Colac's growth demands sustainable water management amid climate change. This project proposes stormwater harvesting, merging development with ecological care. It outlines methods for capturing rooftop and urban runoff, integrating stormwater use with city planning. Included maps and analyses position Colac as a model for others in urban water strategy.
Preventing The Urban Run-Off & Green Buffer Area
Colac’s urban runoff strategy features roadside green buffers with catchment basins for water harvesting, leading to biofiltration units. These areas bolster water absorption and pollution defense, with purified water stored for irrigation and cooling, blending urban growth with sustainability.
Colac's rooftop water harvesting, based on 729.2 mm of annual rainfall, could collect 146,000 liters per 200-square-meter roof. A 150 m3 tank per household is recommended for such storage, scaled up for apartments, with gutters sized to the roof area and expected rainfall.
Proposing a Water Harvesting Corridor for Colac’s Urban Run-off
Colac's urban design incorporates stormwater harvesting from roads, estimating potential water capture using local rainfall data. Adopting a calculated approach, we anticipate collecting approximately 3,650 cubic meters annually from a 10,000 sqm road area. Our plan includes advanced catchment systems for quality control and substantial underground tanks aligned with Colac's urban plan. Post-collection, water undergoes biofiltration, ensuring purity before storage, ready for irrigation and aiding urban cooling, pivotal in our sustainable water management strategy.
Sketches
Colac's stormwater strategy merges rooftop collection with eco-friendly design, spotlighting hand-drawn plans. It features tanks for roof runoff, permeable ground for recharging aquifers, and green landscaping for water uptake in urban zones, aiming to unburden drainage systems and highlight sustainable practices.
Aakash Dagar, Preventing The Urban Run-Off & Green Buffer Area
In the spirit of reconciliation Monash University acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.
