Two Victorian utilities have shared in an award for their joint partnership with the Metropolitan Planning Authority and the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning.
South East Water and Melbourne Water have won the 2015 Planning Institute of Australia (PIA) Improving Planning Processes and Practices Award for their work on the Casey Clyde Integrated Water Management project.
The team produced an innovative water solution that will ensure sustainable water supply to 50,000 homes in the Casey Clyde area, including recycled water and local treatment of stormwater and wastewater.
The approach that was developed through this project has now become the model for precinct planning of integrated water servicing for growth areas across Melbourne.
In addition, the project will deliver liveability & community benefits, including improvements to degraded natural and man-made waterways, more accessible public open space along waterways and in wetland systems and increased habitat areas to support endangered species.
The project will also supply recycled water for irrigated recreation spaces and sports fields and it has the potential to supply non-potable water into the wider recycled water network to the west, and to agricultural areas to the east.
The PIA awarded the project because it demonstrates co-operation and improved processes that are a significant advance from earlier practice, and because it achieves much more for the community economically and environmentally than traditional servicing models in new urban areas.
The project represents a sound process and practice model that, applied to other growth areas, will enhance on-the-ground outcomes at the macro and micro levels.
South East Water and Melbourne Water are delighted to have received recognition from the planning community for this exciting collaborative project.
