Business case for WSUD Capacity building program in South Australia (SA)

The South Australian Government has committed to the implementation of a policy framework for accelerating the use of water sensitive urban design (WSUD) techniques across the State’s urban centres. Consultation on this framework strongly highlighted the importance of capacity-building as a critical foundation to support the uptake of WSUD in South Australia. While various agencies in South Australia run training courses in WSUD, to date an ongoing and specific capacity building program (CBP) does not exist in the state. A business case was required to assist various partners in appreciating the need and then committing the funding to a capacity building program.

This business case assesses the needs for a WSUD CBP for SA by focussing on the following three themes:

• Policy implementation. The capacity of the industry to implement the State Government’s Water for Good (2009) plan and The 30-Year Plan for Greater Adelaide (2010).

• Managing existing infrastructure. The expertise of industry to manage construction and maintenance of urban water infrastructure, and transition the stormwater infrastructure of the whole city to a new standard over the life of the assets.

• Meeting industry needs. Meeting the needs of the existing WSUD industry and facilitating a more efficient and increased uptake of WSUD.

In May 2012, the Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges Natural Resources Management Board engaged Alluvium Consulting and Kate Black Consulting to assess the business case for the implementation of a CBP for water sensitive urban design for South Australia.

The project objectives were to develop a business case that includes an assessment of: the need for a WSUD CBP in SA; a structure for a WSUD CBP that addresses the assessed needs; an implementation plan that sets out the ‘who, what, when, where, why and how’ of the WSUD CBP, including costs and evaluation; and the benefits to SA of implementing the WSUD CBP. The project included a dedicated website: watersensitivesa.com