Melbourne Water s Submission. Melbourne s Water Future Green Paper

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1 Melbourne Water s Submission Melbourne s Water Future Green Paper

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3 Melbourne is recognised as one of the world s most liveable cities. While liveability is a product of multiple factors including safety, transport, healthcare, urban design, culture, recreation and access to nature to name a few water is unique in that it plays a role in many of these factors. Integrated water cycle management will play a key role in keeping Melbourne one of the world s most liveable cities as we respond to the challenges of a growing population and a variable climate. Waterways, gardens, parks and playing fields contribute to the health and wellbeing of society and provide vital breathing and cooling capacity for the city. Healthy water-dependent systems contribute to healthy ecosystems and make Melbourne an attractive place to live. Our high quality potable water derived mainly from protected catchments requires minimal treatment and helps preserve public health. Safe, secure and affordable water and waste water services are critical for a prosperous city. Water in its many forms is essential for our wellbeing and is an important enabler of liveability. Melbourne Water supports an integrated water cycle management approach Melbourne Water is committed to enhancing life and liveability, which is our vision for the future. Day to day we manage Melbourne s water supply catchments, treat and supply drinking and recycled water, remove and treat most of Melbourne s sewage and manage waterways and major drainage systems in the Port Phillip and Westernport region. Melbourne Water s Melbourne s Water Future Submission 1

4 Enhancing Life and Liveability Water is central to living. It sustains the communities we live in, the natural environment we value and the economy we depend on. We will improve the quality of life and prosperity of the region by providing safe, secure and reliable water services, desirable urban spaces and thriving natural environments supported by healthy waterways and bays. Every day, we will work with others to develop shared solutions to manage rainwater, seawater, stormwater and treated sewage as one integrated system. This approach will deliver the best economic, social and environmental outcomes for all, now and in the future. Melbourne Water s Strategic Direction (2012) Melbourne Water welcomes Melbourne s Water Future and the focus it brings to integrated water cycle management. This new policy direction provides an excellent opportunity to embrace integrated water cycle management in a consistent and continuous manner, providing a driving force for transformational change in water planning and management. Water is unique in the diversity of ways it contributes to the liveability of our city. The adoption of integrated water cycle management will play a key role in keeping Melbourne one of the world s most liveable cities. It will do this by providing: more valued services where customer and community needs are understood and met through better engagement and more innovative use of our water resources (including stormwater and recycled water), assets and shared expertise more resilient and flexible services that are able to respond to both known (including climate variability and population growth) and unknown challenges in a way that enhances the wellbeing of the community and the health of the environment more holistic services that balance multiple objectives at the local, regional and citywide scales. Melbourne Water suggests that, an adaptive and flexible approach is adopted for the implementation of Melbourne s Water Future generally to encourage ongoing success in the delivery of the objectives. 2 Melbourne Water s Melbourne s Water Future Submission

5 Melbourne Water is in a unique position to support implementation Melbourne Water is keen to work with the Office of Living Victoria and the wider water industry to implement an innovative, adaptable, considered and collaborative work program to develop Melbourne s water future. Melbourne Water believes we are in a position to support a transition to integrated water cycle management given our current activities, our experience, and of course our commitment to our vision to enhance life and liveability. Melbourne Water works across many aspects of the water cycle and has a strong interest in integrated solutions. Melbourne Water has established relationships across the industry and has led the way in many aspects of integrated water cycle management in Victoria. Melbourne Water s current systems viewpoint of water management in Melbourne and across the region coupled with the learnings we can share from our experience of implementing a suite of activities put us in a unique position to support implementation of many of Melbourne s Water Future s proposed initiatives. Melbourne Water has had successes influencing the evolution and acceptance of integrated water cycle management. Recent examples include: Co-authored the Water Sensitive Urban Design Guidelines (2005) Worked with metropolitan retail water companies to develop the Metropolitan Sewerage Strategy, which re-focused sewerage management for Melbourne on sewage as a resource rather than waste (2008) Melbourne Water s Melbourne s Water Future Submission 3

