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Greg Bruce Manager Environmental Management

Evolution of Total Water Cycle Management in Townsville City an infrastructure based approach from “Creek to Coral“ Tuesday, 28 th February 2006. Greg Bruce Manager Environmental Management. Welcome to Townsville.

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Greg Bruce Manager Environmental Management

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  1. Evolution of Total Water Cycle Management in Townsville City an infrastructure based approach from “Creek to Coral“ Tuesday, 28th February 2006 Greg Bruce Manager Environmental Management

  2. Welcome to Townsville • Townsville is Queensland’s largest regional City, and together with the neighbouring City of Thuringowa is home to over 158,500 people and covering a combined area of c. 4000 km2 (TCC – 1800 km2)

  3. Image from NASA WorldWind Wet Tropics WHA Townsville City RAMSAR Wetlands Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area

  4. Townsville and proximity to Great Barrier Reef & World Heritage Areas

  5. A Distinctive Queensland Experience • Townsville is where the Tropical Savannas meet the coast and is the southern gateway to the Wet Tropics and at the City’s Strand foreshore abuts the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area

  6. Townsville Citiwater Biogas Project Grid-connected cogeneration, renewable

  7. Water Governance Challenges: • Proximity to Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area • Impost of additional financial and environmental regulations • Lack of knowledge of tropical ecosystems and impacts • Defining management actions and lacking expertise • Fragmentation of jurisdictions, planning, regulation, and failure to understand inherent interconnectiveness of water cycle • Lack of ownership by people of problems and solutions – “belongs to government not us”

  8. As expressed by AWA:the “separation of the urban water supply and wastewater system from the stormwater system” and does “not reflect the theoretical water cycle” (2002 Senate Inquiry into Australia’s Urban Water Management)

  9. “The major threats to the health, productivity and biodiversity of coastal and marine environments result from human activities on land. In many cases water resources in streams, rivers and groundwater reservoirs transport pathogens, nutrients, sediments, heavy metals, persistent organic pollutants and litter large distances from the hilltops to the oceans”. Hilltops2Oceans (H2O) Partnership Initiative, 2004

  10. “There is no solution that can be successful from the top down. We must build social capital at the grass roots – empowering communities” Ismail Serageldin of the World Bank, (in Hatziolos, Hooten, Fodor, 1997).

  11. Process to Total Water Cycle Management: • Drivers for Change • Acting Locally – Commencing the Journey • From Stormwater to Total Water – Citiworks and Citiwater • Integrating with and acknowledge community • Evolving to Creek to Coral (connecting land, water and marine environment) • Integrating total water with Sustainability and urban development

  12. Our Council’s total water mgt approach shows: • Changes in culture and management in TCC • Evolving an approachlinking water utility management with Wetlands, Waterways, Ecosystems, Community & overall Sustainability • Community acknowledgement and involvement • Consideration of the marine environment • Partnership with the City of Thuringowa (COT) & EPA • Removing fragmentation, Jurisdiction, planning and regulation, environment and industry • on the infrastructure-based and community involvement project “Creek to Coral”.

  13. More specifically: Involving Key Aspects • Commitment to Fostering Partnerships • Adaptability (adaptive management) • Ownership of the Water Cycle • Within a framework of co-learning and community development • In model of scarce resources and requiring innovation • Involving Engineers, Environment Officers, NGO (CVA), Volunteers, Students (School / University) and Community Groups • Framework of “4C’s”Catchment Tours, Curriculum, Creekwatch, & Coast-Marine • Knowledge & Communication Networks – Sustainable Education Network & Centre for Excellence in Tropical Design (CETD – Sustainability & Innovation)

  14. Council’s approach in integrated water management evolved from conflict into partnership • Commencing with our drainage engineers and conflict with mangrove and drains and flood management • Water management initially focused on stormwater and water quality • The Urban Stormwater Quality Management Plan (1998) allowed TCC to acquire funding to implement integrated stormwater improvement www.soe-townsville.org/stormwater/ • This led to partnership between TCC Environmental Management Services and Citiworks, creating sustainable engineering solutions to stormwater management issues

  15. Key outcomes of the NHT Clean Seasand USI projects are: • Infrastructure to capture pollutants • Opportunity to monitor urban water quality • Results indicating high nutrient levels (Sadler, 2003) • Council’s capacity to provide integrated solutions to water: (eg. stormwater and fish habitat) • And • The newly-forged Engineering–Environmental partnership became,the catalyst for managing the Total Water Cycle “Rainfall to Outfall”

  16. A National Report on Urban Water stated that: “One clear lesson from the project (TCC’s Clean Seas & Urban Stormwater Initiative) is the benefit of protection of the whole system – including land and water use policies for contiguous and surround sites – rather than simply addressing components of it, such as the construction of “end of pipe” wetlands prior to discharge”. “The Value of Water - Urban Water Management Inquiry” (2002) and yet: This National Water report still did not address the roles of natural & ecological systems in water management, and Made no attempt to link urban water with the impacts of land-based activities on the marine environment,

