Planning a Stormwater Harvesting Project: A Fitzroy Gardens Approach

This project plan outlines a stormwater harvesting system inspired by the Fitzroy Gardens in Melbourne, Australia, aiming to conserve freshwater resources. It begins with an introduction to the global freshwater scarcity issue and the importance of stormwater harvesting as a sustainable solution. The plan includes a literature review highlighting various studies on stormwater usability in irrigation, dairy farming, and urban environments. Key components of a stormwater harvesting system, such as catchments, diversion structures, screening devices, storage chambers, and treatment facilities, are discussed, along with a detailed nine-step operational process. The plan also emphasizes the importance of considering environmental aspects, planning approvals, public consultation, site investigation, and detailed design considerations. Drawing inspiration from the Fitzroy Gardens system, which provides 30 million liters of freshwater annually, this project aims to replicate a similar sustainable water management approach. Desklib offers a range of similar resources for students.

Running head: Storm water Harvesting
Project Planning
-Storm water Harvesting
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1Storm water Harvesting
Contents
Objective:...................................................................................................................................3
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Background and Literature Review...........................................................................................4
Description and Scope:............................................................................................................14
Project Details:.....................................................................................................................14
Planning and Design:...........................................................................................................15
Design to introduce water into the landscape:.....................................................................15
Consultation and commitment with the community:...........................................................16
Important suggestions from the Fitzroy Garden Project Team:...........................................17
Equipment and Tools required.................................................................................................17
For the Study:.......................................................................................................................17
For the Project:.....................................................................................................................17
Gross Pollutant Traps (GPT):...........................................................................................17
Sedimentation Chamber:..................................................................................................18
Dual Tanks:......................................................................................................................18
Biofiltration Bed:.............................................................................................................19
Plants:...............................................................................................................................20
Pumps:..............................................................................................................................21
UV Filters:........................................................................................................................22
Irrigation System:.............................................................................................................22
Constraint if any.......................................................................................................................22

2Storm water Harvesting
Conclusion................................................................................................................................24
References:...............................................................................................................................25

3Storm water Harvesting
Objective:
The objective of this study is to plan a project on storm water harvesting, based on the
system used in Fitzroy Gardens, Melbourne, Australia.
Introduction
All the freshwater in the world accounts for only about 2.5% of the total water on the
world, compared to 97% of saline water. Of this 2.5% freshwater, about 1.7% is trapped in
the form of ice, snow and glaciers, 0.5% in the form of moisture in soil or in the form of
groundwater, and all the lakes, rivers and swamps constitute 0.01% of the total water on this
planet. Fresh water is a vital natural resource, and essential component of an ecosystem, and
unpolluted, fresh water only accounts for about 0.004% to the total water content in earth
(Petersen et al. 2017). This makes freshwater a renewable, yet limited resource, which is
replenished in the process of the water cycle, in which water in the form of water vapour,
from all the water bodies form clouds and then returns as precipitate. However, the
consumption of water by humans is slowly exceeding the rate at which the water is
replenished, thus stressing the local environments and dwindling the supply of fresh water.
With the rise in population as well as per capita use of water, we have severely strained the
limited resources of fresh water. According to the World Bank, the interaction of four factors
related to freshwater reserves is the quality, quantity and volume of water, as well as the
timing of water. Stress on any of these factors further adds stress on the other factors, which
further affects the freshwater reserves. The process of eutrophication and water pollution are
few other factors that also add up to this stress. As a result, many areas are already facing
crisis in the availability of fresh water, and it is expected to the problems will continue to
exist and spread to other areas, if the current trend in water consumption continues. This can
have serious adverse effects on the population, as everything from sanitation; food production

