It is very important that the true lifecycle cost of water pollution abatement opportunities are known to ensure scarce funds are used efficiently. In conjunction with Alluvium Consulting we undertook an investigation to assess the abatement costs for key diffuse water pollutants in NSW. This combined economic modelling with the detailed physical abatement performance modelling.

Modelling included over 30 urban and rural assets and actions(e.g. bioretention basins, rainwater harvesting) to reduce key pollutants (TSS, TP, TN) under five different climate zones conditions.

The economic assessments include; establishment costs, opportunity costs, annual operations and maintenance costs, and asset refurbishment and renewal costs.

In addition to assessing and comparing individual assets or actions, our modelling allows for the assessment of a portfolios of assets and actions to assess the efficient suite to achieve abatement targets