Appendix B

External documents – industry guidelines, tools, best practice

It is recommended that the following documents be read in conjunction with this LIM category.

The following organisations and document extracts are those recommended for reference by Council and professionals who are undertaking WSUD stormwater design.

Note: Please refer to the relevant authority websites for updated information and current document distribution dates. These summaries are subject to amendments from time to time.

Note: Read in conjunction with:

Figure 3: External and internal reference documents (see WSUD Design - General)
WSUD Standards.

Healthy Land and Water

An independent organisation dedicated to improving and protecting South East Queensland’s environment.

Experts in research, monitoring, evaluation and project management, Healthy Land and Water deliver innovative and science-based solutions to challenges affecting our landscapes, waterways and biodiversity

Water By Design

Water by Design is an initiative developed by Healthy Land and Water to support sustainable urban water management.

The Water by Design organisation provides guidelines, technical resources and tools for practitioners in industry and local government.

The objective is to protect, restore and rehabilitate the natural water cycle, and deliver sustainable water management outcomes across catchments and regions effected by pollutants.

The following document extracts from the suite of Water by Design guidelines are confined to topics which relate to, or have an impact upon Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD).

WSUD Technical Design Guidelines for South East Queensland

Chapter 1 WSUD is a holistic approach to the planning and design of urban development that aims to:

minimise negative impacts on the natural water cycle
protect the health of aquatic systems
promote the integration of stormwater, water supply and sewage management.

Chapter 2 Swales (incorporating Buffer Strips)

Chapter 3 Bio-retention swales. This chapter is superseded by Water by Design. (Version 1.1, April 2010). Construction and Establishment Guidelines: Swales, Bio-retention Systems and Wetlands

Chapter 4 Sediment basins (stormwater detention systems)

Chapter 5 Bio-retention basins. This chapter is superseded by Water by Design. (Version 1.1, April 2010). Construction and Establishment Guidelines: Swales, Bio-retention Systems and Wetlands

Chapter 6 Constructed Stormwater Wetlands

Chapter 7 Infiltration measures - such as holding ponds.

CANT FIND THIS DOC (BELOW) ONLINE - MAY NOT EXIST ANYMORE

Water Sensitive Urban Design - a strategic approach to water quality management across the catchments of South East Queensland, to reduce urban impacts on receiving waterways.

Design objectives for stormwater management

Frequent flow management aims to limit runoff volume, protect aquatic organisms from the effects of increased flow frequency, and to protect the structural integrity of streams. Include one or more of the following:
- stormwater evaporation such as ponds, wetlands
- stormwater reuse such as raingardens, water tanks
- stormwater infiltration such as bio-retention
Waterway stability management aims to prevent exacerbated in-stream erosion downstream of urban areas by controlling the magnitude and duration of sediment-transporting flows.
Stormwater quality management aims to protect receiving water quality by limiting the quantity of key pollutants discharged into stormwater from urban development.

Application of the new stormwater management design objectives will lead to improved protection of key ecological systems and biodiversity in SEQ.

Concept Design Guidelines for Water Sensitive Urban Design - a guideline to assist interdisciplinary teams to develop design solutions that integrate best practice sustainable urban water management.

WSUD

Consider the following:

Detain rather than rapidly convey stormwater
Capture and re-use rainwater and stormwater as alternative water sources to conserve potable water
Use vegetation to filter water
Implement water-efficient landscaping
Protect water-related environmental, recreational, and cultural values
Harvest localised water for various uses
Localise wastewater treatment systems.

WSUD best practice hierarchy

Retention and restoration
Source controls (non-structural)
Source controls (structural)
In-system controls (structural).

MUSIC Modelling Guidelines - the Model for Urban Stormwater Improvement Conceptualisation (MUSIC) is a software design tool that simulates the behaviour of urban catchments.

MUSIC is a tool for demonstrating the performance of stormwater quality treatment systems.

MUSIC uses local climate and soil data to show how a concept development will alter hydrology and pollutant runoff. The user can test a variety of options to reduce these impacts and mitigate residual impacts.

Construction and Establishment Guidelines: Swales Bioretention Systems and Wetlands - to facilitate the successful delivery of vegetated stormwater management systems.