4Storm water Harvesting
and overall public well being are dependent on the presence of clean and fresh water
(Lomborg 2018; Garcia-Moreno et al., 2014).
This highlights the importance of using strategies to improve the usage of fresh water,
and minimize the wastage of it. This also includes trying to find new ways of utilizing water
that usually goes to waste such as rainwater and storm water (Lampard et al. 2015). While
rainwater usually refers to only the water that lands on the roof during the rain, while storm
water is the collective rainwater water runoff from various sources such as roads, buildings,
hillsides, drains, and other urban environments like gardens, parks, fields or arenas (Garcia-
Moreno et al., 2014). In the process of rainwater harvesting, this runoff is collected,
accumulated, treated and purified, and stored for reuse. In Australia, Many different projects
have been set up and supported by the government in the harvesting of storm water. This also
allows reducing the ecological impacts of the increased consumption of fresh water,
providing the ability to reuse the water wasted as runoffs in rains (Coombes et al. 2016).
Background and Literature Review
Usage of storm water also comes with a significant concern regarding the safety of the
re-usage of the water. Since the water is collected from runoffs from many types of
impervious surfaces such as roads, drains or other urban structures, they can likely to contain
a lot of pollutants (Knight 2017; Nnadi et al. 2015; Mbanaso et al. 2016; Reeve et al. 2015).
This makes necessary the process of treating and purifying the water properly before being
reused. The Environmental Protection and Heritage Council (EPHC) provides guidelines to
establish the best practices for protecting public health and environment and managing the
risks associated with storm water use, and can be used as the basis of developing and
managing storm water usage (nepc.gov.au 2018; agriculture.gov.au 2009). The Fitzroy

5Storm water Harvesting
gardens also provides valuable insights into the planning of storm water harvesting system,
which will be followed in this proposed project.
Several studies have highlighted the uses of storm water harvesting process. Nnadi et
al. (2015) studies the composition of the storm water, and its usability in irrigation, and found
that storm water meets the quality requirements to meet the standards of irrigation. This
shows that storm water harvesting system can easily be used for supplying or supplementing
irrigation water. However, as Nnadi et al. also pointed out that care must be taken not to let
the water enter the natural water resources, since it can lead to eutrophication of the water
resource, owing to the hydrocarbons present in the water. Studies by Hoban et al. (2015) also
suggested that storm water harvesting has a great potential as an alternate source of supply of
fresh water, since it is relatively abundant, often available in close proximity to urban needs
and if not harvested can even cause environmental harm. This shows a dual advantage of
storm water harvesting, that is 1) Providing an alternative and dependable source of
freshwater, especially in urban areas and 2) Protecting the environment from the adverse
effects of the storm water by controlling its flow. Khan et al. (2016) studied the usability of
storm water in dairy industry, and through four years of research, they found that productivity
of daily farms can also be increased by the reuse of storm water after proper treatment of the
storm water. Such a conclusion was also supported by Fyfe and Hagare (2015) who also
proposed that managing the runoff and effluents from a dairy farm and sheds in a two pond
treatment and storage process can help to improve the handling of manure solids, control
levels of salt in the effluent, and thus improve the recovery rates of the nutrient. Harvesting
the rainwater can increase the freshwater catchment as well as improve the productivity of the
farm. Benefits of storm water harvesting in urban areas have been studied by Coombes et al.
(2016), whose study showed that sustainable buildings and households function as an
integrated system to provide a synergistic and accumulative benefits towards the conservation

6Storm water Harvesting
of water as well as protect the waterways, improving infrastructure performance and reducing
the environmental impacts of runaway strormwater.
According to Rainwater Harvesting Australia, rainwater harvesting provides triple
advantages in an urban area: it reduces the expense of the water infrastructure in an urban
setup; household expenditure of water can be reduced by supplementing it with storm water
and it also reduces the management cost for storm water. After surface water and
groundwater, rainwater and storm water forms the third largest source of freshwater for
Australia. Through rainwater alone, about 274 billion litters of water are saved each year, and
according to Australian Bureau of Statistics, 26% of houses in Australia have rainwater tanks
(rainwaterharvesting.org.au 2018). This shows that the practice of reusing rainwater is
already a strategy known in many households, and this shows the general awareness and
acceptability of this method of conserving as well as supplementing the dwindling reserves of
freshwater in Australia (Peterson 2016).
Vaisman (2014) outlined the components that are required for a typical stormwater
harvesting system in an urban setup. The components include: 1) A catchment that provides
the volume of the runoff. 2) Structure of diversion of the water. 3) Device for primary
screening of water 4) Buffer storage chamber 5) Facilities to transfer the water from buffer
storage (like pumps or rising mains). 6) Facilities for the treatment of water 7) Facilities to
transfer the clear water to storage units 8) Storage units for clear water 9) Pumps for
distributing the clear water 10) Disinfection units and supply rising main and 11) End use of
the water (Vaisman 2014; Cooper 2018; Cooper 2016; Morey et al. 2016)

