Planning for resilient water systems - a water supply and demand investment options assessment framework

The Managing Directors of the four Melbourne water businesses have set out a clear vision for the future role of water in shaping a sustainable, liveable, prosperous and healthy city. The Melbourne Water Supply Demand Strategy (WSDS) is a 50-year strategy to balance the supply of water to meet Melbourne’s consumptive, environmental, industrial and agricultural water needs. The strategy examines long-term future supply augmentations for the city. The last Melbourne WSDS was completed in 2006. The next Melbourne WSDS is due for completion in March 2012, and is one of the key mechanisms through which the Managing Directors’ vision can be achieved. The Institute for Sustainable Futures was contracted by the Smart Water Fund to develop an options assessment framework for the preparation of water supply demand investment strategies, including the forthcoming WSDS, that will meet the MDs’ broad vision. This options assessment framework brief indicates there is now widespread recognition across the Melbourne water businesses that a generational shift is required away from conventional deterministic planning towards more flexible and adaptive planning and management. This shift is being driven by the need to maintain water security in the face of increasing uncertainty in key determinants of water businesses, as well as by increasing determination to broaden the objectives that a water system should meet. For example, the recent dry period highlighted that the role of water in a city is wider than that of a commodity. In addition, feedback from key city stakeholders indicates that there is an opportunity for the water sector to play a larger role in actively shaping the future of our city

Opinion report – return of additional desalination payments

This report provides an opinion on whether it is appropriate to return additional amounts to customers on top of funds that are being returned via the price freeze.The revenue we approved in 2009 for Melbourne Water included a maximum component of $684 million (in nominal or dollars of the day terms) in the period to June 2013 ($225 million in 2011‐12 and $459 million in 2012‐13) to cover costs of the desalination plant. These costs were also reflected in the prices we approved for the water retailers. In our July 2012 report, we noted that the water businesses required substantially less—possibly around$300 million less—than was built into maximum prices to cover costs associated with the desalination plant in the period to June 2013. This later estimate was based on the desalination plant being completed on 28 February 2013, which follows a reliability testing period. This completion date is consistent with the timing specified in the Auditor‐General’s Annual Financial Report of the State of Victoria 2010‐11

Water Buy-Back in Australia: Political, Technical and Allocative Challenges

State and Federal governments are increasingly reliant on the re-purchase of water access rights as a vehicle for bringing ‘over-allocation’ in the Murray- Darling Basin into check. Not surprisingly, this has attracted criticism from several quarters, usually on the basis that such mechanisms produce unnecessary hardship for rural communities. Set against this are the views of many economists who have bemoaned the modest endeavours of governments to actively use water markets and the ongoing proclivity of agencies to instead embark on public projects under the guise of water use efficiency (see, for example Watson 2008). This paper focuses specifically on water buyback and traces recent policy episodes in this context. The paper also offers details of alternative market instruments which have the potential to improve on the current, relatively fragmented arrangements. We use contemporary examples to test the efficacy of alternative buyback instruments in the hope of informing policy formulation.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Thirsty country: climate change and drought in Australia

This report argues that climate change is likely making drought worse in the southeast and southwest of Australia, which are some of our most populous regions. Introduction Drought has deeply affected Australia throughout its history. The Millennium Drought from 1996-2010 serves as a recent reminder of the wide-reaching impacts that drought can have on Australia’s people and environment. Australia is the driest inhabited continent on Earth and drought is an important feature of Australia’s climate. Whilst Australians have always lived with drought and its consequences, it is likely that climate change is making drought worse in the southeast and southwest, some of our most populous regions. We begin this report by describing what a drought is, before considering its consequences for health, the economy, ecosystems and urban water supplies. We then outline the changing drought conditions and increasing drying trends in Australia and explore recent dry conditions in various parts of the country. We conclude by exploring how climate change is influencing drought conditions in the southeast and southwest of the continent as well as drying trends globally

Diagnostic analysis of RO desalting treated waste water

Diagnostic analysis of reverse osmosis membranes that were fed with Western treatment plant (WTP) recycled water was investigated by both thermodynamic calculations and laboratory experiments in order to predict the feasibility of RO desalting for WTP. The thermodynamic calculations suggested that RO recoveries of 80–85% were feasible with careful control of feed water pH and the use of chemical additives such as antiscalants and chelating agents, it also predicted the major minerals of concern to be silica, calcium fluoride, calcium carbonate, and calcium phosphate. Following the thermodynamic simulations, diagnostic laboratory experiments were undertaken. The experiments showed that the major contributor to scale formation was indeed calcium phosphate and possibly another calcium based compound, which was strongly suspected to be calcium carbonate. Based on previously published literature that indicated anti-scalants did not substantially decrease the scaling effect of calcium phosphate and laboratory tests that indicated controlling the pH to 6.4 in the feed water dramatically reduced scaling formation, it was suggested that the feed water could be controlled by pH adjustments only. Inter-stage pH correction was suggested as an optional technique to enhance the overall water recovery to above 95%

