ENGG5202: Sustainable Design, Engineering, and Management Report

This report focuses on sustainable design, engineering, and management in the context of water usage in Darwin, Australia. It begins by analyzing the city's water consumption, referencing the 2016 census and current usage rates. The report then proposes several solutions to optimize water use, including optimizing energy and chemical use, maximizing resource extraction, and regenerating natural capital. These solutions are evaluated based on their environmental, social, and economic impacts, with a grading system provided to assess their feasibility. The report references relevant data and reports, including the Australian Bureau of Statistics and the Commission of the Northern Territory, to support its findings. The overall aim is to find sustainable solutions to the increasing water consumption in Darwin, considering both short-term and long-term implications.

Running head: SUSTAINABLE DESIGN, ENGINEERING AND MANAGEMENT
1
Sustainable Design, Engineering and Management
Name:
School:
Submission date:

SUSTAINABLE DESIGN, ENGINEERING AND MANAGEMENT
2
Sustainable Design, Engineering and Management
1. Project Back-casting
The 2016 census report gives the population of Darwin city as 132,045 people. Their main
source of water is from Darwin River Dam with a capacity of 259,000 megaliters. According to
the Australian Bureau of statistics, the average household water use in the Northern Territory is
571,000 liters per annum. This implies that there is fairly enough water for the residents in wet
seasons and also dry seasons if better water management practices are used. The consumption
rate has however been increasing annually, with an increase of 15% in water usage from the year
2016 to 2017 (Commission of the Northern Territory, 2019). This upward trend in consumption
can be accommodated by applying certain management practices in water consumption.
2. Possible solutions and evaluation based on feasibility
Solutions
a) Optimization of the use of energy and chemicals in operating water systems in relation to
other sub-systems, a concept useful in designing waste externalities.
b) To ensure that the water resource is kept in use, there should be optimization of the
resource extraction from the water system and maximizing its use.
c) Regeneration of natural capital by maximizing environmental flows through a reduction
of consumptive and non-consumptive water uses. Preservation and enhancement of
natural resources is also encouraged for instance, preventing pollution, restoration of
river flows by improving channels, effluent treatment and other measures to mitigate
water pollution (Ellen Macarthur Foundation, 2018).

Running head: SUSTAINABLE DESIGN, ENGINEERING AND MANAGEMENT
3
Reasons
 Environmental -solution (a) ensures there are no pollutions caused by chemical
substances to the environment. Solutions (c) and (d) are essential in ensuring there is
balanced exploitation of the resource to avoid environmental degradation.
 Social-solution (b) and © may not be given consent by the resident since it involves
reduction in the use of water. For solution (a), the community will participate since the
quality of water will increase when it is free from chemicals and any other pollutants.
 Economic- option one is a bit costly in the short run but will be sustainable in the long
run. The other two options are relatively cheaper both in the short-term and long-run.
Grading (out of 10)
Solution (a) = 10, solution (b) =6, solution (c) = 7
Appendix
Figure 1. Water use in NT by different sectors

SUSTAINABLE DESIGN, ENGINEERING AND MANAGEMENT
4
References
Commission of the Northern Territory. (2019). UTILITIES COMMISSION OF THE
NORTHERN TERRITORY: ANNUAL REPORT 2018-19. Northern Territory Government
2019.
Ellen Macarthur Foundation. (2018). Water and Circular Economy. Anteagroup.