Stormwater Management in Australia: Recent Progress and Future Challenges

Traditionally stormwater management adopted greater impervious areas, pipe networks and concrete gutters to remove runoff away from locality and mitigate flooding quickly. But this traditional approach to stormwater management has been associated with various environmental and social issues, including water quality degradation, erosion, loss of aquatic habitats, unexpected floods and increased urban heat island effects. As of now Australia shifted from traditional stormwater management and following in accordance with the requirements of AS/NZS 3500.3, Australian Rainfall and Runoff, Council's Design Standards (AUS-SPEC) and the National Construction Code which dictate using of different sustainable devices such as Onsite Detention System (OSD), Surface Inlet Pits and Grated Trench Drains, Subsoil drainage, Permeable paving, Light Duty Permeable Asphalt, Rainwater tanks, Overland flow paths and Gross Pollutant Traps (GPTs), but following so, many challenges arise in relation to aging infrastructures, water security, population growth and rezoning and climate variability and changes. The objective of this paper is to determine current state of stormwater management in Australia, the challenges being faced, and the innovative approaches being explored to ensure a sustainable future using more sustainable stormwater management practices, known as Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD). It has been found that WSUD is being embraced by all levels of governments in Australia to implement sustainable urban water cycle modelling. New financial analysis incorporating both direct and indirect benefits provided by WSUD needs to be developed in future research so that this sustainable method is not viewed as financially unviable. WSUD has also challenges such as perceived higher maintenance cost and lack of established design guidelines supported by local data, which need to be addressed in future research.