6 Contributed to the Central Region Sustainable Water Strategy including its recognition of the environment as a user and stormwater and recycled water as potential resources (2010) Designed and led the International Water Association Cities of Future Program (2010) Worked with the metropolitan retail water companies on the Water Supply Demand Strategy for the Melbourne region (2012) Essential participant of the Cooperative Research Centre for Water Sensitive Cities (from 2012) Co-funded the Little Stringybark Creek catchment disconnection program ( ) and led the development of an Environmental Significance Overlay for the area (2013) So far, Melbourne Water has supported integrated water cycle management in Melbourne and the region in a variety of ways. Some of our work is highlighted in the case studies in this document. In addition to working with the Office of Living Victoria and our partners on implementation of Melbourne s Water Future, Melbourne Water will continue to contribute to integrated water cycle management and through it the liveability of our city over the next few years in the following ways: Continue to drive strategy, policy and regulation through o Western, Northern, and Inner regional plans o Metropolitan Planning Strategy o Water Law Review Develop icon liveability projects with Melbourne Water s assets o Western Treatment Plant o Main Outfall Sewer Work with our key partners to deliver projects such as o Casey Clyde and Botanic Ridge urban developments o Decentralised treatment at Dobson s Creek o Stormwater harvesting at Toolern Creek and Coburg o Realising broader benefits from the Werribee Irrigation District Continue to embed integrated water cycle management into our business. 4 Melbourne Water s Melbourne s Water Future Submission

7 Focus areas Melbourne Water want to work with industry on Achieving transformational change will require action on many fronts. Melbourne Water proposes to address the diverse initiatives included in Melbourne s Water Future under the following themes: development of a robust suite of strategies and plans that provide a road map for change and clear measures of success with tools to support consistent performance clear incentives for sound investment and efficient service delivery engaging widely with the community and thinking beyond the water cycle international leadership with a commitment to openness, innovation and learning. A robust suite of strategies and plans Planning Framework and Regional Plans Melbourne Water supports the commitment to planning across multiple scales at metropolitan, regional and local level. Melbourne Water also supports an approach where: (1) the planning framework proposed in Melbourne s Water Future provides the context, objectives and high level measures of success and (2) the regional plans provide the mix of initiatives, local outcomes and more detailed measures of success and that maximise the value created for each region, cognisant of the up- and downstream implications. The regional plans will provide opportunities for: in-depth engagement and analysis of local issues and opportunities and their implications for citywide planning testing and implementing the investment framework being developed by the Office of Living Victoria working across sectoral and organisational boundaries innovative use of existing assets and resources. Melbourne Water believes that developing the Planning Framework and the regional plans in parallel is important to timely action through an iterative action learning approach. Melbourne Water s Melbourne s Water Future Submission 5

8 Main Outfall Sewer: a new opportunity for an old asset The Main Outfall Sewer (MOS) was originally constructed in 1893 and then decommissioned a hundred years later following the construction of the Western Trunk Sewer. It runs from Brooklyn to Werribee and comprises sections of open concrete lined channel and covered sections of brick lined concrete constructed through relatively flat terrain. It is protected under the Heritage Act The MOS is in a poor condition for most of its length. It is costly to maintain for no current benefit to the community and impacts the surrounding land. However, based on the information collected to date, the MOS structure appears to have many potential uses and the reserve could become an important multiple use asset to improve the liveability of the western region of Melbourne. Melbourne Water is embarking on a project to assess the feasibility of revitalising MOS potentially providing for stormwater reuse, environmental flows and improved local amenity and recreational opportunities. The plan for the western region identified in Melbourne s Water Future provides an excellent vehicle for considering this and other innovative local opportunities. 6 Melbourne Water s Melbourne s Water Future Submission

