Water Sensitive Urban Design

Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD)

Urban design affects the health and wellbeing of populations living in cities. Globally, urban landscape is constantly changing with vegetation being replaced with hard, impervious surfaces that contribute to an increase in air temperatures, stormwater runoff and pollution.

Water is essential in keeping urban forest and green spaces healthy and cooling in the city. The sustainable use of water is directly linked to liveability.

Problem

Additionally, it’s estimated that Australia’s urban areas produce approximately 3000 GL of runoff annually - with less than 3% of this rainwater and stormwater being re-used. Furthermore, Australian cities draw an estimated 2100 GL of water from their catchments and groundwater sources annually.

Solution

Determined to make a difference, PPC Australia undertook research to learn how permeable concrete technology could help combat the problem. EnviroKerb has been designed to help manage stormwater with a rainfall interception tactic - capturing the rainfall at the source and thereby reducing the flow and recycling stormwater for irrigation purposes - before it enters any waterways.

Environment

Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD) plays a crucial role in how our cities are being designed.

Current best practice WUSD technologies utilise vegetative systems to promote rainfall interception, adsorption and biological processing of water borne pollutants.

WUSD Values

Ability to retain significant vegetation
Protect sensitive species
Reduce % of impervious areas
Reduce annual loads of suspended solids, phosphorus, nitrogen and gross pollutants
Reduce demands on drinking water (Potable Water Conversation)
Foster landscape integration (ie. treatment of stormwater is incorporated into urban design and parkland landscapes)

Current stormwater systems in Australia take rainwater from our streets and guttering into the closest waterway - untreated.
Unlike sewage, stormwater is not treated before it enters our waterways.
In some cases, it is filtered by traps or wetlands — usually located at the end of the pipe system — but in most cases it flows directly from our streets and gutters into our creeks, rivers, bays and the ocean, carrying harmful toxins, litter and pollutants.

EnviroKerb technology aims to provide a solution for pollution control to reverse current systems and positively impact the environment by treating the stormwater at the source – thereby removing the need for further inline treatments.

Environmental and Commercial Benefits

Recycles otherwise wasted stormwater for irrigation
Removes harmful toxins from entering the waterways
Drastically reduces potable water used to irrigate trees
Eliminates litter from entering our waterways
Drastically reduce the effects of flooding by slowing down the volume of water building up over hard surfaces
Eliminates bank erosion

Passive flow back into our ground water
Treats the stormwater at the source
Eliminates access for rodents entering the stormwater system
Healthier waterways, creeks and rivers
Healthy hydration of trees, streetscapes, landscapes
Protection of urban forest and landscape assets
Dramatically increased survival of newly planted trees

EnviroKerb does not require the use of Sand & Steel Mesh

Water capture and management is essential in keeping urban forests and green spaces healthy and to also cool our cities.