Scope and structure of guideline:

Considerations and specifications:
- Civil works and landscape specifications
- Construction and establishment considerations
- Civil works and landscape design advice.
Methodologies
Certification and compliance.

Swales

Conventional swales – drainage depressions covered in turf or vegetation.

Bio-retention swales – swales combined with a bio-retention trench to provide more ‘treatment’ for fine sediments.

Bio-retention systems

Bio-retention systems treat stormwater by filtering runoff through densely planted vegetation and percolating the runoff through a filter media such as loamy sand.

Constructed Wetlands

Constructed wetlands are used as biological filters that bring together a range of processes (physical, chemical and biological) to improve the quality of stormwater.

This guideline supersedes Chapter 3 Bio-retention swales and Chapter 5 Bio-retention basins - Water By Design (Version 1, June 2006) WSUD Technical Design Guidelines for South East Queensland.

Maintaining Vegetated Stormwater Assets - helps asset managers and maintenance staff by providing practical and standardised advice for maintaining swales, bio-retention systems, constructed wetlands and sediment basins. Designers can use the document to deliver maintenance friendly assets.

Maintenance planning:

Swales
Bio-retention systems
Constructed wetlands
Sediment basins
Procedures, guidelines and legislation
Skills required to undertake maintenance
Scheduling inspections and maintenance
Maintenance activities for swales, bio-retention systems, constructed wetlands and sediment basins
Recording inspections and maintenance.

Transferring Ownership of Vegetated Assets - provides guidance on how to transfer vegetated stormwater assets from the construction party, to the long-term owners and managers of the asset.

Owners need to inherit assets that function properly and meet their design intent, to protect receiving environments, and to avoid unnecessary maintenance or rectification costs.

Vegetated stormwater assets are generally a combination of civil and landscape infrastructure. This document is primarily aimed at those responsible for managing the compliance and handover process.

Asset transfer process

Asset handover is a process where ownership and responsibility for maintaining newly established infrastructure is progressively transferred to its ultimate owner. It involves:

Operational works
Practical completion
Plan sealing
On-maintenance
Off-maintenance and final handover.

This guideline contains charts illustrating the asset handover process for normal and early handover (including checklists).

Bioretention Technical Design Guideline - each chapter of the guideline describes a particular aspect of the detailed design of bio-retention systems.

Bio-retention systems are shallow depressions in the urban landscape designed to collect and treat stormwater.

The key function of bio-retention systems is to remove pollutants from stormwater. They achieve this by filtering stormwater through a densely vegetated and biologically active sand and loam filter media.

Main components of a bio-retention system:

Filter media: a sand and loam mix that supports vegetation and removes stormwater pollutants
Transition layer: coarse sand located under the filter media as a bridging layer
Underdrainage: a combination of fine aggregate and slotted or perforated underdrainage pipes
Liner: a layer surrounding either or both the base and sides of bio-retention systems
Hydraulic structures: typically an inflow pipe, overflow pit, outlet and weir
Bund and embankments: earthen structures necessary to integrate bio-retention systems within the surrounding topography.
Extended detention: a layer above the bio-retention systems surface that temporarily stores stormwater before it infiltrates into the filter media.
Vegetation: in conjunction with soil biology, is the biological component of bio-retention systems.
Coarse sediment removal: a dedicated area to capture and store coarse sediment.
Maintenance access: a dedicated access to the bio-retention system which allows for easy and cost effective maintenance.
Clean riser pipe: a non-perforated, upright pipe connected to the ends of each underdrainage pipe to allow inspection and cleaning of the underdrainage.

Configurations:

Bio-retention basins are often co-located adjacent to parkland or natural areas
Bio-retention swales are typically located within road reserves, parklands and drainage easements
Biopods commonly used in streetscape, commercial and industrial developments
Bio-retention street trees are a combination of a bio-retention system and a traditional street tree.

Water Sensitive Designs: Sketchbook -

Aim

Protect and enhance waterways
Enhance landscape amenity
Maximise benefits to the community
Manage capital and lifecycle costs.

