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OPEN SECTION PAGE E&I03\1


Reports, recommendations and supporting documentation can be accessed via the City of Darwin Council Website at www.darwin.nt.gov.au, at Council Public Libraries or contact Arweena Smit on (08) 8930 0685.

CITY OF DARWIN

ENVIRONMENT & INFRASTRUCTURE COMMITTEE

TUESDAY, 18 MARCH 2014 MEMBERS: Member J M Anictomatis (Chairman); The Right Worshipful, The Lord

Mayor, Ms K M Fong Lim; Member R K Elix; Member R M Knox; Member R Want de Rowe.

OFFICERS: Chief Executive Officer, Mr B Dowd; General Manager Infrastructure,

Mr L Cercarelli; Executive Manager, Mr M Blackburn; Manager Design, Planning and Projects, Mr D Lelekis; Manager Infrastructure Maintenance, Mr K Smith; Manager Assets, Ms N Douglas; Manager Climate Change; Ms S Gamble; Executive Assistant, Ms A Smit.

Enquiries and/or Apologies: Arweena Smit

E-mail: [email protected] - PH: 89300 685 OR Phone Committee Room 1, for Late Apologies - PH: 89300 519

Committee's Responsibilities * Car Parking * Public Facilities * Council Buildings * Roads * Drainage * Street Lighting * Environmental Management * Traffic Management * Parks and Reserves * Urban Enhancement * Plant Management * Waste Management THAT effective as of 16 April 2012 Council pursuant to Section 32 (2)(b) of the Local Government Act 2008 hereby delegates to the Environment & Infrastructure Committee the power to make recommendations to Council and decisions relating to Environment & Infrastructure matters within the approved budget.

* * * INDEX * * * PAGE

1. MEETING DECLARED OPEN ...................................................................... 3 2. APOLOGIES AND LEAVE OF ABSENCE ................................................... 3 3. DECLARATION OF INTEREST OF MEMBERS AND STAFF ..................... 3

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Reports, recommendations and supporting documentation can be accessed via the City of Darwin Council Website at www.darwin.nt.gov.au, at Council Public Libraries or contact Arweena Smit on (08) 8930 0685.

4. CONFIDENTIAL ITEMS ................................................................................ 4 5. WITHDRAWAL OF ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION ............................................ 4 6. CONFIRMATION OF MINUTES PERTAINING TO THE PREVIOUS

ENVIRONMENT & INFRASTRUCTURE COMMITTEE MEETING

Tuesday, 18 February 2014 ..................................................................... 5 7. BUSINESS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES PERTAINING TO THE

PREVIOUS ENVIRONMENT & INFRASTRUCTURE COMMITTEE MEETING

7.1 Business Arising ............................................................................................ 5 8. INFORMATION ITEMS ................................................................................. 5 9. OFFICERS REPORTS

9.1 Lee Point Road Upgrade – March 2014 Update ........................................... 6 9.2 Photo Voltaic System For Casuarina Library Update - March 2014 ........... 11

9.3 Domestic Kerbside Waste And Recycling Bin Audit Project - Update March 2014 ................................................................................................. 17

9.4 2014 City of Darwin - Pre-Cyclone Cleanup Dates ..................................... 22

9.5 Nightcliff Pool Pump Thermal Heating And Water Management System - Update March 2014 ..................................................................... 26

9.6 Electricity Contract For Civic Centre ........................................................... 30

9.7 East Point Reserve Biodiversity 5 Year Management Plan 2014 – 2018 ........................................................................................................... 33

9.8 Water Efficiency Review ............................................................................. 47

9.9 Malak Oval Training Lights - Charging Regime and Billing System .......... 103

9.10 Boab Tree - Cavenagh Street Car Park - Proposed Maintenance Works ....................................................................................................... 110

9.11 Relocation Of Bus Shelter At Rapid Creek Shops .................................... 132

9.12 Storm Damage & Risk Assessment Foreshore Reserves ........................ 137

9.13 Shoal Bay Waste Management Facility - Transfer Station Modifications ............................................................................................. 142

10. GENERAL BUSINESS .............................................................................. 148

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Environment & Infrastructure Committee Meeting – Tuesday, 18 March 2014


1. MEETING DECLARED OPEN The Chairman declared the meeting open at _____ p.m. 2. APOLOGIES AND LEAVE OF ABSENCE 2.1 Apologies 2.2 Leave of Absence Granted () THAT it be noted Member R Want de Rowe is an apology due to a Leave of Absence previously granted on 28 January 2014, for the period 29 January 2014 to 4 June 2014. DECISION NO.21\() (18/03/14) 3. DECLARATION OF INTEREST OF MEMBERS AND STAFF () 3.1 Declaration of Interest by Members 3.2 Declaration of Interest by Staff

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4. CONFIDENTIAL ITEMS 4.1 Closure to the Public for Confidential Items

Common No. 1944604 () COMMITTEE’S DECISION THAT pursuant to Section 65(2) of the Local Government Act and Regulation 8 of the Local Government (Administration) Regulations the meeting be closed to the public to consider following Items:-

Item Regulation Reason C12 8(c)(iv) information that would, if publicly

disclosed, be likely to prejudice the interests of the council or some other person.

8(c)(i) information that would, if publicly

disclosed, be likely to cause commercial prejudice to, or confer an unfair commercial advantage on, any person.

