development committee meeting tuesday 17 march … · the urban water transitions framework (figure...

DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE MEETING

TUESDAY 17 MARCH 2020

ATTACHMENT TO ITEM DV20.30

WATER SENSITIVE CITIES BENCHMARKING AND ASSESSMENT

Water Sensitive Cities Benchmarking and Assessment: Town of Cambridge | 1

Water Sensitive Cities Benchmarking and Assessment Town of Cambridge, WA


Document Title Water Sensitive Cities Benchmarking and Assessment: Town of Cambridge

Authors Adele Gismondi and Amanda Best

© 2019 Cooperative Research Centre for Water Sensitive Cities

This work is copyright. Apart from any use permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part of it may be reproduced by any process without written permission from the publisher. Requests and inquiries concerning reproduction rights should be directed to the publisher.

Publisher

Cooperative Research Centre for Water Sensitive Cities Level 1, 8 Scenic Blvd, Clayton Campus Monash University Clayton, VIC 3800 p. +61 3 9902 4985e. [email protected] w. www.watersensitivecities.org.au Date of publication: December 2019

An appropriate citation for this document is:

Gismondi and Best (2019) Water Sensitive Cities Benchmarking and Assessment: Town of Cambridge, Australia: Cooperative Research Centre for Water Sensitive Cities, December.


Contents Executive Summary ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 4

1. Introduction ................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 5

2. WSC Index Tool ............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 7

2.1 Process for Rating Indicators .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 7

3 Evaluation of Performance ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 9

3.1 City State Benchmarking ................................................................................................................................................................................................. 9

3.2 Water Sensitive Goals ................................................................................................................................................................................................... 11

3.3 Water Sensitive Outcomes and Practices ..................................................................................................................................................................... 15

4 The Town’s Ten Point Plan ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 17

Appendix 1: List of Workshop Participants ................................................................................................................................................................................... 21 Appendix 2: Summary of Ratings for Each Indicator .................................................................................................................................................................... 22 Appendix 3: Workshop Notes for Each Indicator .......................................................................................................................................................................... 23


Executive Summary

This report provides a summary of the state of the Town of Cambridge, as a whole, in its journey towards a Water Sensitive City (WSC) as of November 2019. The current state was benchmarked using the CRCWSC’s WSC Index Tool with input from the Town and stakeholders. The WSC Index Tool identifies all the key components (indicators) of a Water Sensitive City. The tool covers 7 goals and assesses 34 indicators that represent important attributes of a Water Sensitive City. Although the tool provides a numeric score, the assessment of many indicators is qualitative and thus some variation may be apparent across benchmarked areas. The WSC Index also facilitates consideration of the developmental states of cities as they move towards a Water Sensitive City. The results of the benchmarking workshop suggest that the Town of Cambridge meets all the characteristics of a Water Supply City, Sewered City and Drained City. It nearly meets the characteristics of a Waterway City (97%); is comfortably progressing towards a Water Cycle City (63%); and has commenced the journey (23%) towards the Water Sensitive City state. In terms of the WSC goals, the Town met or exceeded the Water Cycle City benchmark for the goals of (1) Ensure good water sensitive governance, (3) Achieve equity of essential services, (6) Ensure quality urban space and (7) Promote adaptive infrastructure, and is nearing the Water Cycle City benchmark for (4) Improve productivity and resource efficiency. A deficit in attaining key attributes of a Water Cycle City is most evident for the goal (5) Improve ecological health, while a small shortfall is evident for the goal (2) Increase community capital.

In response to the discussion and rankings achieved, a ten‐point action plan has been developed for the Town of Cambridge to help progress the Town’s journey towards a Water Sensitive City. The actions predominantly address the lower‐performing indicators and are recommended to be collaboratively delivered by all agencies working together with the community. In no particular order, the following actions are recommended: Action 1: Build a clear Vision for a Water Sensitive Town of Cambridge Action 2: Establish a Reconciliation Committee and develop a Reconciliation Plan Action 3: Foster community engagement, collaboration and ownership Action 4: Strengthen diversity, collaboration and integration in decision‐making Action 5: Support establishment of green infrastructure that improves ecological

health and connectivity Action 6: Consider the role of groundwater in achieving improved environmental

outcomes Action 7: Encourage uptake of alternative fit‐for‐purpose water supply options Action 8: Recognise economic benefit of WSUD Action 9: Encourage uptake of suitable alternative fit‐for‐purpose water supply

options (other than groundwater) Action 10: Consider the water‐energy nexus & address GHG emissions It is understood that this plan will be an input into the development of a strategy for the Town to progress towards a water sensitive future. The Town’s strategy will facilitate further testing of these actions, followed by appropriate allocation of resources for delivery.


1. Introduction

Water sensitive cities are resilient, liveable, productive and sustainable. They interact with the urban hydrological cycle in ways that: provide water security for economic prosperity through efficient use of diverse water resources; enhance and protect the health of watercourses and wetlands; mitigate flood risk and damage; and create public spaces that harvest, clean and recycle water. Its strategies and systems for water management contribute to biodiversity, community health and wellbeing, carbon sequestration and reduction of urban heat island effects. 1

The Cooperative Research Centre for Water Sensitive Cities (CRCWSC) is an Australian research centre that brings together many disciplines, world‐renowned subject matter experts, and industry thought leaders to revolutionise urban water management in Australia and overseas. As cities develop, the provision of water services is considered to respond to a range of drivers, creating solutions to the need for water supply, public health and flood protection. As awareness increases around the need for social amenity and ecological protection as well as a sustainable water supply, the solutions become more complex and the journey towards a resilient, adaptive and liveable city ‐ the water sensitive city (WSC), is challenging. The CRCWSC has developed a tool driven by the best research to understand how far towards WSC places are, so they can take steps and track progress toward that goal. Communities expect efficient, water‐supported, vibrant cities and this is a great way to see how we are doing in delivering those outcomes.

Through the planning and delivery of a WSC conceptual framework, urban areas can exploit the synergies between local water management and urban greening while creating resilient and liveable neighbourhoods. This is achieved by strengthening governance arrangements, building community capital, and investing in multifunctional adaptive infrastructure. This is complimented by the provision of high quality and connected open spaces, protecting and enhancing the ecological values of the urban landscape, providing a diversity of water supply options and recreating a more natural water cycle that restores soil moisture while reducing stormwater runoff.

1 http://watersensitivecities.org.au/


This report provides a summary of the current state of the Town of Cambridge, as a whole, in its journey towards a Water Sensitive City. The current state was benchmarked using the CRCWSC’s WSC Index tool with input from the Town, community and stakeholders.

The purpose of the WSC Index is to guide governments and organisations to transition cities into liveable, resilient, sustainable and productive places through water related actions. The WSC Index aims to:

Provide a communication tool for describing key attributes of a Water Sensitive City;

Articulate a shared set of goals of a Water Sensitive City; Provide benchmarking for a city’s water‐sensitive

performance; Measure the progress and direction towards achieving Water

Sensitive City goals; and Assist decision‐makers to prioritise actions, define

responsibility and foster accountability for water‐related practices.

The WSC Index Tool has undergone multiple development phases including a co‐design process with industry partners. Its application relies on cross‐organisational knowledge sharing and collaboration that strengthens broader industry relationships to deliver commitment to action. The report details the process and outcomes of the benchmarking workshop for the Town of Cambridge, and concludes with suggested actions developed to assist the town in moving towards the aspirations of a Water Sensitive City.


2. WSC Index Tool The WSC Index Tool identifies all the key components (indicators) of a Water Sensitive City. The Tool covers 7 goals and assesses 34 indicators that represent important attributes of a Water Sensitive City. Although the tool provides a numeric score, the assessment of many indicators is qualitative and thus some variation may be apparent across benchmarked areas. The WSC Index Tool is designed to benchmark cities based on water sensitivity performance and provides users with the capacity to monitor and evaluate potential management actions against performance to make the most impact with available resources. It enables users to explore measures that deliver improvements in liveability, sustainability, resilience and productivity. A summary of the goals and indicators of the WSC Index Tool is presented in Figure 1. The goals include multifaceted aspects of a water sensitive city such as governance, community capital, essential services, productivity and resource efficiency, infrastructure, ecological systems and urban spaces. The benchmarking process strengthens knowledge sharing and collaboration opportunities during indicator rating discussions. The results of the Index benchmarking allows gaps in water related management and actions to be identified and targets to be set to progress towards the key outcome areas of a WSC. Urban water transition areas include enabling structures, on‐ground practices and socio‐political capital and subsequent benchmarking can track progress and achievements towards this. It is anticipated that subsequent benchmarking will be undertaken every three to five years in order to track progress and achievements.

