Tweed Shire Urban Water Resources: Review and Analysis of Council Papers

This report reviews and analyzes three council papers on integrated water cycle management and response to future drought conditions in Tweed Shire. It examines the best paper and provides recommendations for the long-term future direction of the strategy, reflecting the current and emerging challenges facing the council and community desires for future water cycle management.

Tweed Shire urban water resources 1
TWEED SHIRE URBAN WATER RESOURCES
Name:
Department:
School:
Date:

Tweed Shire urban water resources 2
Executive summary
Over the past years, the department of environment, water, land and planning have been
investigating the prospective for integrated water cycle management solution to offer a range of
gains compared with an out-of-date water serving approaches. The IWCM initiatives have the
prospect to offer a range of benefits to the society, many of which are deliberated as externalities.
Many IWCM actions increase the provision of water available for usage and minimise the
frequency, volume, velocity and contaminate loads of storm water-runoff, and as result
contribute to minimization of flood impacts, drought conditions and downstream environmental
impacts on waterways. The purpose of this task is to review three different council papers,
analyses and examine which is best and suitable to use. The other purpose of review is to make
sure the long-term future direction of the strategy is suitable, reflecting the presence or
developing concerns facing Tweed Shire council, as the society wants for future water cycle
management and prevention of future drought conditions. The paper uses the best paper
discussed in first part to analysis the Tweed sire urban water resources. The study goes ahead to
analyses background, comments, recommendation, governance matters, risk management,
financial considerations, social and environmental consideration, community consultation,
summary and then gives the recommendation.

Tweed Shire urban water resources 3
Part A
Report Analysis
Ordinary meeting council: ROOFTOP
COMMUNITY GARDENS-
RESPONSE TO NOTICE OF
MOTION on 28 August 2018
The report has the following heading; purpose of report,
background, comments, recommendation, governance
matters, risk management, financial considerations, social
considerations, social and environmental consideration,
community and internal consultation, summary and
recommendation (Ordinary meeting council 2018).
It analysis various aspects which are vital for the
completion of report ranging from social to economic
elements. Above all, the report gives the summary and
finding such as improving the delivery of green rooftop
gardens through various amendments. Therefore, person
making decision will be very positive about it.
Ordinary meeting business paper-12
September 2018
Narromine Shire council
Employment lands focus and strategy
Just like the report above, this contains various elements
which make it good but not perfect. The report is able to
give the reader an objective of development of employment
lands within the region to encourage and promote industry,
business and commercial pursuit, to stimulate net job
growth in the Narromine areas (Narromine Shire Council
2018). The report has various elements such as executive
summary, financial implication, regulatory and legal
compliance, risk management issues, internal /external
consultation and finally the recommendation. It is worth
noting, even though the report has headings, some features
are not covered, thus, making it a little bit inadequate.
Local government NSW: business
paper
LGNSW ANNUAL CONFERENCE
ALBURY 21-23 OCTOBER
The report has various heading such as economic,
environmental, social, infrastructure and planning, social,
government and industrial relation and employment policy
(LGNSW 2018). The report is comprehensive but lacks
proper guideline and arrangement. Therefore, the reader
will have a hard time grasping the intention and aim of the
report
With a close assessment of three reports; it is convincingly to choose the first report. The last report
scores the lowest due to lack of several components while the second report scores the average.

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Part B
Ordinary meeting council
Integrated water cycle management and response to future drought conditions
Purpose of the report
The purpose of report is to make sure the long-term future direction of strategy is
suitable, considering the emerging or current challenges facing the council and community
desires for future water cycle management. Moreover, reports consider whether the council’s
strategic planning react to the imminent drought situations.
Background
Tweed Shire Council final draft strategy advises: In 2018, a major independent six years
review of IWCM strategy started to ensure that approach remains relevant to the emerging and
current challenges facing council. Also, for constant deliberation of communal desires for future
water cycle management. Then, to provide input into the council’s border environmental
sustainability strategy, which is likely to be delivered by 2021.
Comments
Tweed Shire council should commission an independent specialist to review the need for
extra water supply, before the commencement of detailed environmental impact assessment of
the favoured water supply option. The council ought to seek an independent review of an option
selection process; the projected populace growth; water demand management projections; and
the effects of drought conditions in future (Bureau of Meteorology 2015).
Integrated planning and reporting
Under BASIX, all novel development is needed to install a rainwater tank to reuse roof
water. The IWCM plan refers to the rules which comprise six criteria that ought to be
accomplished such as strategic business planning, water conservation, pricing, drought
controlling and routine reporting.
Risk management
The IWCM implementation programs comprise ongoing risk assessment every four years
in connection to climate modification such as drought or flood. Actions that may arise from these
risk assessment have not yet been recognised or included in the implementation plan. Future sea
level rise and climate variation will influence the water cycle management activities and
infrastructure. Therefore, drought conditions implications need to be integrated into planning for
urban water services, catchment management and natural resource management.
Financial considerations
The timing for execution of presently unfunded IWCM actions is reliant on the
availability of the human and financial resources. The strategy assigns priorities with the
deliberation of limited internal resources available. The council’s environmental sustainability

