use this term in your communications material.
Alternative words: Waterwise city, Ecocity, Water friendly and water conscious city
Related terms: Integrated urban water management (IUWM), Liveability, Resilience, Urban Water Transitions Framework, Water Sensitive Cities Index
Related topics: All topics on our website are relevant: go to topics web page)
Useful resources:
Water Sensitive Cities Index
Definition: A CRCWSC tool to benchmark and diagnose the water sensitive performance of a place (from the municipal to metropolitan scale), based on 34 indicators under seven water sensitive goals: good water sensitive governance, community capital, equity of essential services, productivity and resource efficiency, ecological health, quality urban space, and adaptive infrastructure
Alternative words: Water Sensitive Cities Benchmarking
Related terms: Water Sensitive City, Urban Water Transition Framework
Related topics: Benchmarking and decision support
Useful resources:
- Benchmarking using the Water Sensitive Cities Index video
- Water Sensitive Cities Index web page
- Water Sensitive Cities Index – model information and link to the Index web interface
- A Water Sensitive Cities Index to support transitions to more liveable, sustainable, resilient and productive cities
- A Water Sensitive Cities Index – Benchmarking cities in developed and developing countries
- Beyond benchmarking: A water sensitive cities index
- Test whether your city is water sensitive (and prove it)
- How water sensitive is your city?
Water sensitive urban design (WSUD)
Definition: An approach to the planning and design of urban environments focused on integrating the urban water cycle (including potable water, wastewater and stormwater) with the built and natural urban landscape. It is linked to ecologically sustainable development, with a focus on the sustainable management of urban water resources and environmental protection, and the enhancement of socio-cultural conditions.
Alternative words: Low impact development, Sustainable urban drainage systems, Best management practices, Green infrastructure
Related terms: Alternative water supplies, Biofiltration, Green infrastructure, Raingardens, Stormwater management, Urban water cycle
Related topics: Alternative water supplies, Design and implementation, Green infrastructure, Groundwater, Operation and Maintenance, Rainwater and stormwater harvesting, Stormwater treatment, Wastewater management and recycling, Water sensitive homes and buildings, Water sensitive streets and carparks, Urban planning (statutory, strategic, land use), Urban waterways
Useful resources:
- Analysing water sensitive urban design options
- Community perceptions of the implementation and adoption of WSUD approaches for stormwater management
- A guide for monitoring the performance of WSUD elements in areas with high groundwater
- Nonmarket Valuation of Water Sensitive Cities: Current Knowledge and Issues
- Impacts of WSUD solutions on human thermal comfort
- Policy Framework for Water Sensitive Urban Design in 5 Australian Cities
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