7Storm water Harvesting
Figure 1: A Functional Diagram of Stormwater Harvesting Components; (source:
Vaisman 2014).
The mode of operation of the stormwater harvesting system also has been proposed by
Vaisman (2014) as a 9 step process: step 1 A predetermined volume of stormwater runoff
from the catchment area to be diverted using a diversion structure installed on the existing
drainage systems. Step 2: The diverted water is then screened and any pollutants and coarse
materials removed. Step 3: The screened water is transferred to buffer storage chamber by the
gravitational force. The buffer storage helps to equalize the variations between the inflows of

8Storm water Harvesting
water, optimizing the operational parameters of the pump that transports water to the
treatment chamber. Step 4: Water is then transported from the buffer chamber to the
treatment chamber where wetland or biofiltration can be used and the desired quality of the
water can be obtained. Step 5: The treated stormwater is then transferred to storage for clear
water using pumps. Step 6: Clear water is stored in the storage units for use. A large storage
tank for storing the clean water for agricultural use can help to overcome the temporal
differences between rainfall (supply) and irrigation (use). Step 7: Clean water is then supplied
to the end users through a network of pumps and pipelines. Step 8: In the distribution process,
water can also pass through an additional disinfection process like UV filters system to
destroy any microbes in the water. Step 9: Ready to use water can them be supplied directly
(Vaisman 2014; Alderbashi et al. 2014).
Various important aspects needs to be considered in the planning, designing and
implementation of the project, and can include: a) environmental aspects (such as flora &
fauna, heritage and cultural aspect, land capacity assessment, environmental risk assessment)
b) planning and approval (statutory and land acquisition, planning zone and permit for dam;
license from water authorities to build diversions and obtain water license; and other utilities
such as electricity and telecom) c) public consultation d) investigation of the site (which can
include geotechnical; surveys; sampling of water quality and water flow) e) preparing
detailed design of the harvesting scheme (includes diversion works and primary screens,
infrastructure to transfer water, in line detention of stormwater, storage of stormwater, water
treatment system, storage of clear water, and infrastructure of stormwater distribution) f)
Tasks involved (designing hydraulics such as diversion rate, detention and storage volume,
structures for inlets and outlets, pipes and pumps; mechanical designs for pipes, pumps and
tanks; structural engendering works; civil structuring; electrical engineering works; treatment
processes; instrumentation and control) g) landscape architecture h) irrigation designing i)

9Storm water Harvesting
estimation of the construction process j) Project management and reporting k) Management
of construction l) commissioning and scheme validation m) scheme performance post
commission, audit and reporting n)Operation and maintenance (Vaisman 2014; Jha et al.
2014).
The Fitzroy Gardens in Melbourne has a stormwater harvesting system that is largest
in the city. Every year, it provides 30 million litters of fresh water, which is also used for the
maintenance of the Heritage Garden in Fitzroy. The storm water harvesting system is used to
replenish 59% of the drinkable water used in the park, and was built as a portion of a larger
project in the former depot in the garden consisting of a new open space for the public, depot
facilities and a Visitor Centre. Information on the stormwater harvesting system can be
shared with the community in these visitor centres, increasing the public awareness and
accessibility of the infrastructure. In 2011, the Australian Government provided a funding of
$4.8 million through the Water for Future initiative, as a part of the Eastern Melbourne Parks
and Gardens Stormwater Harvesting Scheme (urbanwater.melbourne.vic.gov.au 2018). The
stormwater harvesting system in Fitzroy gardens provided benefits like: Saving 30 million
litters of drinking water every year; Source of a reliable and alternative freshwater source to
irrigate the gardens; Limiting the amount of pollutants (Nitrogen, phosphorus, heavy metals
and sediments) entering natural water reserves (Yarra River and Port Philip Bay); Helped the
management of the impact of heat waves and droughts; Reaching the goal of sourcing 30% of
water use in the city of Melbourne through alternate sources
(urbanwater.melbourne.vic.gov.au 2018).
Research and planning for the project phase continued from 2009 to 2012 (12
months), the concept design were made on January, 2010 (1 month), and funding application
was submitted by February 2010 (1 month). The funding was approved by May 2011 (15
months), and construction began on April 2012, and continued till December 2013 (18