DECISION NO.21\() (18/03/14) 4.2 Moving Open Items Into Confidential

Common No. 1944604 4.3 Moving Confidential Items Into Open

Common No. 1944604 5. WITHDRAWAL OF ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION () COMMITTEE’S DECISION THAT the Committee resolve under delegated authority that all Information Items and Officers Reports to the Environment & Infrastructure Committee Meeting held on Tuesday, 18 March, 2014, be received and considered individually. DECISION NO.21\() (18/03/14)

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6. CONFIRMATION OF MINUTES PERTAINING TO THE PREVIOUS ENVIRONMENT & INFRASTRUCTURE COMMITTEE MEETING

() COMMITTEE’S DECISION THAT the Committee resolve that the minutes of the previous Environment & Infrastructure Committee Meeting held on Tuesday, 18 February, 2014, tabled by the Chairman, be received and confirmed as a true and correct record of the proceedings of that meeting. DECISION NO.21\() (18/03/14) 7. BUSINESS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES PERTAINING TO THE

PREVIOUS ENVIRONMENT & INFRASTRUCTURE COMMITTEE MEETING

7.1 Business Arising 8. INFORMATION ITEMS

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ENCL: NO

ENVIRONMENT & INFRASTRUCTURE COMMITTEE/OPEN

AGENDA ITEM: 9.1

LEE POINT ROAD UPGRADE – MARCH 2014 UPDATE

REPORT No.: 14TS0007 ND:bf COMMON No.: 2413422 DATE: 18/03/2014

Presenter: Manager Technical Services, Nadine Douglas Approved: General Manager Infrastructure, Luccio Cercarelli PURPOSE The purpose of this report is to provide Council with an update of the construction of the Lee Point Road upgrade. LINK TO STRATEGIC PLAN The issues addressed in this Report are in accordance with the following Goals/Strategies of the City of Darwin 2012 – 2016 as outlined in the ‘Evolving Darwin Towards 2020 Strategic Plan’:- Goal 2 Vibrant, Flexible and Tropical Lifestyle Outcome 2.1 Improved access and connectivity Key Strategies 2.1.3 Manage the road network to meet community needs KEY ISSUES The Lee Point Road upgrade project includes;

o The construction of a second carriageway (to become the inbound carriageway) with two (2) traffic lanes in each direction between Vanderlin Drive and Asche Street (Muirhead);

o Traffic lights at VRD Drive and Tambling Terrace; o Below ground infrastructure only for future traffic lights at Canaris Street; o A roundabout at Asche Street intersection (new Muirhead intersection); o Upgrade of associated infrastructure such as lighting (LED for streetlights)

and stormwater infrastructure; o Construction of a new shared path, remaining on the Leanyer side; o On-road bicycle lanes for both carriageways; o A parking lane in front of the Wanguri properties; and o Landscaping within the median and verge areas.

The contract for the Lee Point Road Upgrade has been awarded by Council to Gilbert Mining Group, a local Northern Territory company.

Construction works commenced on 25 October 2013.

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PAGE: 2 REPORT NUMBER: 14TS0007 ND:bf SUBJECT: LEE POINT ROAD UPGRADE – MARCH 2014 UPDATE

Weather delays have occurred over the wet season, however works have been progressing as much as possible over this time

A construction communication plan is being implemented. RECOMMENDATIONS THAT the Committee resolve under delegated authority:- THAT Report Number 14TS0007 ND:bf entitled Lee Point Road Upgrade – March 2014 Update, be received and noted. BACKGROUND The following indicates the timeline of the project milestones over the past 12 months;

2 January 2013 - Developer Contribution Plan for Lee Point Road placed into the NT Gazette

February 2013 – Design completed for communication and presentation to Council

March 2013 – Community communication and feedback period May 2013 – Feedback presented to Council and scope of works amended August 2013 – Final design completed with changes 15 August 2013 – Tender advertised 12 September 2013 – Tender closed 8 October 2013 – Tender awarding to Gilbert Mining Group 18 October 2013 – Media launch with the Lord Mayor and the Minister for

Infrastructure 25 October 2013 – Works commenced

DISCUSSION Works commenced on site on the 25 October 2013 with all setting up, clearing and preparation occurring over the first couple of weeks. Works underway and/or completed at the time of writing this report are;

Subgrade preparation completed Pavement in progress (nearing completion between Vanderlin Drive and

Fitzmaurice Drive) Pathway construction commenced Subsoil drainage installed Electrical conduits installed Intersection preparation underway (removal of medians)

The majority of work has been undertaken between Vanderlin Drive to Fitzmaurice Drive due to service alignment changes required between Fitzmaurice Drive and Dulinda Terrace.

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PAGE: 3 REPORT NUMBER: 14TS0007 ND:bf SUBJECT: LEE POINT ROAD UPGRADE – MARCH 2014 UPDATE The bus route that currently goes along the Leanyer side of VRD has been diverted along Castlereagh Drive for the duration of the works. Consultation has been undertaken by both the Northern Territory Government and Council in regards to this temporary change. The bus stops will be reinstated at the completion of the project. All of the work to date has been carried out away from the existing carriageway which has meant there has been minimal disruption to road users. The median removal work has been carried out on Saturdays with updates sent to stakeholders and newspaper advertising, there have been partial road closures required. Over the next month there will be a closure of Bathurst Street intersection, for up to three (3) weeks to allow for service crossings to occur, road reconstruction for the new intersection and stormwater infrastructure to be constructed. The closure will occur with advertising, stakeholder notification, letterbox drops and traffic management to ensure that residents are informed. Access to and from Bathurst Street for this period will be via Castlereagh Drive. Consultation with the bus service will also occur. Timeframe The following table summarises the milestones and current status.

Milestone Date(s) Comment

Contract Award October 2013 Awarded

Media Release/Launch 18 October 2013 Completed

Community Communication - Construction

September 2013 and ongoing

Underway

Construction Commenced 25 October Underway

Extension of Time Days 41 days This is added on to the original completion date

Completion Date 23 April 2014 Progressing as scheduled aside from wet weather delays

The wet season has impacted on the completion date of the project. The days recorded as extensions are whole days, however, where possible work has occurred on parts of these days where possible. Council will continue to receive regular update reports on this project.