  17. FROM STORMWATER TO TOTAL WATER ENTER CITIWATER • Commence … “holy grail” triple bottom line concepts of sustainability, including: • Rainfall to Outfall; • Traditional Waterwise; • Methane capture. • Since then: • A movement towards managing water resources as a whole; • An adaptive learning journey. • remembering that “Value of Water” maintains the compartmentalised approach is the norm

  18. Integrating Total Water Cycle Management with Sustainability and Urban Development • Council’s Sustainable Townsville programme • World Class Water Recycling Commitment90% Dry Weather reuse by 2008 • Increased energy requirements = CO2e emissions up • Linking energy and water (carbon neutral) • (see www.soe-townsville.org/sustainable/water)

  19. Accelerated Sustainability intensive planning(AtKisson Accelerator) May 2004, • Water - a key natural “system” • A locally “global” or city-wide • Energy-water • (see www.soe-townsville.org/atkisson/)

  20. Nature Systems – Water Cycle Management Nature Systems Maps Catchment Management Waterway stormwater Homes / water conservation Industry / Parks water conservation Wastewater efficiency TBL Regulatory effectiveness / appropriate Energy Management opportunities www.SOE-Townsville.org/atkisson/

  21. Carbon Neutral Water Recycling Project

  22. “Creek to Coral” incorporates four key responses and working groups: • Infrastructure (water, wastewater, dams, drains & waterways) • Community Involvement and Partnership, • Integrated Monitoring & Research, and • Environmental Emergency Response • (Creek to Coral Business Plan, 2004).

  23. “Creek to Coral” is a different approach. • Demonstrates a change in culture and a willingness to partner. • In sync with three of four International Coral Reef Initiative’s (ICRI) themes: • Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM), • Capacity Building, • Research and Monitoring • (ICRI Renewed Call to Action, 1998).

  24. Natural Resources Management of Waterways & Catchments BCTB Townsville Natural Heritage Trust & (Budekin Dry City Council Regional Arrangements Tropics Board) in partnership Creekwatch with CoT & EPA Landcare NaREF Bushcare (Natural Resources Sustainable Sewage Seagrass Watch &Management Management Stormwater quality Reef Check Forum) of Water Water Supply Management Grondwater regulation Community Infrastructure, Ports Aspirations waterways, & Involvement & wetlands NaREF Creek to coral Community Based approach Infrastructure Base

  25. Local - Townsville Globally and nationally Sustain – Youth Environment Network World Ocean Networknetwork of educators and communicators Creek to Coral - an infrastructure based approach networked UN Hilltops2Oceans & FreshCo / ICRI / Global Water Partnership ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability Sustainable Townsville a cluster networks and sustainability Centre of Excellence in Tropical Design (Sustainability & Innovation) Queensland Water Directorate

  26. Community-Based Education & Involvement (CBEI) • Community education has been an integral component of the shift in transformation of cultures and paradigms within TCC concerning water management over the last 10 years • To be effective requires an on-going commitment to partnering-networks, and community capacity building is crucial to foster and engender city-wide ownership of catchment programs & water quality management • This commitment provides a basis for a co-learning environment guided by the principles of Community Development, • And is reflective of both local, regional, national and international policy development shifts and needs.www.soe-townsville.org/communityeducation/

  27. In 2004 over 2000 students were involved in local ‘learn-scape’ tours visiting Townsville’s wetlands, waterways, coastal scapes and catchments from: • Hilltops and Summits, Lakes & Waterways, Water Treatment Facilities, Wastewater/Water Recycling Treatment Plants, Creeks & Pollution Control systems, Strand Wind Turbine (renewable energy education), and Marine Environment • Eco-catchment tours are an excellent way to celebrate annual environmental events and activities such as: • - World Wetlands Day - World Water Day - World Ocean Day

  28. Eco-catchment tours now underpin the community framework for fostering city-wide catchment education and involvement by simply showing the community the environment that we live in • The tours have facilitated and are building capacity for enhanced community participation in environmental activities and on-going, long-term ownership of local environments and habitats as well as generating interest, awareness and appreciation for the local environment

  29. Creekwatch • Creekwatch is setup to empower community ownership and participation where it is otherwise missing or resources are poor • Provides an appropriate framework of support, flexible, teambuilding & diversity of activities for participants • There are three locally active Creekwatch community groups within the Townsville region: - Louisa Creekwatch - Sachs Creekwatch - Mundy Creekwatch

  30. Coast & Marine Community Groupssupported by Creek to Coral and Townsville City Council www.reefcheckaustralia.org • Reef Check - Townsville • Seagrass Watch www.soe-townsville.org/seagrass/

  31. From Victorian Sustainable School Programme, 2002

  32. Reporting back and providing information to community on environment & water mgt - Townsville’s NAD & SOE • Has included development of the Council’s innovative and dynamic web-based • Townsville Regional Natural Assets Database (NAD) and • www.townsville.qld.gov.au/nad/ • State of Environment Report (SOE) 2003 • www.soe-townsville.org

  33. www.TropicalDesign.org

  34. Thank you

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