9 Melbourne Water welcomes and strongly supports the proposals in Melbourne s Water Future in relation to planning for new suburbs and the urban growth of Melbourne, and in particular the proposals to embed whole-of-water-cycle management into Precinct Structure Plans. Melbourne Water looks forward to working with the Office of Living Victoria, Growth Areas Authority and other stakeholders in establishing improved processes that allow the early identification of integrated water cycle management options that best suit the circumstances of each growth area and precinct, and how these can be implemented. Integration of centralised and decentralised systems Melbourne Water suggests that a key opportunity provided by the Planning Framework and regional plans is better integration of the existing centralised system and decentralised solutions. Melbourne has developed over many years to be reliant on mainly centralised water and wastewater infrastructure. This evolution has been occurred based on best practise at the time. Product delivery has been largely based around the use of gravity to convey water and wastewater from the water catchments in the North and East of Melbourne, around the city and to the two major sewage treatment plants, located in naturally low lying areas at Werribee and Bangholme. The vision of our early planners to develop centralised systems has served the community well and has contributed to the current liveability of our city by providing essential water, sewerage and drainage services to the community. New technology, changing community expectations and a greater focus on water s contribution to the health and amenity of our city as well as future challenges such as climate variability and population growth create an opportunity and imperative for a different approach. The water industry needs to better integrate the existing centralised system with smaller and more local solutions. When done well this can deliver significant benefits to all water customers and local communities. Melbourne Water s Melbourne s Water Future Submission 7

10 St Albans Main: integration of centralised and decentralised systems The construction of a water pipeline to service Wyndham, one of the fastest growing areas in Australia, will cost millions less due to savings identified through a customerfocused service delivery approach and integrated water cycle management. Water demand from the City West Water zones of Cowies Hill and West Werribee is forecast to increase significantly over the next 25 years, requiring construction of a new main to service growth. Stage two of the St Albans to Werribee Pipeline project will now cost $12M less following an analysis of the benefits of integrated water cycle management and the impacts of changing growth rates and peak demands. The diameter of the new pipeline will be able to be reduced by City West Water proposing third pipe use of recycled water for non drinking demands within households, resulting in reductions in peak potable water demand. Melbourne Water has worked collaboratively with City West Water to understand this demand and how it can be met. This work has highlighted that the use of alternative water sources for non drinking water applications in new growth areas, can contribute to network capacity efficiencies reducing costs and conserving our precious drinking water resources. Transitioning to a more integrated use of decentralised and centralised assets will increase the complexity of the system. Key aspects of integrating a decentralised system with a centralised system include: A common understanding of community expectations around levels of service and willingness to pay Understanding and sharing of cost and risk between centralised and decentralised assets, their owners and the beneficiaries while ensuring best outcomes for the community Developing the capacity (including tools, expertise and organisational arrangements) to operate and maintain disparate and diverse complex systems Reviewing and clarification of the roles, objectives and levels of service for the various elements of the integrated system. As the distributed water asset base grows, the industry and our potential partners (e.g. local councils) will need to develop the skills to operate and maintain these new 8 Melbourne Water s Melbourne s Water Future Submission

11 integrated assets. Melbourne Water encourages the Office of Living Victoria to continue to build the capacity of the industry and councils through programs such as the highly respected Clearwater program. Clear incentives for sound investment and efficient service delivery Investment Melbourne Water supports the development of a common approach to investment evaluation which delivers integrated water cycle management outcomes by balancing the relevant financial, environmental and social considerations. For successful uptake, it is important that any investment decision-making tools be developed in conjunction with industry-wide consensus on the governance arrangements which will underpin the investment decision-making process. These governance arrangements should facilitate decision making across all stakeholders and take into account the relevant costs and benefits, risk allocation and sharing, cost sharing, as well as regulatory and policy requirements. It will be important arrangements recognise both the need for broader integrated decision making, as well as the business case process of individual businesses and stakeholders. Often integrated water cycle management projects impact the costs and benefits of stakeholders beyond the water industry (e.g. local councils, health industry etc.). In this regard, it will be essential that a broad stakeholder group is considered in the development of these governance arrangements. Melbourne Water s Melbourne s Water Future Submission 9