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PAGE: 4 REPORT NUMBER: 14TS0007 ND:bf SUBJECT: LEE POINT ROAD UPGRADE – MARCH 2014 UPDATE CONSULTATION PROCESS The initial community communication and feedback period for the Lee Point Road Upgrade Project was undertaken over March 2013. All stakeholders that have been included on the initial stakeholder database continue to be updated with the project status. A communication plan (plan) has been implemented for the construction phase of the Lee Point Road duplication and upgrade works. Updates were provided to stakeholders in accordance with the plan from the day of the announcement on 18 October. This has included letter-box drops, media advertising, emails and other consultation. POLICY IMPLICATIONS Council’s Policy Number 25 for Community Consultation has been used as the basis for Communication Plans. BUDGET AND RESOURCE IMPLICATIONS The works are in line with the Developer Contribution Plan and are being funded from a combination of Council revenue and reserves, developer contributions and Northern Territory Government funding. The total estimated value of this work is $9.5 million including design and construction and other associated costs. Approved variations to the project to date are summarised below. Relocation of power pole at Fitzmaurice Drive by Power Water $14,000Use of cement in pavement during the wet weather to allow progress to continue

$63,000

Lowering of Optus cables below footpath $16,600Total $93,600

These variations represent 1% of the total construction contract sum. RISK/LEGAL/LEGISLATIVE IMPLICATIONS The legislative requirements regarding the Developer Contribution Plan are being met, with the developer contributions being received, funding the approved scope of works. There are risks associated with costs, timeframe and design. However these are all being addressed and minimised as they arise wherever possible.

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PAGE: 5 REPORT NUMBER: 14TS0007 ND:bf SUBJECT: LEE POINT ROAD UPGRADE – MARCH 2014 UPDATE During the construction there are risks associated with traffic management and consultation with the community, in particular the adjacent residents. This will be identified in the Communication Plan. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATIONS The design has been developed with the intention to minimise the impact on the existing vegetation and provide the best opportunity for cyclists to use the road for travel. The reconstruction of the off road shared path will also contribute to encouraging bike riders and pedestrians. The road is also part of a bus route, for which pedestrian access and movement has been considered. It is estimated that approximately 100 trees were lost in clearing the area for earthworks, however over 200 trees have been growing ready for planting as part of the landscaping of the project, which will be in the median and along verges. The established trees in the land directly behind the Leanyer properties have been kept wherever possible. COUNCIL OFFICER CONFLICT OF INTEREST DECLARATION We the Author and Approving Officers declare that we do not have a Conflict of Interest in relation to this matter. NADINE DOUGLAS LUCCIO CERCARELLIMANAGER TECHNICAL SERVICES

GENERAL MANAGER INFRASTRUCTURE

For enquiries, please contact Nadine Douglas on 89300417 or email: [email protected].

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ENCL: NO


AGENDA ITEM: 9.2

PHOTO VOLTAIC SYSTEM FOR CASUARINA LIBRARY UPDATE - MARCH 2014

REPORT No.: 14TS0056 LC:bf COMMON No.: 2504800 DATE: 18/03/2014

Presenter: General Manager Infrastructure, Luccio Cercarelli Approved: Chief Executive Officer, Brendan Dowd PURPOSE The purpose of this report is to provide Council with an update on the progress of the implementation of a photo voltaic (PV) system for the Casuarina Library. LINK TO STRATEGIC PLAN The issues addressed in this Report are in accordance with the following Goals/Strategies of the City of Darwin 2012 – 2016 as outlined in the ‘Evolving Darwin Towards 2020 Strategic Plan’:- Goal 3 Environmentally Sustainable City Outcome 3.1 Council’s carbon footprint reduced Key Strategies 3.1.2 Reduce Council’s energy consumption KEY ISSUES Council’s 2013/2014 adopted Capital Works budget contains $300,000 for the

design and installation of a PV system at the Casuarina Library. Power and Water Corporation (PWC) has provided approval for a maximum total

array size of 117.5KW for the Casuarina Library PV system. The PWC approval of the system size is not approval to proceed with installation.

Prior to installation, approvals will need to be obtained for the necessary agreements, technical data, wiring diagrams and fees will need to be paid.

A public call for the design and construction of the PV system has occurred. A total of nine (9) tenders were received and were assessed. A number of submissions made included alternative submissions, namely related

to the array size being under 100KW, these were considered during the assessment.

The contract has been awarded to local company, Johnny Cool Darwin Pty Ltd for the installation of a 99.8KW Solar Edge System at a tendered price of $262,000 (GST Inclusive).

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PAGE: 2 REPORT NUMBER: 14TS0056 LC:bf SUBJECT: PHOTO VOLTAIC SYSTEM FOR CASUARINA LIBRARY UPDATE -

MARCH 2014

The overall actual cost to Council after obtaining the benefits of the small scale technology certificates (STC) is estimated at $179,956.00 (GST Inclusive).

RECOMMENDATIONS THAT the Committee resolve under delegated authority:- THAT Report Number 14TS0056 LC:bf entitled Photo Voltaic System For Casuarina Library Update - March 2014, be received and noted. BACKGROUND The City of Darwin Climate Change Action Plan 2011-2020 outlines mitigation and adoption activities which Council will undertake to reduce its carbon footprint, while increasing awareness and providing guidance to the community. The 2013/2014 Council adopted budget includes an allocation for the installation of an appropriate PV solution system for the City of Darwin Casuarina Library, located at Lot 4975 (17) Bradshaw Terrace, Casuarina. The objective of the project is to generate power via a PV system to offset network power utilised by the Casuarina Library and reduce ongoing associated costs. This report provides Council with an update on the project. DISCUSSION PWC has provided Council with an approval for a 117.5KW maximum total array size for a PV system at the Library. This approval only relates to the size of the array PWC will accept and does not constitute technical approval or approval to install the system. As part of the design process, Council will need to obtain relevant approvals from PWC and other authorities. This requirement was included as part of the contract for design and installation. As part of ongoing education of the community, the tender required the transmittal and display of appropriate data into the Casuarina Library and onto Council’s website. This will be used to promote the use of renewable energy and Council’s commitment to improving environment outcomes and being a sustainable Council. It is anticipated a variety of data, such as power generated and offset of gas emissions will be displayed. This will be further developed as the project progresses. Issues that were considered as part of the project include, but are not limited to:

Final Capital cost; Anticipate annual maintenance costs; Likely payback period of nominated system; Type of technology to be utilised and performance in Darwin conditions;

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MARCH 2014

Warranties, for work and components; Size and output of array; Expected performance of system over whole life. Past performance of contractor and product; System conformance to PWC requirements; and Local content.

