3. What is the Scope of the
Project?
Aim:
The overall aim for stormwater in the City of Casey is:
To maintain a healthy system of waterways that protects the
diverse ecological values of the waterways and the ultimate
receiving waters of Western Port and Port Phillip Bays, while also
minimising flooding and providing the community with the
opportunity to enjoy the recreational and economic benefits of
well maintained waterways.
The purpose of the Casey Stormwater Management Plan is to
protect and enhance water quality. This is expected to be
achieved through :
General Strategies: Partnering &
Implementation, Planning, Operations, Enforcement, Infrastructur
e, Education; and
Specific Strategies : Subdivision &
Development, Residential, Commercial, Industrial, Open
Space, Agricultural, Rural settlements, Coastal.
4. Timeline of the Project.
The project incorporates a series of general and
specific strategies which are aimed at achieving
the overall objective of the plan.
These strategies include specific actions which are
designed to, through their completion, facilitate
achievement of each strategy.
Each action includes it’s own time line from
immediate completion to five years, at which
point it will be re-evaluated for success.
6. Regulatory frameworks.
This
project conforms to the following
regulatory frameworks and policy
documents:
CSIRO Urban Stormwater Best Practice
Environmental Management Guidelines
EPA Construction Techniques for Sediment
Control
EPA Environmental Guidelines for Major
Construction Sites
EPA SEPP Waters of Victoria
7. More details on scope
There were a total of 14 strategies which were identified
within the scope of the project described.
Some were broad, while others were more specific.
All were pertinent to the objectives of the project, but an
excellent example would include the Public Infrastructure
strategy which included, as action 2 (PI2), the instigation of
a program to detect illegal sewerage connections [to
stormwater] and have them disconnected, as well as
repairing leaking sewers as soon as practicable.
This would help reduce the E.coli and BOD measurements
(which were generally above the appropriate SEPP
guidelines) and protect the beneficial uses of waterways in
the region as identified under the appropriate water quality
and drainage SEPPs.
8. Evaluation
It is difficult to gauge the success of the project holistically. However, a further
report, undertaken by the Council in 2004, identified strengths and
weaknesses of the original project, as well as the varying success of different
strategies undertaken between 2000 and 2004.
For some strategies, such as the Town Planning strategy (PI), and the Design
and Development strategy (SD), 100% of the actions undertaken have been
successful. Others, such as the Education strategy (Ed), only experienced
partial success (when measured through successful implementation of
devised actions), with several strategies being unresolved due to a
combination of a lack of funding and unclear definitions of roles.
This being said, no strategy had met with a 0% success rate in terms of
achievement of described actions.
Overall, it could be argued that, while not completely successful, the project
has been largely successful and, where it has failed, the 2004 report has
identified ways in which it can be improved – such as more specific and clear
roles and responsibilities for the council and other stakeholders, or more
funding in some areas.
