2014 Review of urban water planning principles Appendix c detailed comments by jurisdictions

APPENDIX C

JURISDICTIONAL URBAN WATER PLANNING ARRANGEMENTS

State and territory water officials were asked to provide information on urban water planning requirements in their jurisdiction. Each jurisdictional representative was provided with the same template to complete – see Attachment A.

The questions identified in the template were intended to assess the extent to which the National Urban Water Planning Principles have informed government planning processes to date and will do so into the future, particularly in the context of new approaches to planning, such as risk or adaptive management planning, and integrated urban water management and water-sensitive urban design.

Responses were analysed and used selectively in the body of the report. A copy of the complete responses is provided below, for reference. Victoria was unable to provide a response.

Contents

1.New South Wales – metropolitan 2

2.New South Wales – regional utilities 9

3.NSW Water and Sewerage, Strategic Business Planning Guidelines, NSW Office of Water, NSW, July 2011 (available on www.water.nsw.gov.au). 13

4.FINMOD User Manual [Draft], NSW Office of Water, 2011 – NSW Financial Planning Model for Water Supply and Sewerage (FINMOD). 13

5.2012–13 NSW Water Supply and Sewerage Performance Monitoring Report, NSW Office of Water/Local Government Association and Shires Association, NSW (available on www.water.nsw.gov.au). 13

6.Water Supply, Sewerage and Trade Waste Pricing Guidelines, Department of Land and Water Conservation, NSW, 2002 (available on request). 13

7.Liquid Trade Waste Regulation Guidelines, Department of Water and Energy, NSW,
April 2009 (available on www.water.nsw.gov.au). 13

8.Developer Charges Guidelines for Water Supply, Sewerage and Stormwater, NSW Office of Water, 2012 [Consultation Draft] (available on www.water.nsw.gov.au). 13

9.Environmental Management Systems – Specification with guidelines for use, International Standard ISO 14001. 13

10.Integrated Water Cycle Management Guidelines for NSW Local Water Utilities, Department of Energy, Utilities and Sustainability, NSW, October 2004 and 7 IWCM Information Sheets (2010) (available on www.water.nsw.gov.au). 13

11.Wise Water Management – A Demand Management Manual for Local Water Utilities, Water Services Association of Australia, 1998 (available on request). 13

12.Water Supply and Sewerage Management Guidelines, NSW Government, 1991 (available on request). 13

13.NSW Water and Sewerage Community Involvement Guidelines [Consultation Draft],
NSW Office of Water, 2012 (available on request). 13

14.Work Health and Safety Act 2011 and Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011. 13

15.NSW Water and Sewerage Asset Management Guidelines [Draft], NSW Office of Water, 2011. 13

16.Best-Practice Management of Water Supply and Sewerage Guidelines, NSW Government, 2007 (available on www.water.nsw.gov.au). 14

17.NSW Reference Rates Manual for Valuation of Water, Sewerage and Stormwater Assets, 2014. 14

18.2012–13 NSW Water Supply and Sewerage Benchmarking Report, NSW Office of Water/Local Government Association and Shires Association, NSW (available on www.water.nsw.gov.au). 14

19.NSW Guidelines on Assuring Future Urban Water Security – Assessment and Adaption Guidelines for NSW Local Water Utilities, 2014. 14

20.2013–14 National Performance Framework: Urban performance reporting indicators and definitions handbook, Australian Government National Water Commission (www.nwc.gov.au). 14

21.Integrated Water Cycle Management (IWCM) Check List (available on www.water.nsw.gov.au). 14

22.Strategic Business Planning (SBP) Check List (available on www.water.nsw.gov.au). 14

23.Example Planning Data Set for NSW Water Utilities (available on www.water.nsw.gov.au). 14

24.Australian Capital Territory 17

25.Northern Territory 21

26.Queensland 25

27.South Australia 28

1.Deliver urban water supplies in accordance with agreed levels of service 33

28.Base urban water planning on the best information available at the time and invest in acquiring information on an ongoing basis to continually improve the knowledge base 34

29.Adopt a partnership approach so that stakeholders are able to make an informed contribution to urban water planning, including consideration of the appropriate supply/demand balance 34

30.Manage water in the urban context on a whole-of-water-cycle basis 35

31.Consider the full portfolio of water supply and demand options 36

32.Develop and manage urban water supplies within sustainable limits 37

33.Use pricing and markets, where efficient and feasible, to help achieve planned urban water supply/demand balance 37

34.Periodically review urban water plans 37

35.Tasmania 40

36.Western Australia 43

1.Briefly describe the governance arrangements for urban water planning in your jurisdiction. 48

37.Please describe the entities involved in urban water planning and their roles, including the difference in roles and responsibilities between government agencies, utilities and local councils. 48

38.Provide an outline of statutory requirements for urban water planning. 48

39.For all entities involved in urban water planning, please provide an outline about relevant statutory requirements. 48

40.What (if any) non-statutory drivers inform and/or trigger urban water planning? 48

41.Please describe any non-statutory drivers that exist (eg guidelines) and explain their function in urban water planning processes. 48

42.What planning documents are currently in operation in your jurisdiction? 48

43.Please provide details of planning documents that are the responsibility of government agencies in your jurisdiction. You do NOT need to provide details of water service providers’ planning documents. Please include a short description of the purpose and function of each of these documents, and the timeframe under which they apply. 48

44.To what extent are the National Urban Water Planning Principles (the Principles) referred to in planning documents and processes? 48

45.What other guidelines/sources of information are considered in urban water planning processes? 49

46.If applicable, outline the approach used to promote awareness of the Principles. 49

47.Have the Principles been useful in guiding urban water planning? 49

48.How useful are the Principles as a set of national guidelines? 49

49.Will the Principles continue to be as relevant as they were when they were introduced in 2008? 49

50.Please outline any requirements or forms of guidance in your jurisdiction regarding real options/risk or adaptive management planning; and/or water sensitive urban design/integrated urban water management. 49

51.Do the Principles provide sufficient guidance on the ‘new’ approaches to planning outlined above? Why or why not? 50

52.If you think the Principles do NOT provide sufficient guidance on the ‘new’ approaches to planning, how should they be amended to better support/advance these issues? 50

53.Do you have any suggestions for alternative ways (i.e. other than the Principles) to advance the ‘new’ approaches? 50

54.What recommendations would you provide for improving the Principles? 50

55.Could communication of the Principles be improved and if so, how? Would any additional forms of guidance be useful? 50