On closing a total of nine (9) tenders were received by Council. A number of the tenders included alternative submissions, namely the size of the array being less than 100KW. Issues to consider in deciding on the final size and output of the array include, but are not limited to:

Upfront capital costs; System output; Payback Periods; Ability to stage and expand the system to a maximum approved size of

117.5KW; Australian Government Solar Credits:

o Small-scale technology certificates (STC) – under 100KW system; and o Large-scale generation certificates (LGC) – over 100KW system.

With STC, Council and the community obtain an immediate financial benefit, via the Australian Government Clean Energy Regulation Program. The LGC however is calculated annually with annual reporting and trading requirements. The installation of a system under 100KW combined with the one off STC would result in a shorter payback timeframe by lowering the initial capital outlay by Council immediately. Staff assessed all submissions and have awarded the contract to local Darwin company, Johnny Cool Darwin Pty Ltd for the installation of a 99.8KW Solar Edge System as it was considered the best overall value for money and offer. Works on the project have commenced. Subject to required approvals and performance of the system, Council could consider expanding the system in future years. TIMEFRAME AND THE WAY FORWARD The following table summarises the milestones, dates and current status-

Milestone Date Comments

Tender Documentation 22 November 2013 Completed.

Tender Period 23 November 2013 to December 2013

Completed.

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MARCH 2014

Milestone Date Comments

Tender Assessment and Award

January 2014 to February 2014

Contract awarded February 2014.

Design of system and all relevant approvals obtained

March 2014 Commenced

PV System operational April 2014 Subject to approvals and weather considerations.

Council will receive update reports on this project and timeframes. CONSULTATION PROCESS On completion of the project, Council will launch the project. The design of the system will include the provision to inform the community of the environmental benefits and other data regarding the PV system via a display in the Casuarina Library and the Council’s website. In preparing this report, the following External Parties were consulted: Lucid Consulting Australia POLICY IMPLICATIONS City of Darwin Policy Number 059 – Climate Change. BUDGET AND RESOURCE IMPLICATIONS Council’s adopted 2013/2014 budget includes funding of $300,000 (GST Exclusive) for this project. The Contract price is $262,000 (GST Inclusive). As the system is below 100KW the contractor is able to reduce costs by utilising the Australian Government’s Clean Energy Regulation rebate program using STC and as such the estimated capital cost to Council following this benefit is $179,956 (GST Inclusive). In addition it is estimated that other project associated costs will be in the order of $10,000. The chosen system is estimated to generate approximately a minimum of 30% of the overall network power consumed at the Casuarina Library.

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MARCH 2014 The estimated payback period for this system is 3.78 years. Actual savings will be influenced by final design and array size. This will be further updated as the project progresses and the system is designed. On completion of the project identified savings will be reviewed and managed via Council’s normal budgeting process. RISK/LEGAL/LEGISLATIVE IMPLICATIONS The maximum size of the array was 117.5KW in accordance with PWC approval. The selected system is within this approval. All works to be undertaken in accordance with require legislation and relevant standards. All necessary approvals will be obtained and met. Council will need to enter into an agreement with PWC regarding provision of the power generated by the system back to their network. To be eligible for Australian Government STC the Contractor and system must conform to specific conditions ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATIONS The objective of the project is to generated power from a renewable resource to offset network power utilised. The project will result in improved environmental outcomes for Council and the Darwin community.

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MARCH 2014 COUNCIL OFFICER CONFLICT OF INTEREST DECLARATION We the Author and Approving Officers declare that we do not have a Conflict of Interest in relation to this matter. LUCCIO CERCARELLI BRENDAN DOWDGENERAL MANAGER INFRASTRUCTURE

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

For enquiries, please contact Luccio Cercarelli on 8930 0580 or email: [email protected].

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ENCL: NO


AGENDA ITEM: 9.3

DOMESTIC KERBSIDE WASTE AND RECYCLING BIN AUDIT PROJECT - UPDATE MARCH 2014

REPORT No.: 14TS0010 ND:mn COMMON No.: 2485334 DATE: 18/03/2014

Presenter: Manager Technical Services, Nadine Douglas Approved: General Manager Infrastructure, Luccio Cercarelli PURPOSE The purpose of this report is to provide an update on Council’s Domestic Kerbside Waste and Recycling Bin Audit Project. LINK TO STRATEGIC PLAN The issues addressed in this Report are in accordance with the following Goals/Strategies of the City of Darwin 2012 – 2016 as outlined in the ‘Evolving Darwin Towards 2020 Strategic Plan’:- Goal 3 Environmentally Sustainable City Outcome 3.2 Darwin community’s carbon footprint reduced Key Strategies 3.2.2 Increase awareness through encouraging the use of waste management

options, including recycling across Darwin KEY ISSUES Council is undertaking a kerbside waste and recycling bin audit to understand

how residents use the supplied bins. The audit will record data on the quantities and types of waste in each bin and a

breakdown of the contents of the recycling bin. A survey of the domestic lane at the Shoal Bay Waste Management Facility will be conducted simultaneously.

