Living Waterways: A Framework to encourage Strategic Planning and Adaptation

Abstract

The environmental impacts of climate change are also of concern to our natural environments that support healthy lifestyles and nature experiences in the urban environment. Changes in stream hydrology caused by urbanisation are set to become more extreme, further putting the environmental and social value of local waterways at risk. The potential for urban stormwater no only to be better managed in a risk context, but also to be used as a resource to build positive relationships with water and resilience in the community is being realised, but uptake of these principles has been slow.

Living Waterways is a policy framework that was developed in Queensland to help councils and utilities articulate their desired urban water outcomes and incentivise an integrated approach for both new development and retrofit projects. Early feedback on the framework has been positive, and we have begun working with stakeholders in NSW and Qld as we conduct a major update to provide a stronger link to incorporate new climate change adaptation measures into the framework and better links to Council strategic planning and the State Planning Policy. This will help local councils, utilities and the community to adapt to future changes and build a more sustainable future for our growing cities