Another award for North Shore City's water services team

The North Shore City Council has earned further independent international recognition for its innovative and environmentally sound water services with the announcement it has won the Australian Stormwater Industry Awards (SIA) merit award for stormwater management, in conjunction with Maunsell (previously Meritec) Ltd.

The award-winning entry "North Shore City Council Sustainable Stormwater Management" outlines how the council is dealing with the city's stormwater problems.

Stormwater operations manager, Roger Hawthorne, accepted the award on behalf of North Shore City and Maunsell Ltd. Mr Hawthorne prepared the report with assistance from council communications advisor, Karen Webster, and David Kettle of Maunsell.

North Shore City Mayor George Wood says the award is a great credit to the council's water services division.

"It is heartening for me to see our officers pick up yet another award. We've invested heavily in our water networks and it's great to see our people receive this professional peer recognition," Mr Wood says.

North Shore City Council won the SIA merit award category in which Auckland City Council, Brisbane City Council and Melbourne Water were finalists. The SIA also presented excellence awards for stormwater education and water sensitive urban design, categories for which North Shore City did not submit entries.

The merit award recognised innovation at policy and implementation levels, including the council 'walking the talk' at one of its own community facilities.

At a policy level, a new structure plan was developed at Long Bay setting out the policies, plans and regulations for development in this sensitive coastal area.

At a practical level, stormwater problems are being addressed at Glencourt Place in Glenfield. Twenty-five residential lots with flooding problems have been given the option of installing rainwater tanks on their properties. Dual plumbing systems are to be installed to connect the tanks to the houses to allow rainwater use for toilet flushing, laundry and outdoor gardens. The benefits of the tanks are two-fold: firstly. they remove the need to upgrade the piped stormwater drainage system; and, secondly, they provide the residents with a secondary water supply so water use and water bills are reduced considerably. All residents are consulted and their consent gained prior to any tanks being installed.

At an in-house level, North Shore City Council was seen as leading by example. In 2001, it installed a rain tank at its Takapuna Library, included "enviropavers" and swales while upgrading Roland Rd in Greenhithe. It also offered grants for rain tank installation and stormwater friendly landscaping on private property.

In a commitment to the future, North Shore City and Maunsell are trialling alternative stormwater technologies and advanced stormwater computer modelling techniques.

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