Sustainability has become an increasingly used term, but what does it mean in terms of practice. This research will look at the harvesting of captured stormwater for the irrigation of urban playing fields and what the implications are for catchment hydrology, local community, and local council. This research aims to identify, understand and determine the catchment conditions that may hinder the stormwater quality and quantity for capture and reuse, as well as determining whether the stormwater harvesting will be sustainable. Research methods for this project will include systemic analysis in order to further investigate the assumptions being made in the study.Manly Golf Club has relied on groundwater extraction supplemented by potable supplies for irrigation, however potable supplies are no longer available. It has been proposed to provide irrigation supplies from stormwater via onsite storage and groundwater recharge. Monitored stormwater entering the Golf Course from the adjacent Cemetery Creek sub-catchment for pollutants, have indicated that it may be suitable for irrigation with treatment and may reduce problems generated by overuse of groundwater. The proposal will provide environmental benefit through reduced pollution loads being discharged directly to receiving waters and cessation of use of potable supplies by the Club. Social and economic benefits are expected to be gained and will be monitored as part of an ongoing research program.
The need to use alternative sources of water for irrigation has arisen from the current shortages of potable water within Australia. As a result local governments are investigating alternative water sources (treated effluent, stormwater and groundwater) for irrigating urban playing fields and open spaces to cope with times of water shortages. In this paper, using Manly Local Government as a case study, the quality of treated effluent, stormwater, groundwater and the receiving water was analysed, to determine the potential impacts of capturing and using these alternative sources on the local environment. Systems analysis was used to identify the connectivity between the various water sources. It was observed that the injection of stormwater and effluent into the local water cycle could potentially pose a risk to the environmental, including ground and surface waters which are estuarine influenced systems. Stormwater was found to be of a variable quality and therefore requires constant monitoring to ensure no contamination events (such as road spill) enter the system. Groundwater salinity levels also required constant monitoring to prevent ingress of saline estuarine water. It also appears that as long as appropriate safeguards are put in place, the use of alternative water sources could help improve the local water cycle processes of urbanised catchments.
Many cities in Australia are experiencing the effects of the current drought. This drought has illustrated the unsustainable nature of the Australian community's water consumption patterns. In order to change this unsustainable water consumption the community needs to be aware of and encouraged to make use of alternative water sources. This paper draws upon a series of community questionnaires conducted with people who live adjacent to playing fields and golf courses within the Manly Local Government Area, inside the Sydney Metropolitan Area. The questionnaires explored the communities’ attitudes towards and awareness of the use of alternative water sources on public and private recreational land. Using results from the questionnaires this paper outlines the community's attitudes towards the necessity to use alternative water sources. It also examines the need the community has to be assured that this water does not present a hazard to public health or the environment. Through development of an understanding of community attitudes and awareness, local government and relevant authorities can implement water reuse projects with support from the community.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.