Adaptive planning for resilient urban water systems under an uncertain future

Water planners are familiar with some form of variability in climate and demand. However, the uncertainty associated with the frequency and magnitude of the variations, coupled with broader performance expectations, means that long term deterministic planning needs to give way to a new approach. The structured adaptive planning process proposed in this paper aims to meet those objectives and accommodate the uncertainty in the future by developing a portfolio of measures that are both flexible to gradual changes in trends and robust to sudden shocks. A step-by-step process of the planning framework is presented. This is followed by a case study of the inputs and results based on its implementation by the Melbourne water businesses

A rapid review of the background to source control

Background to researchThe start of the 21st Century witnessed a revolution in drainage practices with the implementation of sustainable drainage systems (SUDS). Prior to 2000, rainfall was managed by directing it away as quickly as possible in underground pipes. Increasing pressures such as watercourse pollution, stricter environmental laws, climate change and urbanisation called for a paradigm shift with Scotland leading the way for implementing SUDS. SUDS are designed to mimic natural drainage processes, managing rainfall in stages as it drains from a development. Collectively this process is called the stormwater treatment train. The first stage is source control, with stages two and three being site and regional controls respectively. Source control principally controls and treats polluted runoff at source (where the rain falls) and if designed and implemented correctly, protect watercourses and downstream SUDS through filtration, infiltration and storage. In Scotland, site and regional control SUDS have become business as usual, however uptake of the stormwater treatment train and the use of source control SUDS in practice is less routine than would be expected.Objectives of researchThe SUDS Working Party in Scotland is an interdisciplinary stakeholder platform to discuss issues relating to the SUDS agenda and promote their use. In 2009, a consultation paper on ‘Implementing the Water Environment and Water Services (Scotland) Act’ set out proposals to improve the sustainable management of Scotland’s water resources. The need for increased source control measures for the mitigation of diffuse pollution and climate change effects in urban areas was identified. To assist in this aspiration, the SUDS Working Party commissioned this study via CREW to identify opportunities and barriers to increasing the uptake of source control in Scotland. This report covers phase one of a three-phase study. It focuses on tracking the evolution of source control to gain an insight into enabling factors and obstacles for successful uptake of the systems. A literature review identified source control origins, the techniques available, and options for their application.Key findings and recommendationsIn the UK, research to validate the performance of source control measures began in the early 1990’s. This was enabled by stakeholder platforms such as the SUDS Working Party and the Scottish Universities SUDS Monitoring Group. By the mid-1990s, the SUDS concept was developed which included source control and outlined water quality, quantity and biodiversity / amenity benefits of the systems. By 2000, Scottish guidance was developed and by 2006 it became law to implement SUDS in all new developments. This was quickly followed by technical standards in 2007. SUDS for roads networks were addressed in 2010. Currently, many types of source control exist, most of which have been validated by research and are commonplace. The state of the art techniques such as rain gardens, green roofs and rainwater harvesting however, have had limited uptake in Scotland.It is evident that the enabling factors for the uptake of SUDS have been the result of top down drivers such as environmental initiatives and regulation. However, clarity surrounding the definition and application of source control as part of the stormwater treatment train is becoming a barrier to its uptake by practitioners. Extensive research provided a bottom up driver to validate effectiveness of the technologies for attenuating pollutants, mitigating flooding and creating habitats. Validation of emerging innovative techniques however, such as green roofs and rain gardens for different development types is limited in Scotland and this may prove to be a barrier in the future

The use of simulated whole effluents in toxicity assessments: A review of case studies from reverse osmosis desalination plants

Seawater desalination is an increasingly common means to meet the demand for freshwater. Resulting wastewater discharges can, however, impact biota of the surrounding environment. Concern exists that interactive effects specific to the outputs of each desalination plant may result in unique impacts difficult to predict by studying existing plants or assessing the effects of individual chemicals found in waste streams. Given this, we highlight an alternative approach to assess potential toxicity of desalination outfalls. Specifically, we review three recent case studies from Australia in which simulated whole effluents were used in toxicity assessments before desalination plants were constructed. This approach enabled potential toxic effects of wastewater to be considered before the plants became operational and, in one case, even facilitated consideration of potential effects of different treatment processes and suppliers. As in many whole effluent toxicity assessments, the time required for testing and restricted range of species considered were limitations. Given the benefits of this method, however, the use of simulated whole effluents is a development that could facilitate an improved capacity to forecast impacts of proposed desalination plants

Historical Calibration of a Water Account System

Models that are used for future based scenarios should be calibrated with historical water supply and use data. Historical water records in Australia are discontinuous, incomplete and often incongruently disaggregated. We present a systematic method to produce a coherent reconstruction of the historical provision and consumption of water in Victorian catchments. This is demonstrated using WAS: an accounting and simulation tool that tracks the stocks and flows of physical quantities relating to the water system. The WAS is also part of, and informed by, an integrated framework of stocks and flows calculators for simulating long-term interactions between other sectors of the physical economy. Both the WAS and related frameworks consider a wide scope of inputs regarding population, land use, energy and water. The physical history of the water sector is reconstructed by integrating water data with these information sources using a data modelling process that resolves conflicts and deduces missing information. The WAS allows strategic exploration of water and energy implications of scenarios of water sourcing, treatment, delivery and end use cognisant of historical records.water accounting, stocks and flows, historical time series, data modelling, calibration