12 Investment governance Governance success willingness to pay for waterways and drainage services Melbourne Water is committed to understanding customer and community preferences for areas of investment and the levels of investment undertaken in waterway and drainage services. While Melbourne Water s obligations are set out in the Water Act and Statement of Obligations, they often don t provide explicit service level requirements. As such, these service levels need to be agreed with customers and the community through consultation. Melbourne Water s waterways and drainage customer base is nearing two million households and businesses, so it can be difficult to get a representative understanding of customer preferences for service levels and what they are willing to pay for each of them. During the 2013 Water Plan consultation period, Melbourne Water sought feedback from customers on the proposed price increase for waterways and drainage services. A survey of customers tested Melbourne Water s price and service level offering and helped understand and quantify community support for waterways and drainage initiatives and charges associated with the 2013 Water Plan. Overall, our customers found the proposed service offering in Water Plan 3 was very favourable 82% found the current plan or a plan with greater ambitions and higher charges acceptable. Better understanding customer needs and expectations will enable us to be more customer focused and responsive in the planning and delivery of our services. Developing a greater understanding of how the community values environmental services that Melbourne Water provides will also assist in making investment decisions for integrated water cycle management projects which have broader environmental benefits. Governance challenge Bolin Bolin Billabong The proposed Bolin Bolin Billabong Wetland Project was an integrated water cycle management project on the eastern banks of the Yarra River in Bulleen. The proposed stormwater harvesting project was led by Manningham City Council and aimed to deliver multiple benefits to the community in terms of potable water substitution, environmental water to a remnant wetland, habitat enhancement, greener open space, and flood mitigation. The proposed project s stakeholders included Federal Government, State Government, Local Government, Sporting Associations, Local Community Groups and private educational institutions. The project was complex in its nature due to multiple stakeholders operating across multiple land holdings all with specific regulated boundaries, competing priorities, dispersed knowledge and differing political agendas. 10 Melbourne Water s Melbourne s Water Future Submission

13 The project was to be jointly funded by the Federal Government, Councils, Melbourne Water, Carey Baptist Grammar School and Parks Victoria. In the absence of a common investment framework to help quantify and allocate the wider range of benefits and costs, the approach taken was to split costs between beneficiaries based on the volume of water received from the scheme. This approach did not allow differentiation between stakeholders receiving commercial benefit from the water from those who did not, nor to quantify wider benefits resulting in unacceptably high costs for some parties. Where costs increased throughout the project due to reasonable project risks, there was a shortfall resulting in insufficient funding. In addition, allocating maintenance responsibilities and costs was challenging and complex. The project was not completed despite willing partners, some available funding, work having been completed on feasibility and detailed design and beneficial proposed integrated water cycle management outcomes. Incentives and accountabilities In considering opportunities to clarify accountabilities and improve incentives for efficient service delivery Melbourne Water supports considering all elements of the water cycle and components of the water supply process. Melbourne Water also supports review and change of legislative, regulatory and institutional arrangements that is: linked to clear policy objectives informed by sound analysis and research driven by end-customer benefits implementable in a way that costs do not exceed the benefits. Consequently, Melbourne Water would like to work with the Office of Living Victoria and the water industry to ensure further changes in bulk water entitlements are designed to drive integrated water cycle management outcomes and improve efficiency outcomes for end customers. It considers refinement of the current bulk entitlement approach, including introduction of resource costs, should be implemented in a staged manner following trials which demonstrate the associated costs and benefits in achieving integrated water cycle outcomes. These trials should also analyse the impacts on end-customer prices and service levels. Melbourne Water s Melbourne s Water Future Submission 11

