Good Practices and Innovations in Public Governance 2003-2011

Good Practices and InnovATIONS in Public Governance
rity. Prior to the Millennium Drought, the average daily water use of the Gold Coast
was 182 million litres per day for a population of 409,000. During the later stages of
the drought, with the population at 505,000, the average daily water consumption
was just 157 million litres per day.
The Waterfuture strategies have empowered the Gold Coast community to take
ownership of their water future. The result has been rapid implementation of complementary
and synergistic water supply, demand management and recycled-water
strategies that have secured the city’s water supply well into the future while also
protecting the environment, thus achieving the right balance of supply and demand
as the city grows.
Replicability and Sustainability
Broad community support is a key factor in the sustainability of this initiative. Because
community representatives had so much input into the development of the
Waterfuture strategies, and because citizens now feel a sense of ownership, the project
has tremendous staying power.
The diversity and adaptability of the strategies also contribute to their sustainability.
Waterfuture incorporates varied approaches to water conservation, including reducing
demand, minimizing water leakage and waste, using multiple water sources and
recycling water. In addition, the strategies are adaptable; modifications can be made
to accommodate new technologies, new innovations and new information.
Gold Coast’s Waterfuture project has great potential for transferability and replicability
because it performs well from an environmental, social and economic perspective,
it has low upfront costs and it can be adapted in the event of future changes in
water requirements and technology. If the Waterfuture approach is implemented in
other regions of Australia and other parts of the world, it can greatly contribute to the
development of long-term water supply strategies.
Lessons Learned
Perhaps the most significant lesson learned is the importance of community and
stakeholder participation in policymaking decisions. Such participation ensures a
sense of ownership by all who are involved, ultimately increasing the likelihood
that the policy decisions will be successfully implemented. In the case of the Gold
Coast Waterfuture project, community members were encouraged to actively participate
in the development of each strategy, from start to finish. Specific steps that
helped ensure a positive outcome included the following: (1) appointing an independent
committee chair; (2) appointing a permanent advisory committee; (3)
ensuring fair representation of societal groups; (4) building trust among committee
members; (5) creating opportunities for advisory-committee members to en-
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