Developing industrial water reuse synergies in Port Melbourne: Cost effectiveness, barriers and opportunities

Urban water scarcity from ongoing drought and an increasing population are driving a range of water saving options to be explored in Melbourne (Australia). This paper assesses the cost effectiveness of five water treatment and industrial reuse options in the Fishermans Bend industrial area at Port Melbourne. In consultation with industrial stakeholders and the local water utility, the study design began by identifying potential water sources and sinks in the area. Treatment technologies for each option - using a combination of membrane bioreactors (MBR) and in some cases reverse osmosis (RO) technologies - were developed. In evaluating the potential for future implementation, the cost effectiveness ($/kiloLitre) was assessed relative to water supply augmentation and water demand management options available in Melbourne. Additionally, the opportunities and barriers for option implementation in Port Melbourne were contrasted with the Kwinana Industrial Area, Western Australia where many regional synergy projects have been undertaken. This research identifies that the future implementation of industrial ecology opportunities requires strong and ongoing stakeholder involvement as described in this paper. © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Response to Queensland Water Commission Report 'Evaluation of ISF / Cardno report: Review of water supply-demand options for South East Queensland'

In February 2007, the Institute for Sustainable Futures (ISF) and Cardno Australia released a Review of Water Supply-Demand Options for South East Queensland (the Review). The Review was submitted to the Senate Rural & Regional Affairs and Transport (RRAT) Committee Inquiry into Additional Water Supplies for South East Queensland. The key finding of the ISF/Cardno Review is that Traveston Crossing Dam will not be useful to provide water security in the current drought and is unnecessary to ensure water security for South East Queensland after the drought and for decades to come. The suite of supply and demand options â excluding Traveston Dam â which are currently being implemented as part of the South East Queensland Regional Water Supply Strategy (SEQRWSS) sufficient to ensure the supply-demand balance to around 2030. For the period 2030-2050, ISF/Cardno suggest a number of enhanced demand management programs that will maintain the supplydemand balance to 2050. The demand management measures suggested by ISF/Cardno are more cost effective than Traveston Dam (in terms of $ per kilolitre) and perform significantly better than Traveston Dam when assessed on social and environmental criteria including greenhouse impact. In the event that a period of water scarcity worse than the current drought occurs, ISF/Cardno propose that a âreadinessâ strategy be adopted whereby water supply projects with relatively short construction and delivery times are planned and approved but only built if and when absolutely necessary to defer a crisis in water supplies. This strategy avoids investing in infrastructure that may not be needed. This represents a lower cost strategy than building capital works pre-emptively. It is important to note that the water supply projects outlined in the ISF/Cardno Review are suggestions of appropriate âreadinessâ options

Costing for sustainable outcomes in urban water systems - a guidebook

Research Report 3

Review of the Metropolitan Water Plan: Final Report

This report was commissioned by the NSW Cabinet Office to review the Metropolitan Water Plan 2004 (DIPNR, 2004a), and was undertaken by the Institute for Sustainable Futures at the University of Technology, Sydney and ACIL Tasman with technical advice from SMEC Australia. In February 2006, our interim review report (ISF, 2006) showed how the supply-demand balance in 2015 could be met with rain-fed supply and a suite of demand management initiatives, and how Sydneys water needs could be secured against the risk of severe drought by having the capacity to deploy groundwater and desalination

