The City of Melton is a young municipality located 40 kilometres to Melbourne’s west, with a large proportion (over 70% of a population of 151,000) of residents under 45 years old. The City is also extremely diverse and is comprised of groups who speak over 80 languages and represent 70 countries.

Due to significant population growth, urbanisation and climate change, Melton City Council decided to develop a holistic IWM plan to guide the City of Melton towards becoming a Water Sensitive City.

Working with Council we investigated ways to reduce reliance on potable water. We developed a plan to improve open space irrigation efficiency,  implement water efficiency measures for existing and new buildings, and advocated  for the extension of recycled water network across Melton City Council.

Creating healthy waterways and wetlands was a key objective and we worked with Council to advance how they could, incorporate WSUD into established urban areas, build Council’s capacity in water cycle management and WSUD, improve WSUD performance, and to allocate a sensible budget for WSUD activities.

Finally, we worked with council and the community to ensure that valued landscapes  are connected and accessible.  This body of work included the incorporation of passive (or stormwater) irrigation into street tree design, improved the quality of waterways within the City of Melton and improved connectivity of, and accessibility to, waterways within public open spaces.