10Storm water Harvesting
months). Testing and monitoring were done on December 2013 (1 month). The team for the
project included professionals from various domains in order to work on several key aspects
such as: Geotechnical analysis (do Carmo Souza and Kandolkar 2018). Design and
construction of irrigation system. Assessment and management of soil contamination.
Repository of contaminated soil and submission to EPA. Design and documentation of the
construction. Construction work. Studies of tree impacts. Survey of the features of the site.
Demolition of site. Advise on the heritage of the site and its submission. Inspection and
report on the heritage site. Continued maintenance. (urbanwater.melbourne.vic.gov.au 2018;
Furlong et al. 2016; Ghimire and Johnston 2017)
A multi disciplinary team was a crucial aspect of the project, which allowed every
aspect of the project to be addressed and analysed, to give valuable insights into the problems
and also fostered innovativeness in the project. The total cost of the project was $4.2 million,
with an estimated average cost of $2.49 per kilolitre of water. The total cost included the
following components: $10,000 for Geotechnical Survey, $251,000 for documenting and
managing soil contamination, $314,000 for designing and documentation, $284,000 to set up
diversions, $2,631,000 for erecting tanks, and $100,000 for water treatment facilities and
$610,000 for setting up irrigation connectors. The project exceeded the initial budget by 20%,
and it was mainly due to the costs of managing the soil contamination at the site
(urbanwater.melbourne.vic.gov.au 2018).
The planning approval for the project at Fitzroy Gardens involved two main factors: a)
maintaining the heritage status of the site b) ability to manage contaminated soil at the depot
site. Getting the approval was also time intensive, and took about 18 months and the services
of expert consultants. A key consideration in the process was the demolition of a heritage
building in the depot to allow the construction of the stormwater harvesting system. The
approval for demolition was given since the need for an alternate source of water was of a

11Storm water Harvesting
higher priority than the retention of the heritage building. Also, it was expected that the
completed project should not damage the visual impact of the heritage site, including the
existing vegetation in the area (urbanwater.melbourne.vic.gov.au 2018; Walsh et al. 2016).
Additionally, some of the requirements of the construction of the project were: Setting up a
5m buffer zone for all heritage buildings on the site and Measures to protect trees, including
their root systems of the existing elm trees.
Approval from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was also needed due to the
classification level of the contaminated soil at the site, which prevented the soil to be
removed from the site. Due to this, most of the contaminated soil had to be stored at the site
during the construction phase, and then buried again around the tank. This involved a
significant amount of supervision and planning (urbanwater.melbourne.vic.gov.au 2018).
The Fitzroy Garden project provides several important insights which can be utilized in
the planning and designing of other Stormwater Harvesting systems. These include: a)
Ensuring an independent assessment of the design proposal to cross check the initial cost
analysis, and thus prevent costly errors. b) Keeping in mind the possible heritage
considerations and soil contamination in the planning and design phase, to prevent any
unforeseen delay in the process. c) Consistence in the management of the project is vital to
ensure the original objectives of the project are delivered effectively and optimally d) Bring
prepared for new opinions is also vital since contractors can also provide alternatives to the
tendered design of the project. These suggestions might or might not be advantageous to the
project especially in the context of the performance and operation. Therefore assessment of
the proposals and opinions by expert consultants can be useful to access such alternatives. e)
Using external funding systems to boost internal support network. This can help to fast track
project implementation and support the multidisciplinary team needed to deliver the project
to increase the knowledge and support for the management of the whole water cycle. f)