Australian Guidelines for Water Recycling: Managing Health and Environmental Risks (Phase 2): Stormwater Harvesting and Reuse

These guidelines apply the national risk management framework established for water recycling (see Related Resources) to the planning and operation of schemes that recycle urban stormwater and non-residential roofwater.

 
The guidelines set out a nationally consistent approach. They are not mandatory as such schemes are not regulated nationally. They can be adapted to local situations and state requirements.

 
For most roofwater and small-to-medium stormwater reuse schemes that recycle water for non potable reuse, the guidelines suggest that the environmental and health risks can be readily managed using a set of standard practices. Examples of such schemes include harvesting roofwater from commuity buildings for irrigating open space, sports fields and golf courses.

 
For larger schemes, (particularly those that provide stormwater to be reused by a third party, a 12 step wise process that can be followed to undertake ‘case specific’ risk assessments is recommended. The guidelines outline typical risks and controls that might be applied to such schemes.
 

Figure 1.1 (page 6) provides a useful flowchart for using the guidelines.
 

Table 3.1 provides a succinct 'Project screening' checklist for stormwater reuse for public, openspace irrigation; and section 3 outlines associated information requirements for planning approval for such proposals.
 

This document does not address:

• the strategic context, impact and feasibility assessment and design of reuse schemes

• rainwater reuse using domestic rainwater tanks

• combined effluent and stormwater reuse schemes

• harvesting stormwater from predominantly non-urban catchments (eg rural or forested)

• irrigation schemes using river water
• public safety, occupational health and safety, operations or construction-phase environmental management.