The information collected will assist Council in future decisions regarding

controls, levels of service, recycling and waste minimisation opportunities.

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PAGE: 2 REPORT NUMBER: 14TS0010 ND:mn SUBJECT: DOMESTIC KERBSIDE WASTE AND RECYCLING BIN AUDIT PROJECT -

UPDATE MARCH 2014 RECOMMENDATIONS THAT the Committee resolve under delegated authority:- THAT Report Number 14TS0010 ND:mn entitled Domestic Kerbside Waste And Recycling Bin Audit Project - Update March 2014, be received and noted. BACKGROUND At the Environment and Infrastructure Committee meeting November 2013 Council resolved the following; Provision Of Different Sized Domestic Waste Bins Report No. 13TS0223 MN:mm (19/11/13) Common No. 2491721 A. THAT Report Number 13TS0223 MN:mm entitled Provision Of Different Sized

Domestic Waste Bins, be received and noted.

B. THAT Council undertake a review, including community consultation, of the domestic kerbside waste and recycling service provided to Darwin home owners and residents as part of the development of the next Domestic Kerbside Waste and Recycling tender.

DECISION NO.21\1644 (26/11/13) Carried As part of a review the Waste and Recycling Team will be undertaking an audit of the kerbside and manual waste collection which will form part of the review as described in the decision above. The timing of the review is subject to a separate report. DISCUSSION The kerbside bin audit aims to gain an understanding of how residents currently use their supplied bins. This will then be used in future reviews and to determine targeted areas for advertising and education. Methodology The methodology of the audit is to obtain the required data whilst ensuring the confidentiality of the community whose bins are collected. There will be a total of 200 bins audited, which represents just over 1% of the kerbside services provided. The bins selected will be random and include all suburbs across the municipality to ensure that the results provide an average of use. Thirty (30) sites will be audited each weekday in areas, broken up as follows;

Ten (10) general waste bins not on recycling collection week (which will be revisited the following week).

Ten (10) general waste bins on recycling collection day

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UPDATE MARCH 2014

Ten (10) recycling bins on collection day (at the same location as the general waste)

By collecting data at the same sites on recycling weeks and non-recycling weeks, we can determine if there are any patterns with recycling going into general waste bins. This will assist in determining whether the current recycling service is meeting the community demand. The process of data collection will be;

Visual inspection of every bin for; o Percentage of the bin that is full o Percentage and type of contamination and recyclables in the bin (easily

visible) Collection of the contents of the each bin into a dedicated vehicle that is used

only for the waste audit on that day Contents of recycling bins taken to Shoal Bay Waste Management Facility Contents of recycling bins separated into different types such as kerbside

recyclables and various contamination streams and waste types in domestic bin

Recyclable and contamination streams weighed Disposal of recyclables and waste as appropriate

A survey of domestic lane usage will also be conducted during the same period to provide information on the disposal behaviour of Darwin residents, which will include comparison with the properties. The confidentiality of residents will be maintained through standard confidentiality practices. The general waste will be only visually inspected; it will not be sorted through and will just be collected by Cleanaway as per the normal collection. The contents of the recycling bins will not be able to be tracked or recorded against properties. The addresses of properties that are involved with the audit will only be recorded to ensure that vehicles and the inspectors know which properties to go to and to note the tip tag usage. Council staff will be undertaking the visual audit, with temporary staff at Shoal Bay being utilised to sort the material under the supervision of Council staff. Manual collection services will not be surveyed at this time but will be considered pending the outcomes of the kerbside bin audit. Manual services are more readily able to be targeted with education or information as they are manually collected and there is usually one point of contact with the property manager or body corporate. Community consultation will be in the form of newspaper advertising and information on Council’s website. Due to there being no disruption to services, nor the recording of resident’s personal waste, it is not considered that personal consultation with residents is required. However, if a resident does call to query the audit, then there will be information available to explain the audit and the process.

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UPDATE MARCH 2014 Timeframe and Way Forward The timeframe proposed is listed in the table below.

Task Timeframe

Selection of Properties April 2014

Community Consultation 1-17 May 2014

Audit Period 19-30 May 2014

Results Collation and Analysis June 2014

Report to Council July 2014

The methodology for the waste bin audit has been developed to provide a cost effective solution that will provide valuable information to be used in future analysis and reviews, including more immediate education and advertising. A report will be provided to Council following the audit to present and analyse the results. CONSULTATION PROCESS Community consultation will be undertaken as discussed in this report. In preparing this report, the following External Parties were consulted: Cleanaway POLICY IMPLICATIONS The results of the kerbside waste and recycling bin audit may lead to changes to the Waste Management Policy, Policy No. 54. BUDGET AND RESOURCE IMPLICATIONS The costs associated with conducting the bin audit have been minimised by the decision to utilise existing Council staff. RISK/LEGAL/LEGISLATIVE IMPLICATIONS All staff involved in the audit process will be required to have all relevant personal protective equipment. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATIONS A better understanding of waste disposal behaviour will result in being able to target aspects of waste and recycling to improve waste diversion.

