One of Australia's greatest resources is going down the drain.
A new CSIRO report forecasts a dramatic increase in attention to the quality and usefulness of stormwater in the nation's cities.
In Victoria, for example, the report says that monitoring has shown that stormwater is a major cause of pollution in the Yarra and in Port Phillip Bay.
Melbourne Water are now studying how to make sure that council street cleaning operations don't inadvertently wash litter into waterways.
Other projects mentioned in the comprehensive report include a 'Drainwatch' program in which faecal bacteria samples are taken from stormwater drains near bayside swimming beaches, the 'Backyard to Bay' program which includes a household waste-disposal guide, studies of litter traps, and projects using artificial wetlands to purify runoff.
More than 100 different stormwater research projects from around Australia are listed in the report, A Review of Urban Stormwater Research in Australia, which was compiled by Dr Anthony Scott of the CSIRO Division of Water Resources in Canberra.
"In cities, up to 90% of rain ends up in the drainage system," says Scott.
"In the past, the sole aim of council engineers was to collect and remove runoff as quickly and cheaply as possible. Today, however, people are much more aware of the potential social, economic, and environmental benefits of seeing stormwater as a valuable resource."
The aim of Scott's review was to inform people of who's doing what so as to promote coordination around the country. It also includes a comprehensive listing of recent papers and reports on the subject.
Stormwater is often contaminated by litter, fertilisers, oils, heavy metals, and pathogens, and it will require a lot of work to clean it up.
The report looks at ways this might be achieved: through the design of water quality control structures, using chemical and physical treatments, developing and using computer models, monitoring water quality and quantity.
In CSIRO, a special interdisciplinary research group is working to explore options and come up with new techniques. The multi-divisional program on Urban Water Systems is spread over five cities and includes studies of directing stormwater underground for storage and later use, computer modelling of stormwater flows, and social, economic, and management issues.
And in a forthcoming report, the Organisation will publish its recommendation to the Council of Australian Governments about the ways in which the reuse of stormwater and treated sewage fits into the nation's water reform agenda.
In the end, though, Scott calls for a new community attitude to stormwater. "Education and awareness of the value of stormwater is the key to improving our use of this resource," he says.
For more information and copies of the report:Dr Anthony Scott , tel (06) 246 5774, fax (06) 246 5800 or Andrew Bell, Communication Officer, CSIRO Division of Water Resources, tel (06) 246 5717