Water governance and the quality of water services in the city of Melbourne

Abstract

Integrated water resources management (IWRM) was reviewed in the city of Melbourne. Melbourne performs well and shows a good level of commitment to sustainable solutions. The city scores highly in areas such as water efficiency, wastewater efficiency, i.e., energy recovery, and climate change commitments related to heat and water scarcity. Nearly 30% of houses in Melbourne have installed rainwater tanks and plans to increase the use of stormwater have recently been published. Energy efficiency of buildings, nutrient recovery (especially phosphate) from wastewater, as well as sewage sludge recycling are topics for improvement. A transparent governance structure has been set up in a reaction to the ‘Millennium Drought’ and success has come from many organizations working together to a common goal. This is the secret of Melbourne’s success and can be used as an example for other cities in the world.

Keywords:

• Integrated water resources management
• climate change
• City Blueprint®
• Blue City Index®
• urban water

Acknowledgements

This project could not have delivered this output without the support and contribution of many stakeholders of Melbourne. I would like to thank Francis Pamminger (Yarra Valley Water) for his initiative to bring us together and all others for being part of the project team: Natalie Portlock (Yarra Valley Water), Alan Watts (South East Water), John Chambers (City West Water), Kathryn Naylor and Jamie Ewert (Melbourne Water), Ann Allworth and Lisa Hopkinson (Department of Environment and Primary Industries) and Andrew Allan, Amelia Tendler, Bridget Wetherall and Leah Wheatley (Office of Living Victoria). The Office of Living Victoria is acknowledged for funding this study. This work is carried out in the context of Watershare®: sharing knowledge in the water sector (http://www.watershare.eu/) and is a contribution to the European Innovation Partnership on Water of the European Commission, and more specifically to the City Blueprint Action Group (European Commission, 2015), coordinated by both Dr Richard Elelman of Fundació CTM Centre Tecnològic and NETWERC H2O and the author of this manuscript.