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UPDATE MARCH 2014 COUNCIL OFFICER CONFLICT OF INTEREST DECLARATION We the Author and Approving Officers declare that we do not have a Conflict of Interest in relation to this matter. NADINE DOUGLAS LUCCIO CERCARELLIMANAGER TECHNICAL SERVICES



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ENCL: NO


AGENDA ITEM: 9.4

2014 CITY OF DARWIN - PRE-CYCLONE CLEANUP DATES

REPORT No.: 14TS0047 ND:mn COMMON No.: 956492 DATE: 18/03/2014

Presenter: Manager Technical Services, Nadine Douglas Approved: General Manager Infrastructure, Luccio Cercarelli PURPOSE The purpose of this report is to recommend dates for the 2014 City of Darwin - Pre-Cyclone Cleanup. LINK TO STRATEGIC PLAN The issues addressed in this Report are in accordance with the following Goals/Strategies of the City of Darwin 2012 – 2016 as outlined in the ‘Evolving Darwin Towards 2020 Strategic Plan’:- Goal 3 Environmentally Sustainable City Outcome 3.2 Darwin community’s carbon footprint reduced Key Strategies 3.2.2 Increase awareness through encouraging the use of waste management

options, including recycling across Darwin KEY ISSUES Determining the dates of the 2014 City of Darwin - Pre-Cyclone Cleanup allows

for planning to commence in a timely manner. It is recommended that the 2014 City of Darwin - Pre-Cyclone Cleanup be held

over the weekends of;

o 20-21 September (Northern Suburbs) o 11-12 October (Southern Suburbs)

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PAGE: 2 REPORT NUMBER: 14TS0047 ND:mn SUBJECT: 2014 CITY OF DARWIN - PRE-CYCLONE CLEANUP DATES RECOMMENDATIONS THAT the Committee resolve under delegated authority:- A. THAT Report Number 14TS0047 ND:mn entitled 2014 City of Darwin - Pre-

Cyclone Cleanup Dates, be received and noted.

B. THAT Council approves the 2014 City of Darwin - Pre-Cyclone Cleanup Dates as the weekends of 20-21 September and 11-12 October 2014.

BACKGROUND Council has been successfully undertaking an annual kerbside pre-cyclone cleanup for the residents of Darwin over a number of years. The event consists of collecting household and yard items that could potentially be a hazard in a cyclone, from verges throughout the municipality. People with disabilities and frail, aged residents will be able to contact Council for assistance to remove larger items. The pre-cyclone cleanup is carried out with the help of Council staff, contractors and volunteers from Correctional Services, Northern Territory Emergency Services and the Defence Forces. An average of 400 tonnes has been collected annually, with an increase in 2013/14 with 712 tonnes being collected. The event continues to be well received by the community. This report recommends establishing the dates for the 2014 pre-cyclone cleanup as part of planning for the program. DISCUSSION Planning for the City of Darwin, annual kerbside pre-cyclone cleanup for Darwin residents in 2014 has commenced. The establishment of dates for the program has been considered based on a range of factors and the proposed dates of the event are the weekends of 20-21 September (Northern Suburbs) and 11-12 of October (Southern Suburbs). These dates are not considered to clash with national football code grand finals, father’s day or any other days of significance and do align with the start of the cyclone season which helps promote awareness and preparation. The dates are when residents are requested to place materials at the kerbside. The collection of material may commence on the weekend or commence on the Monday. The operational details around collection are being reviewed at present with consultation of factors including but not limited to service delivery, costs and risks.

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PAGE: 3 REPORT NUMBER: 14TS0047 ND:mn SUBJECT: 2014 CITY OF DARWIN - PRE-CYCLONE CLEANUP DATES The northern suburbs consist of:

Alawa Anula Brinkin Jingili Karama Leanyer Lyons Malak Marrara Moil Nakara Tiwi Wagaman Wanguri Wulagi Muirhead

The southern suburbs consist of:

Bayview Coconut Grove Darwin City Fannie Bay Larrakeyah Ludmilla Millner Nightcliff Parap Rapid Creek Stuart Park The Narrows Woolner

The service will be as per previous years. CONSULTATION PROCESS A community consultation plan will be developed and implemented in a similar format to previous years. The methods for communication and promotion include media releases, newspaper and radio advertisements, public site banners, letterbox drop, Council website, social media and public TV screens. POLICY IMPLICATIONS The pre-cyclone cleanup is in line with Council policy. BUDGET AND RESOURCE IMPLICATIONS A 2014/2015 budget submission will be made for Council’s consideration based on delivery an equivalent service to previous years. Review of collection operations and timing will be undertaken to provide efficiencies and savings were possible. RISK/LEGAL/LEGISLATIVE IMPLICATIONS Council restricts the types of materials able to be placed at the kerbside for collection for safety and other associated reasons. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATIONS The service assists in the community in preparing for cyclone season and increases awareness. Recycling is a factor of the pre-cyclone cleanup and recycling services of materials were practical and cost effective will continue as per previous years.

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PAGE: 4 REPORT NUMBER: 14TS0047 ND:mn SUBJECT: 2014 CITY OF DARWIN - PRE-CYCLONE CLEANUP DATES COUNCIL OFFICER CONFLICT OF INTEREST DECLARATION We the Author and Approving Officers declare that we do not have a Conflict of Interest in relation to this matter. NADINE DOUGLAS LUCCIO CERCARELLIMANAGER TECHNICAL SERVICES


For enquiries, please contact Nadine Douglas on 8930 0417 or email: [email protected].

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ENCL: NO


AGENDA ITEM: 9.5

NIGHTCLIFF POOL PUMP THERMAL HEATING AND WATER MANAGEMENT SYSTEM - UPDATE MARCH 2014

REPORT No.: 14TS0060 KS:jw COMMON No.: 1957047 DATE: 18/03/2014

Presenter: Manager Infrastructure Maintenance, Kerry Smith Approved: General Manager Infrastructure, Luccio Cercarelli PURPOSE The purpose of this report is to provide Council with an update of progress on the renewal of the Nightcliff Pool pump room, water management system and solar thermal heating of pool water. LINK TO STRATEGIC PLAN The issues addressed in this Report are in accordance with the following Goals/Strategies of the City of Darwin 2012 – 2016 as outlined in the ‘Evolving Darwin Towards 2020 Strategic Plan’:- Goal 2 Vibrant, Flexible and Tropical Lifestyle Outcome 2.3 Increased sport, recreation and leisure experiences Key Strategies 2.3.5 Enhance and improve services and facilities which encourage healthy lifestyle

choices KEY ISSUES This report is an update to the previous report provided in September 2013. Nightcliff Pool pump house and water management system is in need of a

refurbishment and upgrade. Current water management systems including sanitisation, filtration and water

turnover rates will be improved through this upgrade. The progress of the project has relied on approval of part funding from the

Northern Territory Government. Since funding approval was finalised in February 2013, design and

documentation has progressed and has now been finalised. The supply, delivery and installation of a thermal blanket has been completed. The upgrade to all components will include energy efficiency criteria as part of the

assessment.

