Driving the Future of Water Policy and Planning
Queensland is facing many difficult challenges to do with the efficient and sustainable management of water in the region. Alan Hoban, Principal Environmental Engineer, Bligh Tanner, gives an overview of current issues in the industry.
How do you cut the costs of water, wastewater and stormwater infrastructure across Queensland? How do you set up the right governance structures for decentralised water supplies? And what should the next generation of water sensitive urban design principles look like? These are just some of the questions our clients are asking us.
This year we’ve been helping a number of clients with strategic policy and planning work, all centred around achieving great environmental, social and economic outcomes for the community. The water industry is currently focused on the big picture and how we can best use planning schemes and incentives to foster good urban design.
Other ongoing policy issues we are looking at are the real costs and benefits of stormwater quality offsets, and what should a state-wide offsets policy look like; and what is the best solution for managing wastewater for a new city of 50,000 people — centralised, decentralised, hybrid or staged?
Although the issues can be complex, the industry is stepping up to the challenge to find more cost effective ways to manage water quality, and new ways to deal with erosion and sediment control among others. We’re working on a wide range of projects that require a pro-active and creative approach such as a self-sufficient subdivision, major stormwater harvesting schemes, creek restoration works, sustainable schools, and a suite of other commercial, industrial and residential projects.
We’ve also recently joined the CRC for Water Sensitive Cities, which is undertaking inter-disciplinary research that will revolutionise water management in Australia and overseas. We will be collaborating with over 70 research, industry and government partners to find answers to the challenges of urban water reform, and transform cities into liveable, sustainable and productive cities.
We’ve been privileged to work with a great range of collaborators so far this year, and are looking forward to helping our clients stay at the cutting edge of policy and practice over the coming months to provide the best water and wastewater management solutions for our communities.