Tweed Shire urban water resources 5
strategy is in the initial stages of progressing and an early framework is projected to be
completed by 2022.
Social considerations
The accessibility of drinking water is restraining factors top populace development. An
inquiry is required to determine the viable carrying ability of Tweed Shire in terms of water
obtainability. Such an inquiry should be independent of the council. 71% of water use is used by
the residential rather than commercial within the Tweed Shire. The target should be to make sure
new residential developments, with a projected populace of about 40,000 incorporate major
water saving (Australian Bureau of Statistics 2017).
Environmental consideration
The IWCM plan will be tied into the council’s wider environmental sustainability
strategy and the overall resourcing, funding and priorities set by those programs. The programs
are still in early stage of development and are likely to impact on the feasibility of presently
unfunded IWCM actions (Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal NSW 2016).
Community consultations
IWCM information offered by Tweed Shire Council has little mention of an extensive
community consultation. Despite small consultation, continued investigation and key decisions
such as water provision augmentation have satisfactorily progressed. Significant community fear,
not yet solved, has been made and will endure being contentious given the competing
community desires.
Summary
In current years, Tweed Shire has made a huge growth by decreasing per capita water
intake. With 90% of water for domestic use, in the SOPA zones, being delivered from non-dam
use, it is probable that with planned execution of reprocessed water, entirely water request from
dams in urban zones across the council could be reduced. Tweed Shire is emerging from a
hugely rural populace to a city populace with the related demand in water. The present water
storage will be capable to fulfill the plea up to 2035 (Victorian Essential Services Commission
2016).
Recommendations
Some of the recommendations included community working on water augmentation,
population growth projection, the impact of climate change scenarios such as drought condition,
the potential influence of current and additional demand management approaches, and finally,
alternative in-catchment bulk water supply options (Frontier Economics & Arup 2017).

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References
Australian Bureau of Statistics (2017). Regional population growth, Australia, 2016. Available
from: http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/3218.0, [accessed on 21 October 2018].
Bureau of Meteorology (2015). Recent rainfall, drought and southern Australia’s long-term
rainfall decline, available from: http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/updates/articles/a010-southern-
rainfall-decline.shtml, [accessed on 28 October 2018].
Frontier Economics & Arup (2017). Urban water regulation reform. Available from:
http://infrastructureaustralia.gov.au/policy-publications/publications/reforming-urban-
water.aspx, [accessed on 28 October 2018].
Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal NSW (2016) Compliance Report – Licence
compliance under the Water industry Competition Act 2006 (NSW) – October 2016. Available
from: https://www.ipart.nsw.gov.au/Home/Industries/Water/Alternate-water-utilities-WICA/
Licence ComplianceReporting/Compliance-Report-Licence-complianceunder-the-Water-
industry-Competition-Act-2006-NSWOctober-2016, [accessed on 28 October 2018].
LGNSW (2018). local government business paper NSW. LGNSW annual conferences. Available
from: https://www.lgnsw.org.au/files/imce-uploads/90/LGNSW-2018-Conference-Business-
Paper_.pdf, [accessed on 28 October 2018].
Narromine Shire Council (September 2018). Ordinary meeting business. Report to council-
community and economic development. Available from:
https://www.narromine.nsw.gov.au/_literature_192426/06_-_Reports_to_Council_-
_Community_and_Economic_Development_-_September_2018, [accessed on 28 October 2018].
Ordinary meeting council (August 2018). Rooftop Community Gardens- response to notice of
motion . Available from:
https://eservices.kmc.nsw.gov.au/Infocouncil.Web/Open/2018/08/OMC_28082018_AGN.htm#P
DF2_ReportName_10358, [accessed on 28 October 2018].
Victorian Essential Services Commission (2016). 2018 Water pricing review. Available from:
http://www.esc.vic.gov.au/document/water/36646-2018-water-price-review-guidancepaper-
november-2016/, [accessed on 28 October 2018].

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Appendices
Figure 1: values connected with waterways