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PAGE: 2 REPORT NUMBER: 14TS0060 KS:jw SUBJECT: NIGHTCLIFF POOL PUMP THERMAL HEATING AND WATER

MANAGEMENT SYSTEM - UPDATE MARCH 2014

A tender for the supply and installation of a new Pool Pump room and water management system was advertised on 11 March 2014 and will close on 31 March 2014

RECOMMENDATIONS THAT the Committee resolve under delegated authority:- THAT Report Number 14TS0060 KS:jw entitled Nightcliff Pool Pump Thermal Heating And Water Management System - Update March 2014, be received and noted. BACKGROUND Given the age and degradation of the existing Nightcliff Pool pump house, it was identified that replacement was required in accordance with sound asset management practice and to meet water management requirements. In April 2013 Council resolved; Nightcliff Pool Pump Room Thermal Heating and Water - Management System Report No. 13TS0089KS:nf (23/04/13) Common No. 1957047 A. THAT Report Number 13TS0089 KS:nf entitled Nightcliff Pool Pump Room

Thermal Heating and Water Management System, be received and noted. B. THAT Council endorse the location of the new Nightcliff Pool Pump Room in

accordance with location B contained within Report Number 13TS0089 KS:nf entitled Nightcliff Pool Pump Room Thermal Heating and Water Management System.

C. THAT Council endorse the purchase and implementation of a thermal blanket

with motorised rollers as the heating system for the Nightcliff Pool. DECISION NO.21\1021 (30/04/13) Carried This report provides an update to the previous report provided in September 2013. DISCUSSION Elite Pool Covers was engaged to supply and install a thermal blanket to the Nightcliff Swimming Pool, this element of the project has been completed. The blanket is motorised to assist with its placement and removal. Due to wet season conditions the thermal blanket is currently being stored at the Nightcliff Pool away from the pool deck. During April the blanket will be shifted to its dry season position at the end of the pool deck for use during the cooler months.

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MANAGEMENT SYSTEM - UPDATE MARCH 2014 Final design and documentation for the upgrade of the pool water management system was delayed while clarification on certification and Building Code of Australia interpretation was completed. The final design has now been completed and the tender for the works will close on 31 March 2014. A building certifier has been engaged to provide the required certifications and permits. The upgrade to the pump room and water management components will provide Council with latest technology in water management, which will significantly reduce chemical use on site. It has been estimated that the new water filtration system could reduce water use, through the back wash process by up to 60%. The upgrade will also see energy efficient variable speed drive pumps installed for the main pool and an item to upgrade the existing pump at the toddlers pool to a variable speed drive will be included to be considered should it be warranted and the budget allows for the addition. Way Forward The following table summarises milestones for the delivery of this project and current status.

Task Status Comments

Call for Tenders for Pool Pump House/Water Management System

September 2013 Complete

Thermal Blanket Installation End of October 2013

Complete

Pool Pump House/Water Management System Tender Award

Due - March/April 2014

Public tenders call February 2014 - in progress

Pool Pump House/Water Management System Construction

June/July 2014

CONSULTATION PROCESS In preparing this report, the following City of Darwin officers were consulted: Recreation and Open Space Coordinator In preparing this report, the following External Parties were consulted: Dempsey Consolidated Pty Ltd, Nightcliff Pool Operations.

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MANAGEMENT SYSTEM - UPDATE MARCH 2014 POLICY IMPLICATIONS The project will be undertaken in line with relevant Council Policies. BUDGET AND RESOURCE IMPLICATIONS The approved project budget is $650,000. The Thermal Blanket cost $36,008. RISK/LEGAL/LEGISLATIVE IMPLICATIONS Current standards for Building Code of Australia and Public Health Guidelines for Aquatic Facilities will be met with the upgrade to the facility. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATIONS This project will see improved energy efficient infrastructure installed, reduced chemical use and reduced water use which will greatly improve the environmental impact of the facility. The works will result in improved water temperatures and quality for users. COUNCIL OFFICER CONFLICT OF INTEREST DECLARATION We the Author and Approving Officers declare that we do not have a Conflict of Interest in relation to this matter. KERRY SMITH LUCCIO CERCARELLIMANAGER INFRASTRUCTURE MAINTENANCE


For enquiries, please contact Kerry Smith on 8980 3654 or email: [email protected].

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ENCL: NO


AGENDA ITEM: 9.6

ELECTRICITY CONTRACT FOR CIVIC CENTRE

REPORT No.: 14TS0059 SG:nj COMMON No.: 2410190 DATE: 18/03/2014

Presenter: Manager Climate Change & Environment, Shenagh Gamble Approved: Executive Manager, Mark Blackburn PURPOSE The purpose of this report is to update the Council on the tender for the supply of electricity to the Civic Centre. LINK TO STRATEGIC PLAN The issues addressed in this Report are in accordance with the following Goals/Strategies of the City of Darwin 2012 – 2016 as outlined in the ‘Evolving Darwin Towards 2020 Strategic Plan’:- Goal 5 Effective and Responsible Governance Outcome 5.1 Quality service Key Strategies 5.1.1 Provide quality service outcomes by ensuring that Council’s processes and

systems are effective and efficient KEY ISSUES Direct and indirect cost savings to be made by seeking alternative energy

retailers to provide electricity to Civic Centre Contract will be for 3 years with a 2 year extension option Pending review of this contract after 36 months an option to extend to West Lane

Carpark will be considered. Electricity charges are determined by a number of processes, including actual

consumption, maximum use in each period (peak and off peak), external environmental charges and load on the network.