14 Melbourne Water also notes that in the United Kingdom, as well as considering bulk water entitlements and the potential for wholesale competition, retail competition is also being considered as a means of improving customer choice and levels of service. 1 Melbourne Water also supports the greater use of market-based approaches and further shared services to support the achievement of integrated water cycle management outcomes and to build on learnings from recent experiences. This includes competitive processes to allocate funding. More broadly, Melbourne Water supports further exploration of competition to facilitate integrated water cycle management outcomes, noting again the importance of a staged introduction of any changes, supported by trials and demonstration of net benefit. Melbourne Water expenditure: use of market-based approaches Contestability is already reflected in Melbourne Water s costs with 99% of capital expenditure and 88% (or 75% excluding Victorian Desalination Plant costs) of operational expenditure being contracted out and are therefore subject to competitive processes. Waterways and drainage operations and its Charter Melbourne Water would like to work with the Office of Living Victoria to ensure the implementation of Melbourne s Water Future fulfils the outcomes sought for waterway protection, in particular through mitigation of peak stormwater flows and through infiltration to groundwater to enhance waterway base flows that have been markedly reduced by urbanisation. 1 For more information see 12 Melbourne Water s Melbourne s Water Future Submission

15 10,000 Raingardens: simple effective local solutions Urban stormwater remains the biggest threat to water quality in our waterways because of the pollutants it carries. Melbourne Water s 10,000 Raingardens Program promoted a simple and effective form of stormwater treatment. It raised people s awareness of: how stormwater fits into the water cycle how good management of stormwater contributes to healthy waterways, and what can easily be done at home to manage stormwater. A raingarden is a specially prepared garden designed to receive, slow down and filter rain runoff from roofs or impervious ground-level surfaces such as driveways or paving. Raingardens are a simple way to help the environment and the health of our local waterways. Rain runoff can carry many harmful pollutants from our urban environments. Unchecked, these pollutants are washed into our waterways. During and after heavy rain, the large volumes of stormwater also scour creek beds causing serious erosion, and have a serious impact on aquatic life. The program commenced in 2008 and focused on creating raingardens in public places, such as streets, parks and schools, and on private properties. Earlier this year Melbourne Water achieved our target of 10,000 raingardens across the Melbourne region. The program has now been incorporated into our stormwater program. Melbourne Water would also like to work collaboratively with the Office of Living Victoria to further explore and implement the proposal to co-invest in whole-of-watercycle projects through a pilot project on market based incentives that deliver on the targets and commitments that have already been made to the community. We look forward to discussing the Office of Living Victoria s co-contribution to such a pilot. Simple incentive programs and strong community engagement has delivered good outcomes to date (through the current Little Stringybark Creek incentives model, Dobson s Creek, Rural Land Program and various river health incentives). Previous trials of more complex market-based mechanisms (through both an auction and tender model at Little Stringybark Creek) have produced important lessons that can be learnt from. Future market-based incentives projects will need to have clearly defined community outcomes and deliver multiple benefits. It is important to note that Melbourne Water s mandate for environmental protection is not only directly through the water cycle but also through vegetation, weed control, erosion control, habitat provision etc. as part of holistic integrated catchment management. Melbourne Water s Melbourne s Water Future Submission 13

16 The Waterways and Drainage Strategy (formerly Waterways Operating Charter) provides an excellent leverage point to launch a truly integrated approach to water management in Melbourne. From the environmental protection it provides to some of our natural ecosystems, to the wellbeing provided to residents and visitors by open space and the resilience to our potable water supply. Melbourne Water looks forward to working with the Office of Living Victoria to continue our contribution towards the liveability of Melbourne. Waterways Research Partnership: rural and urban catchment management Melbourne Water is collaborating with the University of Melbourne to deliver a partnership program will target several strategic research gaps identified in Melbourne Water s Healthy Waterways, Stormwater and Integrated Water Management Strategies. The Melbourne Waterways Research Partnership represents a new approach to waterway management research within the Melbourne region for the next five years. The program will focus on understanding the drivers of waterway ecosystem condition in both urban and rural environments, and the prioritisation and design of interventions at the catchment and in-stream scale that best protect and restore waterway ecosystems. It will do this through a dual approach of applied research and knowledge transfer. By undertaking dedicated timely and relevant research to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of waterway management across the region, the program will help inform the evolution of the next round of Melbourne Water waterway strategies. It will also provide an open framework for collaborations, and will actively seek opportunities for integrated and complementary projects with other waterways and stormwater research groups and natural resource management agencies. The program has a dedicated knowledge broker to achieve its knowledge transfer aims and integration of research findings into Melbourne Water s business activities. Maintaining efficient asset use The water supply network operated by Melbourne Water, transfers water from major reservoirs in hills to the North, East and North East to locations throughout the Melbourne metropolitan area. Melbourne Water s network is operated based on an 14 Melbourne Water s Melbourne s Water Future Submission