2.1 Process for Rating Indicators A full day benchmarking workshop was held at the Town of Cambridge’s Administration Centre, 1 Bold Park Drive Floreat, Cambridge on Wednesday 27th November 2019. Participants included internal stakeholders from a range of the Town’s business units and external stakeholders. A list of participants in contained in Appendix 1. A three‐step method for scoring each indicator was used: 1. Live polling to gauge individual participants’ perspectives on the score for the indicator in question; 2. Interactive discussion to uncover evidence and justification to inform the indicator’s score; and 3. Reach consensus amongst the participants on the score to be assigned and level of confidence in that score. The live polling used the CRCWSC Index web‐based tool which is accessed by individual participants through their mobile devices to rate the indicator from 1 to 5. This rating is based on the level of individual knowledge with respect to the indicator being ranked and participants may choose not to vote if they are unfamiliar with the topic. The collective results were shown in real‐time to the group. The results were discussed, with evidence identified (e.g. policy documents, organisational materials, expert views, etc.) before reaching consensus on a given rating and level of confidence.


3 Evaluation of Performance Three analytical frameworks support interpretation of the index scores and provide insight into the management responses that should be prioritised to advance practice. These are (1) city state benchmarking, (2) water sensitive goals, and (3) water sensitive practices and outcomes.

3.1 City State Benchmarking The Urban Water Transitions Framework (Figure 2, Brown et al. 2009) considers the drivers and service delivery functions for water infrastructure provision in cities as six developmental states that cities move through in response to society’s expanding objectives for urban water management. Although the transition from one state to the next is not always linear, the progression of water service delivery options can be driven towards the ultimate state that is a water sensitive city. The idealised city‐states in the Urban Water Transitions Framework are associated with particular indicator scores. This enables an assessment of how far a city has progressed towards the water sensitive city state.

Figure 2: Urban water transitions framework

Figure 3 summarises the city state benchmarking results for the Town of Cambridge. Percentage attainment for each city state ranged from 100% as a Water Supply City, Sewered City and Drained City down to 23 % as a Water Sensitive City. This section summarises the key elements that contribute to the overall percentage attainment of each city state.

Figure 3: Benchmarking results for Town of Cambridge 100% attainment of water supply city and sewered city

The Town rated 100 % as a water supply city and a sewered city. The entire community has equitable access to safe and secure drinking water, through access to the Water Corporation’s Integrated Water Supply Scheme. Similarly, the community has access to safe and reliable sanitation and the majority of areas within the Town are connected to reticulated sewerage, with the rest small area on septic


tanks. Water and sanitation are affordable and the Water Corporation has a number of programs to assist the community in the payment of bills.

100% attainment of drained city

The Town rated 100% as a drained city. Rainfall events generally do not disrupt everyday activities. Catchments are designed to allow flood events (1% Annual Exceedance Probability events) to occur with minimal disruption. The Town has a co‐ordinated approach with state agencies to respond to any flooding. Flood prone areas are largely located in close proximity to Lake Monger and tend to result in mainly traffic issues, but planning and guidelines are in place for the limited areas impacted and preventative action has been taken to mitigate risk. The Town also has an approved drainage maintenance program and budget for street sweeping and clearing of induction pit blockages.

97% attainment of waterway city

The Town has nearly attained the waterway city state, with a rating of 97%. The Town of Cambridge has a substantial area of bushland found within its boundaries, eg Bold Park, as well as wetlands at Lake Monger and Perry Lakes. The Town is highly urbanised so these areas have become increasingly important in the urban landscape and provide significant social amenity and value, receiving heavy use for recreational activity. The Town plays an active role in the strategic management of its blue and green assets and has many plans developed and under development to ensure their sustainable management into the future. 63% attainment of water cycle city

The Town rated 63% as a water cycle city. Water supply and sanitation systems consist of centralised services provided by the Water Corporation. Potable water is sourced from a range of sources including groundwater, desalination, dams and treated wastewater

(through aquifer injection). All systems are adequately managed so that discharges to the environment do not pose a public health risk. There is widespread use of groundwater for local irrigation of green space and the Town has a 43.8% coverage in vegetation and 18.5% of tree canopy (3m and above). The Town is involved in a range of sustainability and natural area management initiatives that help to maintain and improve the environment. Many key environmental and community strategies have been developed by the Town to protect and conserve the natural environment, as well as engage the community and enhance liveability. The latest two strategic documents, the Sustainability Strategy 2019‐23 (currently in development) and the Strategic Community Plan 2018‐2028, can work well together to outline how the Town will maintain and enhance its very liveable suburbs, their streetscapes and character and vibrant activity centres through strategic, cost effective management of resources and an enhanced community experience based on a locals first philosophy.

23% attainment of water sensitive city

The Town rated 23% as a water sensitive city. The City is in the process of developing a Public Open Space Strategy, as well as an Urban Forest Strategy. The Town's native plant subsidy that is run by the Western Suburbs Regional Organisation of Councils (WESROC) is always sold out. The Town has two thriving community gardens in West Leederville and at north Lake Monger. These gardens provide an important local hub for the community to gather, learn and share a passion for productive gardening. The level of education and awareness of water cycles are high within the community and water was the second highest issue that residents raised in the engagement for the development of the Town’s


Sustainability Strategy. The majority of the community has easy access to all Town assets and all are free, with the exception of the aquatic centre.

This degree of water‐sensitivity is also attributed to the equity of essential services for water supply, which is accessible to everyone, safe, secure and affordable. The cost of water supply is less for low income earners than high incomes through discounted bills.

3.2 Water Sensitive Goals There are 7 overarching WSC goals. They are:

1. Ensure good water sensitive governance 2. Increase community capital 3. Achieve equity of essential services 4. Improve productivity and resource efficiency 5. Improve ecological health 6. Ensure quality urban space 7. Promote adaptive infrastructure.

As noted in Section 2, each goal is broken down into a number of indicators (Figure 1). Results of the rating of each indicator are summarised and compared against each goal to provide insight into the Town’s key areas of strength and where improvements could be made.

Figure 4 summarises the performance of the Town of Cambridge against the 7 goals of a Water Sensitive City. The results for the Town (shown by the shaded light blue area) are compared to an idealised Water Cycle City (shown by the dashed orange line).

The Town exceeds the Water Cycle City benchmark for the goals of (1) Ensure good water sensitive governance, (3) Achieve equity of essential services, (6) Ensure quality open space and (7) Promote adaptive infrastructure.

Figure 4: Performance against water sensitive goals

A deficit in attaining key attributes of a Water Cycle City is evident across the goals to (2) Increase community capital, (4) Improve productivity and resource efficiency and (5) Improve ecological health. An overview of the indicators that fall short of the attributes for a Water Cycle City, together with other indicators which are below the average score for their corresponding goal, is provided below. It is considered that these indicators provide the most effective opportunities to progress the Town’s transition towards a Water Sensitive City. (Please note not all goal areas/indicators are addressed below, only the opportunities identified)

Additional detail regarding the scores for the remaining goals and indicators is contained in Appendices 2 and 3. This should be used to assist in future benchmarking workshops and to track progress.


