Implementing Water Sensitive Urban Design Through Regulation

In recent years the requirement for new development to address impacts from stormwater pollution has been incrementally advancing through the use of regulatory tools in addition to funding mechanisms and voluntary contributions. The initial framework for best practice stormwater management in Victoria is based on nutrient reduction recommendations from the Port Phillip Bay Environmental Study in the 1990’s. The Best Practice Environmental Management Guidelines (VSC, 1999) established clear loads based objectives deemed to meet current best practice. These objectives are referenced in the State Environmental Protection Policy -Waters of Victoria (SEPP WoV). The SEPP and associated Schedules are the primary policy relating to surface water quality and set objectives for water quality that include objectives for stormwater pollutants. The policy for Port Phillip Bay, stated in Schedule 6 of the SEPP WoV, is that “protection agencies responsible for drainage and waterway management and land planning, must ensure that new urban development and drainage systems are designed, constructed and maintained in accordance with current best practice, or any code of best practice approved by the authority, to ensure beneficial uses are protected.” The Victorian Government White Paper, Our Water Our Future requires alignment of planning and building regulations to allow sustainable urban water management (Victorian Government, 2004). Melbourne 2030, the State Government’s planning policy for Melbourne, identifies stormwater as an issue for the health of Port Phillip and Western Port bays and recognises Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD) as integral to reducing pollutant loads. 

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