17 agreed annual operating plan with the retail water authorities to achieve service delivery, cost and environmental outcomes. Geography and foresight mean Melbourne is fortunate that the majority of the metropolitan area can be serviced by gravity and minimal pumping is required. In addition minimal treatment is required due to the protected catchments. This has helped to maintain the relatively low cost of Melbourne s water services until recently. The current network was designed and built many years ago based on water demands and current technologies at that time. Historically during hot weather water demands were up to three times the averages. The recent extended drought, the associated water conservation measures, water restrictions and Melburnians excellent efforts in changed water use behaviour has meant that we have not had such peaky demands nor had to invest in additional network capacity. As Melbourne and the region move into a post-drought period it is important that we retain a focus on efficient water use as this will help maximise the use of existing capacity and reduce investment in additional high-cost gravity pipelines or pumping previously gravity supplies. Engaging widely and thinking beyond the water cycle Melbourne Water sees integrated water cycle management not only as the integrated management of the various elements of the water cycle, but also encompassing the management of water within its environs. Melbourne Water s vision reflects its commitment to support a broad suite of services linked with water cycle management to enhance the liveability of our city. Some example of opportunities beyond the direct management of the water cycle include the: sustainable use and recovery of resources (including energy) associated with water and wastewater treatment integration into the built environment through urban planning provision of complimentary recreational services. Melbourne Water s Melbourne s Water Future Submission 15

18 Water recycling west of Melbourne: recycled water for peri urban use Western Treatment Plant supplied 11,080 million litres of recycled water to customers in This comprised 8,438 of recycled water used onsite, by the agricultural business MPH Agriculture, mostly Class C water for pasture irrigation and salinity management, and 2,643 million litres of Class A recycled water supplied to Southern Rural Water and City West Water for offsite customers. Southern Rural Water supplied 67 million litres of Class A recycled water to customers in the Werribee Tourist Precinct. 2,309 million litres of Class A recycled water was supplied to the Werribee Irrigation District. Melbourne Water supplied 267 million litres of Class A recycled water to City West Water for the West Werribee Dual Supply, Werribee Employment Precinct, MacKillop College and standpipes for water carters. In addition, 16,416 million litres were provided for conservation purposes in the Ramsar-listed wetlands. Including the conservation flow, 16 % of Melbourne Water s treated wastewater from both the Western Treatment Plant and the Eastern Treatment Plant was recycled. Melbourne Water believes that there are significant opportunities for integration of water cycle management with other resources (e.g. land, waste, energy) and services (e.g. public space planning), and that this should be considered when finalising Melbourne s Water Future. With the imminent release of the draft Metropolitan Planning Strategy, the time is right to align Melbourne s water future with that of the urban environment of our city. Rising prices of raw materials, improved technologies for treatment and innovation in product design is leading a transition into a circular economy for resources. In this model, waste is removed and the energy and resource components embedded in products are maintained, reused and disassembled. This is driving smarter and more innovative waste management approaches. Linking energy, carbon, water, waste and agriculture requires shifts in organisational mindsets 2 and also has the potential to provide great future opportunities for the water sector. 2 McKinsey Global Institute (2011). Resource Revolution: Meeting the world's energy, materials, food and water needs. McKinsey & Company 16 Melbourne Water s Melbourne s Water Future Submission