Goal 1 – Ensure good water sensitive governance

Indicator 1.1: Knowledge, skills and organisational capacity (2.5) Consensus was that the Town is engineering dominant and while there is some knowledge about water related issues across the board, it’s not widely shared. There has been some good research done related to ongoing management of Perry Lakes and the Town has evidence of strong partnerships with the University of Western Australia for water monitoring, WESROC, and the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation for groundwater projects. However the Town is not considered multidimensional and information such as the Planning Policy and the Sustainability Strategy, while available, appears not to be well shared across the organisation. Goal 2 – Increase community capital

Indicator 2.1: Water literacy (3.5) The level of education and awareness of water issues are considered high in the Town and water was the second highest issue that residents submitted in the sustainability strategy. However it was also believed that residents with bores don’t care about bore water usage as there is no price tag and they probably didn’t understand the entire water cycle including groundwater. Participants thought that there was an opportunity to engage with bore owners close to Perry Lakes to encourage them to reduce their water usage to assist with the health and water levels in the lake. However, this initiative must be considered in the context of the Perry Lakes Replenishment Project and the potential impacts explored first. The Town is also involved in educational programs such as Switch Your Thinking, the very popular verge makeover program and hold events at Lake Monger with water sustainability messages and Bold Park Aquatic Open Day.

There is a need to improve water literacy across the community. Improved literacy is the precursor to greater understanding and involvement in the planning, ownership and management of water related assets (both natural and constructed). This will also strengthen the understandings around water’s contribution to liveability through contributing to greener, cooler and more pleasant urban spaces. Indicator 2.3: Shared ownership, management and responsibility of water assets (2.5) The Water Corporation, Department of Water and Environmental Regulation and the Town own and manage the majority of water assets. Communities do play a small role in managing local water management solutions, with heavy dependence on domestic bores and limited rainwater tanks and greywater systems throughout the Town, however these are largely unmonitored by authorities. Indicator 2.4: Community preparedness and response to extreme events (2.0) The Town has a Local Emergency Recovery Plan developed in 2017 which is a legislated requirement in WA. It was believed that preparedness is more a responsibility of state government groups like Department of Fire and Emergency Services and Department of Health. Residents are believed to be poorly prepared and poorly informed except possibly the half dozen residents that experience flooding. The Town has sandbags to use in an emergency event with a map of certain properties that are at risk however this is not part of a formal policy. The Local Emergency Management Committee is also limited in members.


Indicator 2.5: Indigenous involvement in water planning (2.0) The cultural significance of Lake Monger has been acknowledged as a registered Aboriginal site and there is usually an Aboriginal monitor present when doing work on site. There are also a lot of indigenous trails all based on consultation that are promoted in the Town. A Reconciliation Action Plan is currently being discussed internally and Department of Aboriginal Affairs is consulted with regards to land use planning as part of requirements. Goal 4 – Improve productivity and resource efficiency

Indicator 4.2: Low GHG emission in water sector (2.0) Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the water sector are known to be high for the Water Corporation’s activities. This predominantly results from high energy requirements for conveyance and treatment of drinking water and wastewater. The Water Corporation has developed a “Water for Life” strategy. This strategy includes actions to increase the amount of renewable energy which is used, aiming to achieve net zero GHG emissions by 2030. Currently the Southern desalination plant is 100% offset by a wind farm and a biosolids energy recovery plant is being constructed at Beenyup. The Town of Cambridge has renewable power sources, amounting to 190kW solar PV systems across council facilities and more systems have been installed at clubs and recreational centres. Electrical hot water systems were replaced with solar systems or heat pumps at eight sites. Energy monitoring has been installed in the Aquatic Centre to optimise energy consumption. The Town also provides information to their residents via their website on reducing energy and water use in the home. It also encourages sustainability through its Sustainable Grants Program and is a partner of the Switch Your Thinking Program.

The Town’s new Sustainability Strategy sets a strategy for reducing energy, however it does not contain measurable targets and the Town does not currently measure the GHG emissions. Indicator 4.5: Maximised resource recovery (2.0) There is little resource recovery currently occurring within the Town of Cambridge. Stormwater harvesting at the Wembley Golf Course subsidises the bore water used to keep the grounds green. Some resource recovery occurs from Water Corporation wastewater systems across Perth including wastewater recycling for irrigation at the nearby McGilvray Oval from Subiaco WWTP, which is where the Town’s sewerage ends up. The Water Corporation has a target to recycle 45% of the wastewater they manage by 2030 with a focus on increasing groundwater replenishment. The Water Corporation are also investigating opportunities to increase nutrient recovery and become energy self‐sufficient.

In terms of future projects, the Town also has allocated budget to recover water from the Herdsman main drain to top up Perry Lakes and the tender for the design and construction of this project is currently being negotiated. Through WESROC, the Town is also investigating managed aquifer recharge as a source of increasing water available for green spaces. There is the opportunity to harvest the vegetation in Lake Monger, which has been planted for nutrient stripping but this is not being recovered at this stage. Goal 5 – Improve ecological health

Indicator: 5.1: Healthy and biodiverse habitat (3.5) The community within the Town highly value the significant amount of green space including 43.8% coverage in vegetation and 18.5% of tree canopy (3m and above). There are Bush Forever sites in the Town (Bold Park and sections along the coast) and Lake Monger is a


Conservation Category wetland. These are predominantly large parks and there was consensus that there were not connections between these spaces. The annual Biodiversity Action Plan funding allows for the rehabilitation and maintenance of natural areas. The Natural Areas Strategy (still to be developed) will focus on increasing biodiversity and, in conjunction with the WESROC Greening Plan and the draft Urban Forest Strategy, will focus on increasing biodiversity corridors to improve healthy and biodiverse habitats. Indicator 5.2: Surface water quality and flows (3.5) There was consensus that the majority of surface water flows support a functioning ecosystem, including the ocean outlet of Herdsman main drain at Floreat Beach, which benefits from the protection of Herdsman Lake. The future project to divert this water in Perry Lakes will also include a vegetated treatment train to further improve the quality of this water. Despite extensive monitoring, collaboration and investigation by UWA and vegetation planted for nutrient stripping, the water quality within Lake Monger continue to be poor including several months last summer where there was blue‐green algae detected. The Town is motivated to improve this area and through ongoing commitment to improve this wetland this measure will increase. Indicator 5.3: Groundwater quality and replenishment (2.0) Perry Lakes is highly groundwater dependent which has resulted in the lakes drying out over recent summers. Lake Monger is less dependent on ground water levels. The high number of private bores are potentially impacting groundwater levels. Modelling from DWER suggests that it is not

reducing the groundwater levels in the Town's geographical area, however it is impacting the councils downstream of the groundwater flow with lower volumes of groundwater being observed. As already noted in this report, the Town is looking to add water to Perry Lakes from the Herdsman main drain to support this valuable ecosystem. Through WESROC, they are also investigating a managed aquifer recharge project. Delivery of these two projects and a focus on reduction of water use through private bores is required to improve this measure. Indicator 5.4: Protect areas of high ecological value (3.5) The Town has several areas of high ecological value including the beaches at Floreat and City Beach, Perry Lakes and Lake Monger plus Bush Forever sites and twelve remnant bushland areas. These are protected through site specific management plans and active friends groups and the Town’s Biodiversity Action Plan 2016‐2020. Bold Park is also within the Town’s boundaries and this is an A‐class reserve that is managed by the Botanic Gardens and Parks Authority and Friends of Bold Park Bushland group. The Town felt they had limited mapping of flora and fauna, including limited knowledge of endangered species. The Lake Monger Management Plan has also expired and due for renewal.

Goal 6 – Ensure quality urban space

Indicator 6.2: Urban elements functioning as part of the urban water system (2.5) The Town of Cambridge is an established council area and has many mature trees, which are valued by the community. The Treescape Plan 2010‐2020 is being updated and aims to increase the overall tree canopy and foster the importance of street trees. The Town is


currently developing an Urban Forrest Strategy to further increase the tree canopy cover. For example the new development at Perry Lakes has retained some of the mature trees. As expected with an older area, many houses are also older and use indoor solutions to manage heat including air conditioning. Perth has always had access to groundwater and has taken advantage of that source for water public open space and has not had a need to develop stormwater harvesting like the rest of Australia. This is also true for the Town of Cambridge, who have very limited adoption of Water Sensitive Urban Design features such as rain gardens, flush curbing and pervious surfaces. The Perry Lakes development has rainwater tanks however little is known about the adoption of tanks outside this area. There is also limited flooding experience in the Town, with biofilters in place close to Lake Monger. A property was purchase adjacent to McCourt Street Park where flooding occurred during extreme storm events. An underground stormwater storage detention system was installed to cater for approximately 1,150 m3 of stormwater. Additional play space was created and mature trees were saved.