Infiltration

Tree pit: (road verges and footpath):
Infiltration basin: (stormwater outlets next to riparian zones):
Infiltration swale: (adjacent to riparian zones):
Coastal bio-retention: coastal bio-retention systems on sand:

Flow management: can be achieved by increasing permeable areas, promoting infiltration, stormwater harvesting and stormwater detention.

Water quality: an important function of any WSUD device is to capture and treat pollutants and improve water quality.

Habitat: when designing stormwater treatment systems, do not lose sight of habitat preservation.

Community interest: WSUD should improve community understanding of the water cycle and promote stewardship.

Visual impact: concrete pits, headwalls, scour pads and retaining walls should blend into the landscape or create striking features.

Sense of place: aim to create unique localities that reference local character and enhance sense of place

Landscape amenity: introduce elements that beautify and soften the urban landscape.

Microclimate: use water and shade to mitigate the effects of the urban heat island and create cooler more liveable environments.

Stormwater reuse: to build resilience, make best use of water resources via fit for purpose stormwater reuse schemes.

Safety: any infrastructure placed within community reach should consider public safety.

Passive recreation: encourage recreation, contemplation and general well-being.

Resource efficiency: create WSUD systems that maximise outcomes while considering the upfront and ongoing life-cycle costs.

Space efficiency: during planning and design phases, system designs should provide an appropriate level of space efficiency.

Efficient maintenance: ensure good initial plant establishment and coverage.

Material sustainability: choice of materials should consider environmental impact, renewability and energy inputs.

Wetland Technical Design Guidelines -

Chapter 1 A key function of constructed wetlands is to remove pollutants such as nutrients, heavy metals and sediments from urban stormwater. Pollutants are filtered through a densely vegetated treatment zone.

Chapter 2 Describes the key features, possible configurations of constructed wetlands and outlines how, and in what circumstances they can be applied in urban situations.

Stormwater treatment constructed wetland systems are shallow, extensively vegetated water bodies that use sedimentation, fine filtration and biological uptake to remove pollutants. Water levels rise during rainfall events and outlets are configured to slowly release flows back to normal water level.

Chapter 3 Design process describes each component of a constructed wetland and the specialist input required for each component.

Chapter 4 Provides standard specifications for typical constructed wetlands.

Chapter 5 Provides worked examples of the design of a constructed wetland.

Institute of Public Works Engineering Australasia (Queensland) (IPWEAQ) Standard Drawings

Note: These documents are non-statutory in isolation of the SCC Planning Scheme, and are subject to the order of precedence established in Planning Scheme Policy for Development Works. Where IPWEAQ documents conflict with Council guidance, Council guidance shall take precedence.

IPWEAQ is the peak body representing those actively involved in the delivery of public works and services in Queensland.

The following IPWEAQ Standard Drawings are confined to topics which relate to, or have an impact upon, Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD).

IPWEAQ standard drawings

(IPWEAQ) Street Design Manual – Walkable Neighbourhoods (2020)

The guidance of this document in relation to the following items may be inconsistent with SCC corporate documents (SCC documents take precedence and professional advice should be sought):

the flood immunity of local recreational parks
pathway reserves as used for stormwater purposes.

A contemporary guide for the design and development of Queensland’s residential neighbourhoods. Replaces Queensland Streets 2010.

Queensland Urban Drainage Manual (QUDM) fourth edition, 2016

A guideline to assists engineers and stormwater designers in the planning, design and management of urban stormwater drainage systems.

QUDM addresses the technical, legal, regulatory and environmental aspects of effective drainage systems. It provides details of appropriate design methods and computational procedures, and covers both hydrologic and hydraulic procedures (please note that QUDM is not a statutory document).

QUDM guideline for drainage system infrastructure incorporates principles of water sensitive urban design (WSUD). Water is used in a resource-sensitive and ecologically sustainable manner.

Objectives include:

protection of existing natural features and their ecological processes
integrating open space with stormwater drainage corridors while preserving waterway habitats and wildlife corridors
maintaining the natural hydrologic behaviour of catchments
protecting the quality of surface and ground waters
minimising demand on the reticulated system and the use stormwater as a valued resource
minimising costs associated with stormwater infrastructure
minimising sewage discharges to the natural environment
integration of water into the landscape for enhanced visual and ecological values.