19 Energy Recovery: reducing cost and environmental impact Melbourne Water is one of Victoria s largest energy users, with many sites across the metropolitan area including two large wastewater treatment plants. Implementation of Melbourne Water s Energy and Greenhouse Strategy has seen improved energy efficiency, a reduction of 47% in greenhouse gases and more than an eleven fold increase of in renewable energy generation (from 33GWh to 369GWh per annum) since In the early 1990s Melbourne Water began to treat sewage in covered sewage treatment lagoons. Covers placed over the lagoons at the Western Treatment Plant reduce odour and capture the biogas produced by the sewage treatment process. Now, rather than release the gas into the air or burn it off, Melbourne Water uses the biogas to power engines and generate electricity at its wastewater treatment plants the Eastern and Western Treatment Plants. The Western Treatment Plant generated 95% of its own energy needs in The Eastern Treatment Plant utilises most of its biogas to power over one third of the plant s power. At the Eastern Treatment Plant tri-generation recovers heat from engines and uses it for two purposes: heating the digesters and chilling water for the plant both of which reduce treatment costs. Melbourne Water planners searching the water supply system for places to reduce pressure came up with the innovative idea: turbines which generate electricity from water pressure and flow, rather than the energy being lost in a pressure reducing valve. Hydroelectric turbines run successfully at Thomson, Cardinia, Preston, Notting Hill, Mount View, Olinda, Upper Yarra and Silvan, producing electrical energy and emitting no greenhouse gas. In conjunction with Smart Water Fund and Flinders University, Melbourne Water has a research pilot project underway to quantify the potential benefits of wastewater treatment and resource recovery (including energy) using algae. Openness, innovation and learning Melbourne Water supports the focus Melbourne s Water Future places on transparency and accessibility of information and knowledge to promote informed community discussion, increased accountability for service provides and improved opportunities Melbourne Water s Melbourne s Water Future Submission 17

20 for innovation 3. Research and knowledge management is important issue for integrated water cycle management as are the effective use of pilot projects and mechanisms for reflection, review and learning. Monitoring, access and use of data Data and its management are foundational to effective planning, monitoring and operation of water systems. Robust data provides a foundation to good decision making. Melbourne Water supports initiatives to provide greater community access to data. Developments in information management - particularly data collection, processing and advances in data analytics - means that water system management will continue to be enhanced through data management. Melbourne Water recommends that initiatives to develop data management systems build on, and enhance, existing arrangements and developments within Melbourne and at State and national levels. For example the Bureau of Meteorology s National Water Accounts has a Melbourne sub-account which provides data for the region. Melbourne Water strongly supports the recognition of the importance and value of data in supporting effective water management decisions. The increase of decentralised systems and the increased complexity it will bring will require even more effective data monitoring and management systems. Melbourne Water would like to work with the Office of Living Victoria and the rest of the industry to further define the nature and purpose of the envisaged data holdings and the extent to which the objectives of monitoring and data management systems can be satisfied by leveraging off recent data management initiatives. As Melbourne s Water Future suggests, one data set that is currently under resourced for information is stormwater run-off volume and quality. Establishing a stormwater volume and quality monitoring program that is spatially dispersed and representative across the whole urban landscape would require a high degree of financial, technical and human resourcing. Options such as establishing a stormwater monitoring program for a spatially explicit region with a clearly defined objective and monitoring duration may be more feasible. This would provide more cost-effective targeted information. Water Outlook Melbourne Water and the metropolitan retail water companies jointly develop and publish a Water Outlook for Melbourne by 1 December each year to report the status of Melbourne s security of supply and the planned actions to reduce demand or 3 Melbourne Water has provided further information in relation to creation, dissemination and use of research, knowledge and innovation as part of the Office of Living Victoria s review 18 Melbourne Water s Melbourne s Water Future Submission