3.3 Water Sensitive Outcomes and Practices The WSC Index Tool can filter results based on WSC Outcomes and WSC Practices. Water sensitive outcomes

Water sensitive outcomes assesses the performance of the urban water system against the delivery of resilience, liveability, sustainability and productivity. Resilience in this context is defined as the capacity to maintain water system services under acute or chronic disturbances, through adaptation or recovery. Sustainability is the capacity of water system

services to deliver benefits for current and future generations. Liveability is the capacity of the water system to deliver a high quality of life for communities (such as thermal comfort, aesthetics, amenity, connection to place, etc.). Productivity is the capacity of the water system services to generate economic value. The ratings from each indictor can contribute to one or more of these outcomes. For example, improving the rating for the indicator ‘diversify self‐sufficient fit‐for‐purpose water supply’ related to provision of alternative water supplies would improve both resilience and sustainability outcomes. The results shown in Figure 5 indicate how the Town of Cambridge compares to Water Cycle City outcomes (orange open circle). Productivity and resilience outcomes are well‐aligned, and liveability is reasonably aligned to the desirable outcomes of a water cycle city. Improvements should be directed at actions to deliver enhanced sustainability outcomes for the Town. Delivering these outcomes is closely linked to improving water sensitive practices.

Figure 5: Assessment of water sensitive outcomes (Attainment of Water Sensitive City status requires a score equal to 5)


Water sensitive practices

The three pillars of practice that are essential to deliver water sensitive services (Wong and Brown, 2009) are:

Water‐Sensitive Communities where people engage in water‐conscious behaviours, feel connected to their water environments and appreciate the many values of water;

Cities as Water Supply Catchments to provide resources at different scales in fit‐for‐purpose applications; and

Cities providing Ecosystem Services to integrate water sensitive practices into the urban landscape, providing multiple benefits such as heat mitigation, ecological health and landscape amenity.

Figure 6: Assessment of water sensitive practices (Attainment of Water Sensitive City status requires a score equal to 5) The results shown in Figure 6 indicate how the Town of Cambridge compares to Water Cycle City practices (orange open circle). The Town’s level of community engagement, together with its use of fit‐for‐purpose water sources and proactive approach to asset

management is demonstrated by the level of Cities as Water Supply Catchments and Water Sensitive Communities practices. Improvements in practice should be directed at enhancing ecosystem services and providing attractive connected green and blue open spaces. This may be achieved though creation of local demonstration projects showcasing water sensitive infrastructure that are ecologically functioning landscapes to strengthen the Town’s level of sustainability. The Town should promote mainstream water sensitive infrastructure as part of infill development to strengthen the Town’s liveability and deal with the increasing pressures of climate change and a growing population.


4 The Town’s Ten Point Plan

A ten‐point action plan has been developed for the Town of Cambridge as a result of its benchmarking. The actions have been identified to address the lower‐performing indicators with the intent of progressing the Town’s journey towards a Water Sensitive City. The actions are recommended to be collaboratively delivered by all agencies working together with the community. The order of actions listed does not reflect the priority of the actions to be undertaken. Actions are mutually reinforcing and provide an overarching framework to guide initiatives across the Town to progress closer towards the aspirations of a Water Sensitive City. Action 1: Build a clear Vision for a Water Sensitive Town of Cambridge

The Town of Cambridge is identified by the State Government as a significant area of infill and redevelopment in the future, predicting that the number of dwellings will increase over 50% from around 11,000 to 18,000 by 2050. This will place substantial pressure on community assets, the environment and infrastructure, and could result in a reduced level of service and amenity in the future. The delivery of water sensitive cities requires a clear vision with local relevance which can guide collaborative planning to coordinate opportunities to enhance the Town’s ecological, economic and social values. Key stakeholders and the community including the local Noongar people should be engaged in developing a water sensitive vision and

narrative for Cambridge that endorses the productive, liveable, sustainable and resilient water agenda. Explicitly link outcomes to broader community aspirations through the vision’s collaborative development. Action 2: Establish a Reconciliation Committee and develop a Reconciliation Plan

Leverage the engagement and acknowledgement of Aboriginal cultural significance of Lake Monger to develop a reconciliation committee. This committee must develop a reconciliation plan including providing direction on the indigenous involvement in water planning including involving shared history and values as part of urban development and environmental management. Depending on the action plan, this can support representation in the Town to include indigenous views in water projects and potential work experience or jobs for the indigenous community in related water, engineering, planning and environmental fields within the Town. Action 3: Foster community engagement, collaboration and ownership

Undertake a water literacy initiative in collaboration with the Water Corporation and Department of Water and Environmental Regulation to improve community understanding of the urban water cycle with a particular focus on groundwater and the impact of bore water use. To fully enjoy the benefits of being a Water Sensitive City, this initiative should seek to create a shared understanding of the necessary changes in practices required to transition towards a water sensitive future beyond water efficiency.


This initiative needs to be directed to all sectors of the community and should empower individuals to make choices that support a water sensitive future. This will ultimately enable the community to become more actively involved in the planning, management and maintenance of water infrastructure owned and operating at a range of scales. The Town should outline inter‐disciplinary planning and co‐design processes involving the community and clarify where and how the community can make choices and contribute to solutions. The initiative should include events and creative opportunities which incorporate broader water sensitive/water cycle messages and communicate to the local community about the City’s journey to becoming a Water Sensitive City. Proactively and holistically including indigenous knowledge and values should be central to the ongoing celebration of water within the Town. Further, the Town could consider providing additional financial support to ‘friends of’ groups, particularly around wetland and living stream environments to foster community engagement and continue connection to water. Action 4: Strengthen diversity, collaboration and integration in decision-making

Formalise interdisciplinary discussion and advice through establishing an Integrated Water Management (IWM) team within the Town. The purpose of the team is to work together to broaden knowledge sharing and skills to deliver holistic, water sensitive outcomes across portfolios, and should include planning, engineering, community development, landscape and sustainability staff as a minimum. This collaborative decision‐making process should also ensure a diversity of perspectives is represented and considered. The team should collaboratively assess strategic plans and larger planning proposals, as well as develop and deliver capital and retrofit

projects which optimise multiple outcomes, thereby optimising capital works budgets. Delivery of an integrated approach will require a strong organisational learning culture which supports project delivery underpinned by an appropriate risk management approach, and development of internal networks through formal and informal activities. Embed a feed‐back and review process to facilitate on‐going learning and continuous improvement. Action 5: Support establishment of green infrastructure that improves ecological health and connectivity

All new developments in the Town should demonstrate how they have considered and are delivering green infrastructure and water sensitive urban design outcomes appropriate to the site and development context. This should be established through local planning policy to support implementation of State Planning Policy 2.9: Water Resources in a local context and included as an explicit requirement in precinct and local development plans. Consideration of available water sources for irrigation should include local and catchment‐scale solutions including reuse. The Town’s capital works program should consider opportunities to achieve urban greening and biodiversity corridor outcomes as part of road or drainage upgrades, streetscape enhancements, public open space management or other activities undertaken by the Town. The Town of Cambridge must complete their Urban Forest Strategy and ensure that it complements the waterwise verge program. It should include and promote the benefits of verges for improved urban cooling and providing habitats for improved ecological outcomes. This would assist in improving connectivity of the streetscapes/green corridors as well as improving ecological health within urbanised areas of the Town.


