City of Melbourne Annual Report 2008-09
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City of Melbourne 2009/10 Annual Report
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Melbourne is a thriving hub of activity with a strong and diverse culture. The City of Melbourne as part of its annual report 2007-08 took to the streets to capture the heart of Melbourne, its people.
 
4. Environmentally responsible city - water use
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Water Use  

Water is a precious, finite resource. Its supply is under pressure from drought in the short term and increasing population and climate change in the long term. The City of Melbourne currently uses approximately six per cent of the municipality’s total water consumption, most of which is used to irrigate parks and green open spaces. Our water strategy, Total Watermark, sets a target for council facilities (including parks and gardens) to reduce water use by 40 per cent by 2020.


A breakdown of total water use at the City of Melbourne
Total
water
use		 Base year (1999–00) 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08*
Total
water
(ML)		 1544 1317 1255 1523 1058 1219 1247 751 545
Percentage change
from base year
(total water)		 -14.70% -18.70% -1.30% -31.50% -21.00% -19.30% -51.40% -64.70%
Percentage change
from previous year
(total water)		 -14.70% -4.70% 21.40% -30.60% 15.20% 2.30% -39.80% -27.40%
* Due to billing cycles this figure includes some estimated calculation based on current and season trends. It will be adjusted for the 2008–09 report.
Source: Billing data including the corporate database 'Stark Essentials'.

A breakdown of water use by activities at the City of Melbourne
Water use by activity 2006–07 2007–08
Open space irrigation 693 497
Administration buildings 7 5
Commercial buildings 1 1
Community use buildings 50 42
Total water use (ML) 751 545
Note 1: Based on billing data extracted from corporate databases 'Oracle Financials' and 'Stark Essentials'. Where data was not available, such as in the case of some quarterly based accounts, an estimated calculation based on current and seasonal trends has been used. In 1999–2000 a baseline was established which became our 'base year'.
Note 2: Due to a recent change in data classification methodology, only two years worth of data could be consistently reported at the time of printing.
Source: Billing data including the corporate database 'Stark Essentials'.

A breakdown of water use by sources at the City of Melbourne
Total
water
use		 Base year 1996–97 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08
Potable
(drinking)
water		 1,544,405 1,316,922 1,255,215 1,523,545 1,057,827 1,219,025 1,246,799 720,857 457,499
Reclaimed
water		 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 30,109 87,026
Total
water
(kL)		 1,544,405 1,316,922 1,255,215 1,523,545 1,057,827 1,219,025 1,246,799 750,966 544,525
Recycled water as a percentage of total water 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 4.00% 16.00%
Source: Billing data including the corporate database 'Stark Essentials'.

The City of Melbourne achieved an overall decrease in total water use of 65 per cent (70 per cent for ’potable‘ or drinking water) compared with the base year; and 27 per cent (36 per cent for potable water) from the previous year. Implementation of our Water Conservation Plan and the increased use of reclaimed stormwater from the Royal Park Wetlands are two significant contributing factors to the overall reduction in water use. About 90 per cent of our total water use continues to be for irrigation of parks and green open spaces.

Setting targets to improve the health of our waterways  

In May 2008, the City of Melbourne adopted stormwater quality targets to help improve the health of our waterways and Port Phillip Bay. The targets will be measured by using Total Suspended Solids (TSS) as the indicator pollutant. TSS generally refers to the grit, car and tyre residue on roads that is swept into our waterways by the stormwater system.

We aim to achieve a 20 per cent reduction in TSS within the municipality by 2020, so that we are on track to achieve an 80 per cent reduction in TSS by 2080.

Through the incorporation of Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD) principals, the City of Melbourne has already achieved a four per cent reduction in TSS since the base year of 2005. Our targets will be achieved with annual drainage improvement projects and stormwater harvesting in parks (using WSUD treatments) to filter pollutants out of stormwater before it enters the waterways.

We will also be measuring and reducing the litter, total nitrogen and total phosphorus pollutants from stormwater, however, we will only report on TSS as it is a proxy for the other pollutants.

City unveils map of water initiatives  

A map detailing progress on 39 major water projects across the municipality was unveiled by the City of Melbourne in May 2008.

The Water Savings Initiatives Map provides an overview of water-saving projects in and around the city that are either completed, in progress or proposed. Some of the projects are run in conjunction with partners such as Melbourne Water and the Victorian and Australian governments, while other projects are entirely Council-funded.

The projects include 140 km of sub-surface dripper irrigation that provides water more efficiently to heritage trees and a major program of planting warm season grass in parks and sports grounds. About 12,000 m² of drought-resistant turf has also been planted at Docklands Park using reclaimed water from the Royal Park Wetlands.

Council allocated more than $2 million in 2008 to drought-proof Melbourne’s parks and open spaces.

Water Sensitive Urban Design to include IMAP councils  

The City of Melbourne is continuing to roll out the Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD) program: the WSUD Guidelines are being revised to incorporate our partners in the Inner Melbourne Action Plan (IMAP) (cities of Port Phillip, Stonnington and Yarra); and design and technology improvements are being implemented.

Water-sensitive urban design involves finding ways to reduce potable mains water demand, minimising wastewater disposal, treating stormwater and reducing the impact of urban development on water catchments and natural watercourses.

© City of Melbourne 2009
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