A strategic partnership promoting water sensitive urban design to the southern Tasmanian community

The United Nation's 1992 action plan for sustainability, Agenda 21, focussed international attention on the need for integrated management of freshwater resources. The goal of such management is twofold: to ensure adequate supplies of water of good quality are maintained for the entire human population while preserving the regenerative capacity of ecosystems. Although this goal was not new, Agenda 21 marked an important shift in awareness towards the need for such management in urban environments. Since this time, Water Sensitive Urban Design (XX/SUD) has emerged as a vital element of integrated water management in many countries, including Australia. An inter-related set of planning, design and engineering approaches, WSUD treats stormwater as a resource rather than a nuisance. In contrast to conventional conveyance approaches, WSUD maximises stormwater retention and reuse as a way of conserving water resources and reducing pollutant loads into ecological systems. The adoption of WSUD as a default urban management practice is, however, highly dependent on government authorities, industry and urban residents. Developing the capacity of these groups to understand, implement and promote WSUD is of critical importance in achieving urban sustainability. This thesis reviews several current strategies for enhancing this capacity in Australia, before providing a detailed case study of a project partnership promoting the benefits of WSUD in Southern Tasmania. Particular attention is given to barriers to the uptake of WSUD within the plumbing industry. It is concluded that the case study partnership has achieved most of its stated objectives. More creative approaches are required, however, to develop the capacity of plumbers to act as WSUD practitioners. Equally, new approaches are needed to build the capacity of local government to embed WSUD within planning frameworks.