Action 6: Consider the role of groundwater in achieving improved environmental outcomes

This action is strongly linked to other actions proposed but is also important as a standalone action to ensure that the importance of groundwater within the Town is understood and local conditions are appropriately responded to. Additionally, the Town should seek to reduce groundwater use for irrigation with a focus on working with private bore owners. The Town also needs to increase local replenishment through supported and implemented policy direction across departments for water sensitive urban design techniques such as increasing percentage of permeable surfaces. Additionally, the Town should continue to work with UWA and the state government to see incremental improvements in the water quality of Lake Monger. These actions will help to improve the sustainability of local groundwater dependent ecosystems such as Lake Monger and Perry Lakes and prevent further depletion of groundwater resources. Action 7: Encourage uptake of alternative fit-for-purpose water supply options

The Town should continue to develop the Perry Lakes project which takes water from the Water Corporation’s Herdsman main drain to improve the water levels in Perry Lakes. The Town should also continue to support WESROC in investigating options for managed aquifer recharge as an alternative water source. The Town should also consider ways to actively promote and increase uptake of fit‐for‐purpose alternatively water supply options with a focus on reducing dependency on groundwater of private bore users. This may include encouraging residents to install a greywater system,

rainwater tank and/or a rain garden. Promotion could include subsidies, educational workshops or sharing resident success stories through the Town’s website or through support for open house events such as Sustainable House Day and further promotion of its garden competition to include waterwise criteria. Action 8: Recognise economic benefit of WSUD

Water sensitive systems deliver multiple benefits to communities (including mitigation of the urban heat island effect, reduced nuisance flooding, improved health and well‐being, etc.) and have widespread community appeal. Investment decisions should be based on the broader economic, social and environmental benefits and mitigated costs to the future community. Establish dedicated budgetary arrangements from across departments for water sensitive practices including for the maintenance of infrastructure that delivers multiple benefits to the community and retrofit of low maintenance water sensitive urban design options. A multiple‐criteria decision‐making model should be used by the Town to assist in the selection of projects and investment. Establish sound institutional arrangements and processes to support policy and make these transparent to the general public. Efforts should be made to monetise broader water related benefits and costs. The Town should commence a life cycle costing data base to enable improved planning for maintenance of drainage assets, fit‐for‐purpose water supply infrastructure and other WSUD assets to assist the Town to better forecast budgets for retrofit and management into the future. Action 9: Encourage uptake of suitable alternative fit-for-purpose water supply options (other than groundwater)

The City should consider ways to actively promote and increase uptake of fit‐for‐purpose alternative water supply options, other than


groundwater, both with residents and in Town‐owned/operated assets. Options for promotion include provision of a greywater design and installation or rainwater tank maintenance workshops; sharing resident success stories and scheme water savings via the Town’s website or during a home open day events; or the use of subsidies. The Town should require new or upgraded Town assets, as well as new developments (through Development Applications) to document options for use of suitable alternative water sources and implement them where feasible. Action 10: Consider the water-energy nexus & address GHG emissions

The strong linkage between energy and water means that the delivery of multi‐functional water‐related outcomes often provides an opportunity to reduce energy consumption or generate alternative energy supplies. Although much of the energy cost of water services in the Town is dictated by the Water Corporation, some opportunities exist in parts of the community with self‐supply systems. The Town should advocate for continued investment by Water Corporation and other stakeholders in technologies to reduce the energy footprint of the water sector.

In addition, the Town should identify and implement strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from Town owned and managed facilities, as well as setting their own targets and monitoring and reporting on this annually. These targets should include consideration of the energy required for irrigation of public spaces and operation of public buildings.

Next steps It is understood that this plan will be an input into the development of a strategy for the Town to progress towards a water sensitive future.

The Town’s strategy will facilitate further testing of these actions, followed by appropriate allocation of resources for delivery.


Appendix 1: List of Workshop Participants Workshop Facilitators: Adele Gismondi and Amanda Best (Water Corporation) Town of Cambridge Industry Stakeholders Janine Roets Sustainability Officer Louise Fleming Water Corporation Stefan Humphreys Manager Bold Park Aquatic Centre Jason MacKay Water Corporation Joshua Madden Manager Wembley Golf Course Tammie Harold CRC for Water Sensitive Cities Brett Cammell Strategic Planning Manager Emma Yuen University of Western Australia Patrick Bewley Senior Landscape Officer Sonja Mennen Department of Water and Environmental Regulation Andrew Shorter Infrastructure Officer Trudy Evans Department of Water and Environmental Regulation Sue White Natural Areas Officer Cristyn Fielding Water Corporation (scribe) Andrew Head Manager Parks and Natural Environment Paola Duarte Water Corporation (scribe) Kevin White


Appendix 2: Summary of Ratings for Each Indicator


Appendix 3: Workshop Notes for Each Indicator Indicator Rating

0 to 5 Confidence High/Med/Low

Evidence

Goal 1. Ensure Good Water Sensitive Governance 1.1 Knowledge, skills and organisational capacity

2.5 High Opinions that the Town is engineering dominate and there is some knowledge about water related issues but not a lot. Sitting at about a 2.5 rating because of that. There has been some good research in regards to Perry Lakes and the Town has a good partnership with the University of Western Australia for water monitoring, a partnership with WESROC and is working with Department of Water and Environmental Regulation on groundwater projects. The Town is not considered multidimensional. There is a Local Planning Policy but not really well used or known within the Council and not imbedded. There is a new Sustainability Strategy but limited relation. Confidence based on relationship with other agencies.

1.2 Water is key element in city planning and design

3 Medium All local governments have to coordinate with Water Corporation for urban development and there is a Landscaping WSUD section to the Town's Local Planning Policy 3.16. (3 rating) However this is not imbedded. Larger sites have principles and practices that are applied such as Liveable Neighbourhoods and general engineering standards. Small sites have very little policy to approach. (2 rating) Some aspects are being looked at through the Town's Water Action Plan and is considered including ecozoning for verges and the Town's Strategic Community Plan and Sustainability Strategy approach water issues that have been identified. The Town also works with WESROC for native plant subsidies and verge policies. In terms of monitoring and evaluation – not really striving for reducing allocation in groundwater usage but everything really is in the planning phase. Rating based on policies but limited in implementation across the Town. Some departments are leading in working with other agencies but more work to be done.

1.3 Cross-sector institutional arrangements and processes

3 High The Town has cross agency networks with WESROC and have a partnership with the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation. The Town also works with other local governments including City of Vincent for management of Lake Monger and have a formal committee for Perry Lakes. The Town works very closely with community groups with rehabilitation within the dunes and provides funding to undertake work. (4 rating) Not sure on how proactive the influence is and how the Town pushes things. The Town is not the instigator and other agencies or LGA's come to the Town to work together and is more reactive. (2-3 rating) There has been some improvement with partnerships with WALGA and the SONG network (Sustainability Officers Networking Group). The Town is also a partner with Switch Your Thinking. Rating of 3 due to some collaboration being more reactive than proactive and most collaboration coming from a couple of departments.

1.4 Public engagement, participation and transparency

3.5 High Some believe that public engagement is not ongoing or routine. There is some good work advising the public (ad hoc) (3 rating) There has been more ongoing communication between water sector and the public. Water Corporation has a leading role in advising the public is this area and the Town shares a lot of Water Corporation's messages. (4 rating) The Town has a Community Engagement Framework and the Town strives to involve the community in everything including a recent example of the Town developing its Sustainability Strategy that has a lot of influence from the community. The town also has a Code of Conduct on how staff and councilors conduct themselves. The Town also supports water education at schools including in the Waterwise School program where a recent local school reached 20 years as a Waterwise School. The Town's involvement with the Switch Your Thinking Program to educate residents and WESROC's native plant subsidy have good engagement with residents about native and waterwise plants. The Town has 2 very active community gardens and have provided eco audits for local leased clubs and facilitates which includes education about water management. (4 rating). The town also has a number of friends groups that community members are actively involved in. Sustainability Strategy was a good engagement approach and the way it was done will most likely be continued. At an infrastructure level, improvements to parks have a good level of engagement and is made transparent in council meetings that the public is able to attend and is uploaded online. There is a high level of community feedback and it is promoted but sometimes it does not get to some residents. More may need to be done in order to get feedback. (3.5 rating determined as not quite a 4 due to room for improvement)

1.5 Leadership, long-term vision and commitment

4 High The Town is developing its new Urban Forest Strategy and has been a Gold Waterwise Council for 3 years and are completing water sensitive cities principles within the program. The Town supports the WESROC Native Plant Subsidies, Sustainability