Review of water supply-demand options for South East Queensland

This independent review aims to assess the Queensland Government's proposed strategy for meeting the long-term water supply-demand balance for South East Queensland, of which the Traveston Crossing scheme is a major and controversial component. The review, conducted by a team from the ISF at the UTS and Cardno, concludes that a diverse portfolio of options can ensure supply security for South East Queensland (SEQ) well into the future, certainly to 2050. Such options include: increasing water supply availability (supply-side options); decreasing the demand for water (demand-side options); and meeting water supply needs during deep droughts (drought response options). A number of the elements of such a portfolio are already being implemented as part of the current Queensland Government strategy. With the extension and addition of low unit cost demand-side options and supply-side drought response readiness options, a clear conclusion of this study is that the proposed dam at Traveston Crossing on the Mary River is neither necessary nor desirable as a part of the portfolio for ensuring supply security to 2050. The increase in supply from this proposed dam will not assist in the short-term during the current severe drought in which water (from savings and supply) is needed over the next two to three years. Planned completion of the Traveston Crossing Dam Stage 1 is in 2012. Additional time will be needed for the dam to fill, which could take an additional two years, resulting in the yield from this source only potentially being available in 2014. Neither is the Traveston Crossing scheme needed for supply-demand balance in the longer term with the suite of other more appropriate drought response measures being implemented by the Queensland Government and strategy being proposed as part of this study. The proposed dam at Traveston Crossing on the Mary River represents a high total cost, high unit cost, high risk and high environmental and social impact option

Cost-effectiveness analysis of WELS: the Water Efficiency Labelling and Standards scheme

The Water Efficiency Labelling and Standards Scheme (WELS), introduced in July 2006, is a key program in the suite of options recently implemented by government agencies and water utilities to address water scarcity. WELS primarily influences water consumption by providing consumers with information about the water efficiency of all washing machines, dishwashers, toilets, urinals, taps and showers sold in Australia â thus enabling consumers to consider water efficiency as a factor in their purchase decisions. However, the WELS program is not without costs. Governments, suppliers, retailers and consumers of WELS-products potentially incur costs due to WELS activities and requirements. The Department of the Environment, Heritage, Water and the Arts, in its capacity as the WELS Regulator, commissioned the Institute of Sustainable Futures to analyse the cost-effectiveness of WELS in contributing to the overarching objective of water security, compared to other urban water management options. Consistent with the regulatory impact statement conducted in 2003, this analysis uses a time horizon of 2005-06 to 2020-21

Review of the Metropolitan Water Plan: Final Report

This report was commissioned by the NSW Cabinet Office to review the Metropolitan Water Plan 2004 (DIPNR, 2004a), and was undertaken by the Institute for Sustainable Futures at the University of Technology, Sydney and ACIL Tasman with technical advice from SMEC Australia. In February 2006, our interim review report (ISF, 2006) showed how the supply-demand balance in 2015 could be met with rain-fed supply and a suite of demand management initiatives, and how Sydney’s water needs could be secured against the risk of severe drought by having the capacity to deploy groundwater and desalination. Subsequent to that report, the NSW Government committed, among other initiatives, to increased recycling, groundwater and desalination readiness in the case of severe drought, and the removal of the potentially high cost Level IV/V drought restrictions from the suite of possible drought response options. The current report incorporates analyses of the more recent decisions and presents a deeper examination of implications, risks and opportunities as key considerations for the 2006 Metropolitan Water Plan. We have assumed that the objectives of the Metropolitan Water Plan remain unchanged — ensuring adequate supply to meet demand through the current drought and forward at least 25 years, and contributing to improved environmental outcomes. We have also worked with the assumption that these objectives are to be pursued with an eye to community acceptability and cost-effectiveness, inclusive of environment and user, as well as water supplier costs

Have we achieved the savings? The importance of evaluations when implementing demand management

Even though millions of dollars have been spent on demand management (DM) over the last decade across Australia, there is still very little evaluation of implemented DM/water efficiency programs. This paper brings together some of the limited examples of evaluation studies undertaken, providing details of both the statistical analysis method used and the findings of such studies undertaken by the Institute for Sustainable Futures (ISF) on behalf of water utilities. The studies include measurement of water savings in the residential and non-residential sectors and economic assessment of implemented programs. The paper highlights the importance of evaluation and need for embedding evaluation into the water planning process. It also highlights additional research currently being undertaken in this field associated with pressure reduction and energy usage when implementing DM programs. This paper will be of interest to a broad spectrum of practitioners beginning or currently involved in the development of DM programs or implementing and evaluating existing DM programs. © IWA Publishing 2007