Developed by the Alternative Technology Association (ATA), Tankulator is an online rain harvesting calculator that can help you plan for a new rainwater tank or improve the performance of an existing tank.
The Gwangiu Cities Declaration sets the way forward towards the greening of cities through improved planning and intelligent management. Released at the conclusion of the Summit of the Urban Environmental Accords held in Korea on 11-13 October, the Declaration calls for the development of an Urban Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) under the UN Convention for Climate Change. It also recommends the development of metrics to measure and report urban sustainability and to encourage the development of policies, regulations and innovative market mechanisms to accelerate the transition towards greener urban development. The Declaration calls for action across five major sectors:
The Productivity Commission’s final inquiry report into Australia’s Urban Water Sector was released on 12 October 2011. In undertaking the inquiry, the Commission identified opportunities for efficiency gains in the structural, institutional, regulatory and other arrangements that govern the sector.
The Australian Water Recycling Centre of Excellence is calling for Expressions of Interest (EoI) for applied and strategic research projects that quantitatively demonstrate and/or enhance the social, economic and/or environmental value of water recycling in Australia. The Centre will hold an information session in Adelaide on Monday 31 October to provide an overview of the Centre and its Strategic Research Plan, and to respond to queries regarding this call for proposals. The deadline for registering intention to submit EoI is 4 November 2011.
The National Water Commission has released the third biennial assessment of the National Water Initiative (NWI). It reviews the extent to which the initiative has improved the sustainable management of Australia’s water resources and contributed to the national interest. The assessment also reports on impacts on regional, rural and urban communities.
Urban Developer can model and assess systems based on multiple and alternative service delivery strategies, for successful Integrated Urban Water Management (IUWM). This next generation software tool from eWater challenges the conventional silo approach to modeling the different streams of the urban water cycle of stormwater, waste water, water supply and re-use options.
This year National Water Week aims to raise awareness of the importance of taking care of our catchments. A catchment is an area of land that drains to one point, usually a creek or river. All land in Australia is part of a catchment. The ways in which we live and work in these catchments have an impact on the quality of water that drains into these waterways. Poor management practices on land can lead to deterioration in water quality. Poor water quality is damaging to the natural environment and increases the level of treatment that our water requires. People all over Australia are organising events to celebrate National Water Week – register your event or find out what is happening in your area. National Water Week is hosted by the Australian Water Association.
The National Water Account 2010 contains a set of water accounting reports for eight nationally significant water management regions. Reports are now available for the Adelaide, Perth, South East Queensland, Canberra and Sydney regions with Melbourne to be available in upcoming releases.