Strategy and participating in engagement workshops. The Town also has a long running garden award. (4 rating) There are certainly things that are improving however the drive to reduce groundwater allocation is low in regards to a long term vision considering the low annual rainfall, climate change and will need to be taking into account for the long term. (3 rating) The Town's golf course is really proactive and harvest storm water from its carpark and is planning to change its irrigation system. The Town is looking into stormwater from a drain to refill Perry Lakes and developing a long term vision to complete it. The Town's Sustainability Officer has a Water Efficiency budget every year and also funding for Switch Your Thinking participation. The Town's Wembley complex is leading the way with EMS ISO 14000 endorsement. Evidence - Annual reports on Perry Lakes drain - Sustainability Strategy - Wembley Complex endorsement - Waterwise Gold endorsements

1.6 Water resourcing and funding to deliver broad societal value

3 High We cover mostly everything but the cost-benefit analysis is where we are lacking for business cases but there are budget allocations made consistently (e.g. verge irrigation, native vegetation transformations). Some external grants potential from Water Corporation and have made use of other programs from Water Corporation including the data logging program. Again, the Town budgets for Switch Your thinking, Garden competitions and water efficiency budget. ( 3.5 rating) Not convinced there was enough cost-benefit analysis in actions and looking at a numbers front, need to close the loop on the other benefits. (3 rating) Some businesses cases are ad-hoc ( e.g. McCourt park – purchased block next door to protect trees on park and that is where the societal benefit overcome the financial). Rating of 3 due to lack of cost benefit analysis actively implemented for broader societal considerations more than 'ad-hoc' No policies in relation.

1.7 Equitable representation of perspectives

3 High Community is fairly monogenous and groups within the organisation and council reflect that. There is effort to engage with indigenous groups and residents of all ages with inclusion plans for youth and seniors. There is no awareness of an equity policy to do with public participation. (2 rating) There is a policy in house and equal employment opportunity policy. The Town does not have a Reconciliation Action Plan. (2rating) Disability Access & Inclusion Plan has an officer that works with this document and may be developing a Walking Plan. There is an Acknowledgement of Aboriginal Culture in regards to Welcome to Country. Town's Mayor and Deputy Mayor are female and media on the Town's website is designed with large font. Room for improvement but 3 is more justified with the policies as stated above.

Goal 2. Increase Community Capital 2.1 Water literacy 3.5 High Ocean surf clubs are supported, community gardens, Switch Your Thinking (water and energy workshops at the senior centre) and

verge makeover program is very popular. The Town's native plant subsidy (WESROC) is always sold out. The Town also have school excursions, sustainability strategy engagement, Bold Park Aquatic Centre open day, Xmas at Lake Monger and Lake Monger markets. Perry Lake holds a fund run and the Town has a local sandcastle competition. (4 rating) The level of education and awareness of water cycles are high in the town and was the second highest issue that residents submitted in the sustainability strategy. The level of discussion for the strategy was of a high standard in regards to water. (4 rating) There is a general understanding of water such as how many bores and how much is used in the Town is high for residents but despite this level of literacy, residents do not reduce their bore water usage. They may not understand the whole cycle. (3 rating) There is an opportunity to engage with residents around Perry Lakes that have bores to reduce their water usage to help with the health and water levels in the lake. Lots of residents don’t care about groundwater usage because it doesn’t have a price tag. The thorough understanding is the sticking point and the implications of the water cycle and its process. (rating of 3.5 given) Evidence - Consultation Report from the Sustainability Strategy engagement - participation in sustainability programs and initiatives from the Town

2.2 Connection with water 4.5 High Everyone in the Town and outside the Town is attracted to the area because of its connection to water including Lake Monger and the beach (which is a major factor for people living in the area). The sense of place is something that is connected to water, green parks and the infrastructure around these. (5 rating) There are however some areas in Wembley where residents miss out on that connection to water like the rest of the Town. (4 rating)


The Town is good at recognising and celebrating water assets through events and community engagement. (4.5 rating due to some areas not connected as others) Evidence - Events at locations - Post event reports - Lake Monger action plan - Strategic Community Plan feedback from residents (as well as the recent Sustainability Strategy)

2.3 Shared ownership, management and responsibility of water assets

2.5 Medium Town residents mainly rely on bores (50% compared to scheme) (rating of 4 based on residents use of bore) Based on comments about bores, monitoring of bores not done very well. DWER has done some metering trials but do not do it on individual bores. General community allocation is not monitored and the community don’t take responsibility for the assets, for example, some dump pool water (2 rating) The Town have approved 5 greywater tanks in the last five years and not many rainwater tanks. Public Open Space is irrigated by groundwater but regulated by Council and state governments. Rating of 2.5 being the point of difference being there is some monitoring but in terms of groundwater in residential properties, there is none. Switch Your Thinking rewards residents on rainwater tanks (rebates) and the town's participation in the Waterwise Council Program supports monitoring of flow meters on council bores but no engagement with community in regards to this. Evidence - Waterwise Council Annual Reports

2.4 Community preparedness and response to extreme events

2 Medium The Town has a Local Emergency Recovery Plan developed in 2017 which is a legislated requirement in WA. Some wishful thinking in regards to the preparedness to cope with the residents plans (3 rating) Preparedness sits more with state governments such as DFES and Department of Health. Public is poorly informed in this space and the ones that affected by flooding may be prepared as they are made more aware but not all residents. (only half a dozen only informed as flooding not considered significant in the Town) (2 rating) When a large event happen or expected, the Town has sandbags to some properties but its not formalised (not written, staff member resigning can lose knowledge within the Town) There is a map of certain properties which are at risk. Street sweeping of certain pits to minimise risk within the local government is completed in regards to stormwater drains. The Local Emergency Management Committee also only has one person which is a health officer. Rating of 2 based on low information to residents and analysis of risks at a local or regional level lacking.

2.5 Indigenous involvement in water planning

2 High Lake Monger has some involvement with indigenous communities but not 100% sure how much is actually done and not sure on other areas. (3 rating) There is a lot of indigenous trails that are promoted in the Town that are based on consultation and have Lake Monger as a registered Aboriginal site. There is usually an Aboriginal monitor present when doing work on Lake Monger. Cultural significance has been recognised through Acknowledgement of Aboriginal Culture and History (welcome to country). Reconciliation Action Plan in discussion. Not aware of any groups captured in strategic document consultation. Department of Aboriginal Affairs is consulted in regards to land use planning as part of requirements. Rating of 2 based on lack of broad policy

Goal 3. Equity of Essential Services 3.1 Equitable access to safe and secure potable water supply

5 High Water Corporation representative mentioned that everyone in the Town would have access to a potable water supply and water quality meets a set of guidelines. The Corporation also have numerous programs for people who can’t pay bills including: • HUGS (State Govt program) provides financial assistance with water, gas and electricity bills. • Medical Assist – for households that have a family member with kidney disease and is undertaking home dialysis that requires higher water use. An allowance of up to 30,000 litres of water free of charge on every two-monthly bill is available. • Start Over - will assist customers in hardship with a long-term outstanding debt. Water Corporation will match a customer’s payments over a two year period and then clear any outstanding debt giving them a fresh start. • Time Assist - is for people who have a consistent payment history but a recent event (such as a self-employed builder who has had an accident and is unable to work) results in them being unable to pay. Bills could be put on hold for up to three months. • Water Assist – regular and interest free payment plan where Water Corporation matches any payments made by you, dollar for dollar (up to $150 per month through a payment plan). The Town provides drinking fountains, dog bowls and outdoor showers for its residents Rating of 5 based on Water Corporation evidence.

3.2 Equitable access to safe 5 High The Town has access to sanitation for all residents through the Water Corporation and all Wastewater is treated or recycled.


and reliable sanitation 3.3 Equitable access to flood protection

4 Medium Some not convinced on stormwater harvesting in the Town (3 rating) The Town's only disruption during flood has been to traffic such as near Lake Monger which is notorious for bad flooding and there is a plan in place to manage it but can be limited. If the area was to be re-built, then something different would be done to prevent flooding (5 rating) Stormwater Management Plan deals with discharge and new dwellings are better managed than older areas. Largescale infill development now have to deal with 100 year events (4 rating) 2010 storm identified a lot of issues in the Town that were looked at and most were fixed so future events were less impacted. Council have also approved budget for drainage maintenance program dealing with street sweeping and induction pits (some have cameras for blockages). 4 decided as there is some disruption to everyday activity instead of none Evidence Annual report 2017/2018 - McCourt Street/Woolwich Street - The property at 79 McCourt Street is subject to flooding. An underground stormwater storage detention system has been designed and constructed to cater for approximately 1,150 m3 of stormwater and has been designed to assist with major storm events while also providing a shallow overland drainage swale path for storm water.