Treatment techniques are aligned with the classifications adopted for wastewater. Ideally incorporate an array of primary, secondary and tertiary measures:

Primary - screening, isolation, separation, settling
Secondary - absorption, filtration, flocculation, infiltration
Tertiary - aeration, biological decomposition, biological uptake, disinfection, fixation, nitrification/denitrification, oxidation, solar treatment, volatilisation.

Australian Rainfall and Runoff (ARR), A Guide to Flood Estimation 2019, Engineers Australia

A national guideline document, data and software suite that can be used for the estimation of design flood characteristics in Australia.

Note that the SCC Flooding and Stormwater Management Guidelines provide additional interpretation application of ARR on the Sunshine Coast

ARR is pivotal to the safety and sustainability of Australian infrastructure, communities and the environment. It is an important component in the provision of reliable and robust estimates of flood risk. Consistent use ensures that development does not occur in high risk areas and that infrastructure is appropriately designed.

Department of Transport and Main Roads (DTMR) – Road Drainage Manual 2019

This manual documents the policy of the Department of Transport and Main Roads with respect to planning, design, operation and maintenance of road drainage infrastructure.

Design considerations which must be addressed include:

Climate change considerations, including an adjustment for sea level rise of 0.8m for mean sea level and all tidal levels
Structures can be modified to accommodate fish and fauna passage
Acid sulfate soils.

Stormwater pollution removal devices are grouped into three categories:

Primary treatment – physical screening
Secondary treatment – sedimentation of finer particles
Tertiary treatment – enhanced sedimentation and filtration.

AS 1742 Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD)

The Queensland MUTCD and its supplements, contain the design of, and the methods, standards and procedures in relation to, every sign, signal, marking, light or device, installed on a road.

Brisbane City Council - Natural Channel Design guidelines November 2003

Natural Channel Design Guidelines by Brisbane City Council provides an overview of the strategic direction for urban stormwater management. It details key constraints and opportunities in the design, planning and implementation of channel design. It is a technically based guideline developed for use by professional design teams.

The aim of Natural Channel Design is to provide adequate hydraulic transference of drainage channels and causeways while amplifying environmental values. It is a philosophy of urban drainage that integrates numerous principles, goals and core principles into a practicable, cost effective and visually pleasing outcome.

It is a key component of WSUD, when combined with other core elements provides holistic drainage solutions to effectively manage and improve water management to the benefit of the community and ecosystems.

Brisbane City Council - Stormwater Outlets in Parks and Waterways Version 2, 2003

Note: The Planning Scheme Policy for Development Works Stormwater Management references these guidelines for natural channel design elements of Stormwater Management on the Sunshine Coast.

The PSP-DW Stormwater Management references these guidelines for natural channel design elements of stormwater management on the Sunshine Coast. This document focuses on the hydraulic effects associated with stormwater outlets on the receiving environment. The goal is to outline a set of clear guidelines for stormwater outlets in parks.

It outlines the requirements for at source treatment of stormwater, to be identified in the planning stages of development.

The purpose of this document is to provide a balanced outcome addressing the diverse conflicting objectives and restrictions of parks, wetlands and waterways. This is not an end of line solution for issues of water quality associated with development - it is a management principal incorporating ecologically sustainable development at a local, state and federal level utilising numerous strategies, policies and acts.

Clear guidelines provide a synopsis of expectations in regards to planning and implementation of WSUD.

Water sensitive urban design (WSUD)

Appendix B

External documents – industry guidelines, tools, best practice

Healthy Land and Water

Water By Design

Water By Design (Version 1, June 2006). WSUD Technical Design Guidelines for South East Queensland

Water by Design. (Version 2, November 2007). Water Sensitive Urban Design – Developing Design Objectives for Urban Development in South East Queensland

Water by Design. (Version 1, March 2009). Concept Design Guidelines for Water Sensitive Urban Design

WSUD

WSUD best practice hierarchy

Water by Design. (Version 3, November 2018). MUSIC Modelling Guidelines

Water by Design. (Version 1.1, April 2010). Construction and Establishment Guidelines: Swales, Bio-retention Systems and Wetlands