Sustainable Water Management Plan - Nillumbik Shire Council

Objective 6: Monitor and report on Council and the community’s water
consumption annually.
Council action Priority Responsibility Partners
6.1 Establish a corporate water consumption database which ongoing EP
details annual water bills and consumption, and allows for
monitoring of works undertaken to reduce water use.
6.2 Update Council’s water consumption data into the ICLEI ongoing EP
database annually.
6.3 Implement systems to record water saved through the ongoing EP
actions implemented by Council.
Theme 2: Stormwater quality
Council-led community action Priority Responsibility Partners
6a Report annually on community consumption levels to the ongoing EP
community via internet and local media campaign and
Council publications.
Background
Nillumbik Shire Council adopted its Stormwater
Management Plan 2002 (SMP) and its Domestic
Wastewater Management Plan 2006-2009
(DWMP) to address the health and environmental
issues faced due to reduced water quality in local
waterways throughout the Shire. The Nillumbik
Environment Strategy (2001) also provides direction
for Council in developing programs that help to
improve water quality.
This Plan does not attempt to override nor repeat
the above plans but instead aims to complement
and address the issues raised in each of these
plans since their development. There are significant
differences in the aims and focus of the related
Management Plans, with the DWMP focusing on
minimising the impact of domestic wastewater
on human health and the local environment and
the SMP providing a framework for integrating
stormwater management as part of Council’s
existing management and planning activities. The
Sustainable Water Management Plan seeks to raise
the profile of water quality in Council operations and
throughout the community.
Stormwater is the water that runs off roads, car
parks, roofs of buildings and other hard surfaces
when it rains, and discharges into the nearest
waterway. Stormwater runoff enters waterways via a
network of sub-surface pipes or as overland runoff.
In urban areas, the rain runs off hard surfaces into
gutters or pipes that channel the water into drains,
which lead directly to the closest waterway. In
Nillumbik, stormwater runoff is directed to Diamond
Creek, Arthurs Creek, the Plenty River and the Yarra
River. These waterways eventually discharge into
Port Phillip Bay.
The urban and rural drainage network was
developed to minimise the threat of flooding and
traditionally does not take the environmental impact
of stormwater into consideration. All activities and
practices that occur within a waterway’s catchment
impact on stormwater quality and therefore river
health. Stormwater accumulates pollutants as it
flows over hard surfaces. Pollutants that often occur
in urban areas include leaves, grass clippings,
dog droppings, car washing detergents, fertilisers,
sediments, litter, oil, grease, chemicals and a myriad
of other toxicants.
Run-off from rural areas is another source of
contaminants. This often includes nutrients from
fertilisers and septic systems, toxicants from
pesticides and herbicides, sediment, and faecal
matter from livestock. Over-grazing, livestock access
to rivers and creeks, poor irrigation and nutrient
management practices, and runoff from unsealed
roads also add to the pollution of rivers and creeks.
Unlike sewage, stormwater is not normally treated
before it enters the waterway, and hence has been
identified as a major contributor to the degradation of
many aquatic environments.
28 Sustainable Water Management Plan Sustainable Water Management Plan