A water efficiency rating system for land developments implementing integrated urban water management

Integrated Urban Water Management (IUWM) in land developments is becoming increasingly necessary in order to more efficiently utilise and manage water resources. Techniques including the control of stormwater runoff, increasing infiltration and providing opportunities for retention, treatment and reuse of both stormwater and wastewater, are well suited to being designed into the development rather than considered post-construction or not at all. There can be extensive capital investment by developers to implement IUWM which is often not returned in the land sales. This produces a disincentive for the developer unless the contribution is recognised and rewarded either financially or with appropriate marketing advantage. A system to rate land developments based upon IUWM has been developed that would quantifiably assess how effectively water resources would be utilised in a proposed land development. This assessment would provide a point of comparison between developments allowing property purchasers, developers, utilities and legislators to quickly compare how well the development performs in terms of IUWM, providing a mechanism for financial reward or recognition. This paper discusses the development of a model to quantifiably assess land developments for water efficient use and introduces a rating system with which land developments can be compared in terms of IUWM.