3.4 Equitable and affordable access to amenity values of water-related assets

4.5 High Everything is free and accessible except for the swimming pool (5 rating) Wembley suburb does not have access as much as the rest of the Town. There is also no paid parking at water assets and senior and student concession for the Pool. (4 rating) Evidence: Access Disability Plans. Community Facilities Asset Management Policy Park Tree Policy Bike Plan Walkability Plan, very accessibility for disabled Don’t have hotels that own waterfront areas. Beach very accessible Not a 5 – because the pool costs money, improve low socio economic areas however there may be a lack of them in the Town.

Goal 4. Improve Productivity & Resource Efficiency 4.1 Benefits across other sectors because of water-related services

3.5 High The Town currently has a draft urban forest strategy to reflect the value of the trees to the community - but this is not yet signed off or implemented. Ocean foreshore and lakes have a lot of benefits to the community including sporting clubs and community groups Tourism supports cafes and other businesses - free bus service provided by the Town over summer encourages additional visitors to Floreat and City Beach (post meeting note: this will not continue in 2019/20). It was believed that benefits existed across other sectors however they were mostly difficult to quantify and not incorporated into business cases.

4.2 Low GHG emission in water sector

2 High Water Corporation’s IWSS water supply dominates on CO2 with 754 net tonnes equivalents per 1,00 properties. This is a result of using more desalination water than any other state due to climate change and also the pumping required to supply water across Perth's flat terrain. The Town has alternative power sources including golf course has solar panels and all water use systems are solar. Hot water system upgrades have been completed at many of the sporting and community buildings and the City Beach Civil Centre Water Corporation need to lead the improvement in this area and it is committed to exploring technologies to reduce emissions

4.3 Low end-user potable water demand

3 Medium Largely Water Corporation driven as the primary water supplier and main investor in water reduction education There has been a large improvement for WC in reducing water demand per capita - stats provided by DWER - however it was suggested that the reduction of water use and demand last year could be because of the mild climate in the last year (not as hot as in previous years). Large number of ground water bores results in less potable water demand Water and energy efficiency for the Town is good. Cambridge eco audit their bills and provide many intelligent controls (refer 7.3). Irrigated verges - Waterwise verges scheme is active in Town of Cambridge which should result in reduced water demand people to use their green waste to do their own compost and reduce transpiration and retain moisture in the soil Gold Waterwise council, Waterwise Aquatic Centre , and first accredited Waterwise golf course (first course to be accredited) Stats were provided as 28,481 people and 117.5kL/person/year - this was calculated at 322L/person/day.


A higher mark was provided based on agreement that the water efficient practices across residential and Town of Cambridge was high. A Medium confidence was provided as there was a lack of confidence in the calculated number 322L/person/day.

4.4 Water-related economic and commercial opportunities

3 High Within the Town in terms of irrigation they have smart controllers, soil amendment, maintenance and services of trees Contractors and suppliers for Installation and maintenance of groundwater bores Investigating future alternative water supply with WESROC (investigation only at this stage) and currently tendering to install pumping and piping from Herdsman Main Drain to Perry Lakes. Smart meters have been installed in a limited number of properties by WC but not across most properties. Rebates for Waterwise verges result in economic opportunities for local businesses. There are businesses that provide gardening/landscaping and associated consulting services including an innovative irrigation supplier that is based in a suburb adjacent to the Town that provides services for the residents of Cambridge.

4.5 Maximised resource recovery

2 High Water Corporation is recovering water from waste water through the Groundwater Recharge program. Stormwater harvesting currently occurs at the Wembley golf course Currently out to tender on a design and construct contract to divert drainage water from Herdsman main drain to Perry lakes Participation in the DWER investigation of Managed Aquifer Recharge of treated drainage water through partnership with WESROC (investigation only at this stage) There is some nutrient stripping in Lake Monger through vegetation, however this is not regularly harvested and hence the resource recovery is not yet happening here.

Goal 5. Improve Ecological Health 5.1 Healthy and biodiverse habitat

3.5 High Town of Cambridge has significant amount of green space and tree canopy. State Government has Bush Forever sites in the Town (Bold Park and sections along the coast) and Lake Monger is a Conservation Category wetland WESROC Greening plan is currently being reviewed and updated Town's Bushland Biodiversity strategy (2006) informed the biodiversity action plan in 2010 (5 yr) and then a second phase (also 5 years) is coming to an end. This is due for renewal. Forrest Strategy is currently in draft POS is interconnected in areas, particularly with green median strips (e.g. golf course connected to the ocean and Bold Park) however it was felt that the lack of connection held back a higher score in this area.

5.2 Surface water quality and flows

3.5 High There is a Water Corporation drain outfall in Floreat from Herdsman main drain (City of Stirling catchment). This water is pretty good quality by the time in discharges into the ocean due to the protection of Herdsman Lake. The planned diversion of Herdsman main drain into Perry Lakes will flow through a treatment train prior to discharge into the lakes for improved water quality in the lakes (not yet installed) Last summer there was a blue-green algal bloom at Lake Monger and the Town is motivated to improve this. There is monitoring at Lake Monger as it is a contaminated site and increased native planting around the lake for water quality improvement outcomes. Phosphorus and nutrients are the main contributor to algal blooms control and unseasonal rainfall in Lake come with higher nutrients - UWA been doing studies at the Lake. Lake Monger is checked once a year but especially when the first flush - ensuring birds are healthy A wetlands conference will be held in January 2020 in the Town to focus on wetland health - organised by the Wetlands Centre in Cockburn

5.3 Groundwater quality and replenishment

2 High Perry Lakes is highly groundwater dependent but Lake Monger is less dependent. Ground water dependent ecosystems mapping (from SLIP) shows what environments in the Town are groundwater dependent Salinity is usually a good indicator of groundwater quality but because the area is pretty flat then this is not a good indicator for Cambridge alone. The high number of private bores are potentially impacting groundwater levels. Modelling from DWER suggests that it is not reducing the groundwater levels in the Town's geographical area, however it is impacting the councils downstream of the groundwater flow with lower volumes of groundwater being observed. No active replenishment yet

5.4 Protect existing areas of high ecological value

3.5 High Biodiversity action plan - covers some of the areas including amphitheatre in Bold Park Beaches: Coastal management plan and Coastcare Cambridge community group Perry Lakes management plan and weed management plans exist Lake Monger: management plan has expired, Lake Monger rehabilitation plan is recent but Lake Monger was formerly a rubbish


dump, so contamination remains an issue at this site. There is a Friends of Lake Monger group and UWA are completing studies Bold Park is an A-class reserve vested in the Botanic Gardens and Parks Authority. Bold Park Management plan: There is an active Friends of Bold Park Bushland group. Although mapping was a little lacking, it was believed that the policies and legislation were extensive and the multiple engaged community groups boosted the Town's score in this area.

