What is Stormwater ?
Stormwater is the runoff of water that flows off surfaces such as roofs, roads, and footpaths after rain. These urban environments prevent the rain from soaking into the ground and are instead transferred. Water travels through the path of least resistance thus Stormwater flows through drainage systems following the lands contours and lead to large channels, pipes and creeks. These street gutters are operated by your local council as such council are of vital importance as they must have a strong understanding of a catchment, otherwise areas may be subject to flooding without proper Stormwater management. Providing councils with the knowledge and expertise engineers work to improve the health of our waterways by careful analysis and management of our highly valuable resource Stormwater.
Why is Stormwater management important ?
Stormwater is a natural occurrence. The issues we face are that Stormwater can carry pollutants such as litter, sediment, oils, pesticides, grease and metals that are picked up from roads and carried into our local waterways. This pollution can affect our water quality and ecosystems if improperly managed, leading to eutrophication, loss of habitats, and death of flora and fauna. Combating this issue is council regulation, some councils have tested and identified contamination which has lead to changes in building policy whereby builders must install stormwater quality improvement devices such as sediment traps, litter booms, trash racks and screens to help clean stormwater.
Stormwater Harvesting
Stormwater can be collected and re-used. Stormwater havesting has become a key area of focus within Australia as local councils have flocked to the idea of a policy where rainwater and stormwater detention tanks are to be installed in new homes. Advantages for residents are that stormwater can be used for tasks such as washing your car, watering the lawn and washing the dog for free. The council encourages stormwater detention as this reduces the amount of water for streets to pick up from rainfall onto residents properties, leading to less flooding and better managed stormwater as well as putting less of a demand on drinking water supplies. Additionally stormwater harvesting can be used for public amenity such as public toilets, taps, local water parks, gardens and sports fields.
Rafeletos Zanuttini is regularly engaged by clients to advise in these situations. We provide consulting for Stormwater Management.
Please call (02) 9554 9311 or email admin@rafzan.com.au