21 increase supply. The document s primary purpose is to provide information for adaptive management of Melbourne s water supply demand balance. This is done by providing information on the current and expected state of water resources and to the community on the potential for water conservation actions in the event of severe drought conditions and the implementation of the retail water companies drought response plans. Melbourne Water welcomes review of the scope of the Water Outlook. Given the experiences during the Millenium drought ( ), Melbourne Water believes the objective of providing a central point for advice on the state of Melbourne s water resources to assist community preparations in the event of severe drought conditions should be retained as the primary purpose of this document. Melbourne s Water Future includes a range of initiatives to enhance the Water Outlook. There is an opportunity for the Water Outlook and the Office of Living Victoria s proposed Water Source web-site to complement each other. Melbourne Water, in conjunction with the retail water companies, will work with the Office of Living Victoria to support a review of the scope of the Water Outlook. Information on the impacts of runoff and the composition of pollutants, chemicals, sediment and other litter in that run-off is detailed in nature. Due to the level of detail and frequency required, Melbourne Water suggests that the Water Source website is a better medium for publishing this information than the Water Outlook. Community engagement Melbourne Water supports Melbourne s Water Future s focus on community engagement. Melbourne Water s Healthy Waterways Waterwatch Program is a community engagement and monitoring program that aims to increase community understanding and ownership of local rivers and creeks. Melbourne Water works closely with community groups such as Landcare Associations and Friends of Groups to support environmental efforts and increase general community connections to local waterways. Waterway ambassadors, frog census volunteers and water quality monitors are several examples of the opportunities Melbourne Water makes available to community members interested learning more about their local waterways. Melbourne Water s Melbourne s Water Future Submission 19

22 Melbourne Water s education program is designed to provide a holistic view of the total urban water cycle. With a replica of a water smart city, tours run of our major sewage treatment plants and an interactive stormwater model housed in the Edithvale-Seaford Wetland Education Centre, we have reached almost 10,000 participants to date in this calendar year. On track to reach approximately participants in 2013, young people are central to our engagement efforts and have demonstrated a willingness to actively explore components of the water cycle and natural environment. In response to this appetite, we are continuing to expand our efforts by offering excursions for school groups and develop specific activities such as bug and bird identification and a giant jigsaw puzzle. Platypus numbers: engaging the community in waterways Last financial year Melbourne Water used results from an extensive platypus monitoring program to run community information sessions demonstrating how platypus numbers can be sustained with some simple behavioural changes. Focusing on urban growth areas, we reached hundreds of people, connecting community groups from alternate catchments and facilitating some lively debates about caring for the environment and engaging community members in the process about their waterways and creeks, and how if we jointly take action we can make them healthier. Innovation Melbourne Water agrees that innovation is a key part of creating success across the water industry and the delivery of Melbourne s Water Future objectives. The changing environment for Melbourne Water and the water industry creates the imperative for a step change in performance. This includes creating an environment for new ways of thinking and new ways of doing, including how we engage with customers and communities and how we deliver our services. At Melbourne Water our culture, expertise and ongoing access to technology advances provide the basis for a culture of innovation that will re-position the organisation for the future. Melbourne Water would like to work with the Office of Living Victoria to identify key opportunities to support the organisational capability success, including enhancing our innovation culture, providing the tools of innovation and building capability to deliver innovation outcomes that transform the industry. 20 Melbourne Water s Melbourne s Water Future Submission

23 Fibre optic solutions for pipelines: think big and have a go together Melbourne Water is collaborating with CSIRO Land and Water, Monash University, South East Water to monitor the performance and deterioration of new pipelines in a cost effective manner. Current solutions are focussed more on above ground pipes. Yet existing fibre optic sensing technology has the capability to monitor the condition and integrity of replaced and/or new pipe assets. Fibre optic sensors have the capability to monitor sound, vibration, strain, temperature and pressure along the length of a pipeline. This project focusses on developing cost effective ways to attach existing sensing technology to pipelines to provide continuous real-time measurement of pipeline performance. Factors that impact on a pipeline may vary over the life of the asset, so the solution needs to cater for short term and long term issues. The system developed needs to be upgradeable and replaceable. It also needs to be able to be: applied to new or existing assets; installed externally, internally, or temporarily; and be used to carry signals/messages from other sensors. Funding for this project is being provided by Department of State Development, Business and Innovation and Hawk Measurement Systems Pty Ltd. Melbourne Water s Melbourne s Water Future Submission 21