Goal 6. Ensure Quality Urban Space 6.1 Activating connected pleasant urban green and blue space

4 High The Town is connected through paths and recreational facilities but feelings that the Town's connectivity between green spaces can be improved and potentially undervalued. There are some missing links in walkability and accessibility. But large sections of green spaces are connected. (3 rating) There is an understanding that the appeal in the Town is what brings people to the area which includes the ability to get out and walk almost everywhere. There has been a mapping exercise conducted that shows properties proximity to green space within 5 minutes. There are areas that are not perfect but there is always room for improvement. (5 rating) A rating of 4 was determined due to some activities lacking in some places and still room for connectivity to improve in some areas. Evidence: - Local Planning Strategy includes basic mapping of public open space - There are a number of brochures available for walking tracks within the Town - Walking Trail Strategy 2018 - 2021 - Regional Trail Networks in place - Bike Plan 2018 - 2022 - Currently have an Urban Forest Strategy under development - Currently developing a Public Open Space Strategy

6.2 Urban elements functioning as part of the urban water system

2.5 Medium The Town is known to build well around existing areas, for example, Kimberly Street mitigates a heat problem area and there are large areas that have been retrofitted to mitigate flooding and direct stormwater to local areas. Have attempted to utilise stormwater in some areas. (4 rating) Since the Town has a large amount of older suburbs, traditional old piping is more likely and there isn’t too much clarity on how much is retrofitted in regards to flush curbing, WSUD etc. with the expectation of traditional management of water. There is more being done in regards to the above but not enough. Some examples include carpark extensions include curbing retrofits and native waterwise plantings, Perry lakes estate also captures rainwater and have a roof garden in the area. Most of these retrofits are in new development areas. (2 rating) In Perth we have groundwater we can access and we have taken advantage of that source for watering public open space and don’t have much stormwater harvesting as much as the eastern states. Other green infrastructure also do not do very well in our climate such as green walls and roofs. There is also limited flooding issues in the town and drains are flood proofed with biofilters (specifically near Lake Monger). (3 rating) rating of 2.5 was agreed on. Evidence: - May have a Local Planning Policy but not being applied as it should - Have policies for newer developments to require them to have their own urban water policies - Landscaping Policy includes water sensitive landscaping - Urban Forest Strategy have strategies for growing urban canopy

6.3 Vegetation coverage 3 Medium The Town had a consultant to conduct an urban canopy and vegetation assessment which had the Town at 43.8% coverage in vegetation and 18.5% trees (3m and above) Basing a rating purely on tree canopy (2 rating), is lower but including vegetation coverage it would be higher. Most ratings were higher based on the vegetation coverage being half of the Town's land area and half again in trees. There is a high level of accuracy in the report conducted. (4 rating) There is doubts on how actively implemented the urban tree policy (Treescape Plan), progress seems to be slow and numerous amounts of policies and planting programs have been implemented but have been unable to pick up the vegetation 3m and above. (3 rating) Most of the canopy is loss on private land and the Town tries to gain this back on public land. It has become hard to influence with a policy on private land without state government support. There is also no provision for developers to put in green space. Council polices are not taken seriously for private land clearing. Rating of 3 giving as if vegetation (shrubs) is taken into consideration then percentage would be higher than 18.5% and there has been policies but again, traction has been slow. More to come soon with development of Urban Forest Strategy


Evidence: - Treescape Plan 2010-2020 - Urban Forest Strategy in development that will have precinct plans - Arborcarbon report for tree canopy statistics

Goal 7. Promote Adaptive Infrastructure 7.1 Diverse fit-for-purpose water supply system

3.5 High Water Corporation provides potable water through the IWSS - which includes water from desalination, groundwater, dams and aquifer recharge. Town of Cambridge uses mostly groundwater for irrigation of green spaces (golf course, POS etc). Town of Cambridge has a project which will use water from the Herdsman Main Drain to increase the water in Perry Lakes (design and construct contract is currently at tender review stage) Many residents have groundwater bores Participants acknowledged that the IWSS provided the only potable water supply, which is supplied from multiple sources. Groundwater was used for urban greening however there were few other alternatives and the Herdsman/Perry Lakes project is not yet delivering an alternative water source.

7.2 Multi-functional water infrastructure system

3.5 High Compensating basins include Lake Monger, Perry Lakes and St Johns Wood (?). There aren't many basins, but Perry Lakes and Lake Monger are vegetated wetlands with high public use for recreation with adjacent parkland. Work has been completed to revegetate Lake Monger with native species and removal of typha ToC working on the design and construction for the Perry Lakes diversion for recharge - environmental and amenity focus rather than a self- supply alternative Local planning policies in place that touch on use of infrastructure for more than one purpose but there is no specific policy (https://www.cambridge.wa.gov.au/Develop-Build/Planning/Planning-Rules/Local-Planning-Policies) Activity plans exist but unable to specify one or provide names of the plans (https://www.cambridge.wa.gov.au/Develop-Build/Planning/Planning-Rules/Development-Areas) The large Water Corporation reservoir behind Bold Park aquatic was not mentioned, but this land is fenced off to the public.

7.3 Integration and intelligent control

4.5 High Bold Park Aquatic centre electronically control the water levels and water use for shower and toilets, and pools The Town use water loggers for flow usage in real time for POS. These are not used for groundwater levels. All irrigation systems have rain gauges so the system does not turn on when it has rained, however it does not yet incorporate rain forecast The Wembley golf course control every single sprinkler with intelligent controllers that water when and for how long based on soil moisture Town is all connected to weather stations. Scheme systems are intelligent including meters for extracted groundwater control, connection to weather stations all connected to PC Water Corporation Operational Centre is all controlled through SCADA 24/7 Staff gauges are used in wetlands only not loggers

7.4 Robust infrastructures 4 High service reliability pretty good for WC: Data from the 2017-18 NPR: • The Perth water supply scheme recorded the fourth lowest (out of 13 similar sized utilities) across Australia in 2017-18, with 11 leaks and breaks per 100kms of water main in 2017-18. The median for the group was 19.4 breaks per 100kms of water main. • The Perth wastewater scheme recorded the fifth lowest (out of 13 similar sized utilities) sewer main breaks and chokes across Australia in 2017-18, with 17 breaks and chokes per 100kms of water main in 2017-18. The median for the group was 3.2 breaks and chokes per 100kms of water main. • The Perth water supply scheme recorded the fourth highest (out of 13 similar sized utilities) real losses in litres per service per day across Australia in 2017-18 - with 84 litres of real losses per connection per day in 2017-18. The median for the group was 76.2 litres per service per day. • Total capital expenditure per property in 2017-18 was $314 in Perth, which was the second highest when compared to 14 similar sized utilities across Australia. water sourced from groundwater, desal, dams and aquifer recharge provides redundancy In the Town - groundwater is used for parks and they have good mechanisms to replace bore if they fail and good maintenance plans Several upgrade projects have been completed recently within the Town's drainage networks - ~$800k spend

7.5 Infrastructure and 4 High DWER - 30 private licencees operating their own bores. thousands of private garden bores and IWSS supply and rain water tanks


ownership at multiple scales Perry lakes development required own water tanks - might've been a part of the star rating of the development Participants were not sure about policies on grey water systems One reuse system (McGilvray) is just outside Town of Cambridge, but uses treated waste water from Subiaco WWTP - which Cambridge wastewater would flow into. Town of Cambridge are part of WESROC - who are investigating a managed aquifer recharge scheme

7.6 Adequate maintenance 3.5 High The total value of assets replaced each year was not consistent due to prioritisation and cost to replace different types of assets. There was not always the budget to maintain/replace all the assets that needed it, and hence they had to be prioritised. Only 2 or 3 or 4 per year for those needing attention Lake Monger has been planted around the edges to treat water - ideally this should be maintained/harvested every 5 years but this hasn't happened yet as it is less than 5 years since they were planted although they were not confident that this would occur Cambridge felt they were not always reactive, but not always as proactive as they could be. Perry lakes was maintained when needed The budget for irrigation maintenance not the same every year - not quite there yet to budget for every site Maintenance plan exists for the golf course - allocating budget for changes and maintenance Hydrozoning was completed as individual projects - not a program of work with budget allocated every year Assets need to be at the point of failure to be replaced and maintained Bold Park - feel there is more that they could be doing - being opened rather than a museum and increase the value by attracting public through bike paths. Participants were also concern about stray cats and dogs not being dealt with and lack of canopy. Aquatic Centre - couple of year ago there was major works including pipes changed to reduce water loss - ongoing maintenance including bathroom facilities The Strategic plan includes consciousness of water use, sustainability is not recycling it is also financial. Policy street trees and streetscapes Forest strategy (being developed) talks about they have adequate funding to do all the works Developing a four year asset investment plan for the town they can provide

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development committee meeting tuesday 17 march … · the urban water transitions framework (figure...

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