Tender advertising date 3 April 2014, contract start date 1 July 2014

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PAGE: 2 REPORT NUMBER: 14TS0059 SG:nj SUBJECT: ELECTRICITY CONTRACT FOR CIVIC CENTRE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT the Committee resolve under delegated authority:- THAT Report Number 14TS0059 SG:nj entitled Electricity Contract For Civic Centre, be received and noted. BACKGROUND In accordance with the Climate Change Action Plan, Council identified the retail supply of energy as an area where potential cost savings exist. DISCUSSION Council approached a Queensland-based emerging energy retailer to inquire about the possibility of the supply of electricity to a number of Council sites. This precipitated investigations into the potential cost savings to Council if “contestable energy” contracts were pursued. Generally sites consuming more than 500,000kW pa are considered to be “contestable” and open to seek alternative retailers to provide energy. At City of Darwin the Civic Centre and the West Lane Carpark are contestable. Currently three retail licences exist in the Northern Territory. Energy retailers are increasingly moving to more streamlined processes including online billing. This alone will simplify accounting, both of energy consumption and payment of invoices and is considered a high priority in awarding the tender. CONSULTATION PROCESS This report was considered by the Chief Officer’s Group on 17/02/2014 and now referred to Environment & Infrastructure Committee for information. In preparing this report, the following External Parties were consulted: Q Energy Power and Water Corporation Planet Footprint Northern Territory Department of Corporate and Procurement Services POLICY IMPLICATIONS This tender is in keeping with the goals and outcomes described in Council’s Climate Change Action Plan 2011- 2020. BUDGET AND RESOURCE IMPLICATIONS The purpose of this tender is to reduce direct costs from electricity at the Civic Centre. Initial time costs of setting up the contract are considered to be negligible in comparison to the overall savings anticipated.

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PAGE: 3 REPORT NUMBER: 14TS0059 SG:nj SUBJECT: ELECTRICITY CONTRACT FOR CIVIC CENTRE RISK/LEGAL/LEGISLATIVE IMPLICATIONS There are risks associated with moving to a new contractual arrangement. This risk is mitigated by the relatively short contract time (36 months). As this contract only applies to one council building this risk is considered minimal. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATIONS This tender is in keeping with the goals and outcomes described in Council’s Climate Change Action Plan 2011- 2020. Improved data management including more timely and online billing through this contract will facilitate responsiveness to energy consumption. COUNCIL OFFICER CONFLICT OF INTEREST DECLARATION We the Author and Approving Officers declare that we do not have a Conflict of Interest in relation to this matter. SHENAGH GAMBLE MARK BLACKBURNMANAGER CLIMATE CHANGE & ENVIRONMENT

EXECUTIVE MANAGER

For enquiries, please contact Shenagh Gamble on 89300530 or email: [email protected].

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ENCL: YES

ENVIRONMENT & INFRASTRUCUTRE COMMITTEE/OPEN

AGENDA ITEM: 9.7

EAST POINT RESERVE BIODIVERSITY 5 YEAR PLAN 2014 - 2018

REPORT No.: 14TS0058 SG:nj COMMON No.: 2415691 DATE: 18/03/2014

Presenter: Manager Climate Change & Environment, Shenagh Gamble Approved: Executive Manager, Mark Blackburn PURPOSE The purpose of this report is to gain endorsement from Council for the East Point Reserve Biodiversity 5 Management Plan 2014 – 2018. LINK TO STRATEGIC PLAN The issues addressed in this Report are in accordance with the following Goals/Strategies of the City of Darwin 2012 – 2016 as outlined in the ‘Evolving Darwin Towards 2020 Strategic Plan’:- Goal 3 Environmentally Sustainable City Outcome 3.3 Conserve and protect the Darwin environment Key Strategies 3.3.1 Advocate for the conservation of natural systems KEY ISSUES East Point Reserve has high ecological value. The East Point Reserve Biodiversity 5 Management Plan 2014 – 2018 will guide

management of biodiversity in the Reserve for the next five (5) years. Some changes to the East Point Reserve Biodiversity 5 Year Management Plan

2014 – 2018 have been made as a result of discussions at a workshop with Elected Members

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PAGE: 2 REPORT NUMBER: 14TS0058 SG:nj SUBJECT: EAST POINT RESERVE BIODIVERSITY 5 YEAR MANAGEMENT PLAN

2014 - 2018 RECOMMENDATIONS THAT it be a recommendation to Council:- A. THAT Report Number 14TS0058 SG:nj entitled East Point Reserve Biodiversity

5 Year Management Plan 2014 - 2018, be received and noted. B. THAT Council endorse the East Point Reserve Biodiversity 5 Year

Management Plan 2014 – 2018; Attachment A, to Report Number 14TS0058 SG:nj entitled East Point Reserve Biodiversity Five year Plan 2014 – 2018

BACKGROUND A report to Council on 29 October 2013 (13TS0207 SF:nj) sought endorsement of the East Point Reserve Biodiversity 5 Management Plan 2014 – 2018 (the Plan). At that time the following decision (Decision No. 21\1538) was made:

A. THAT Report Number 13TS0207 SF:nj entitled East Point Reserve Biodiversity 5 Year Management Plan 2014 – 2018, be received and noted

B. THAT a workshop be held with Elected Members to discuss the Biodiversity 5

Year Management Plan 2014-2018 and related matters about East Point Reserve.

On 4 March 2014 a workshop was held with Elected Members to discuss the Plan and other matters concerning East Point Reserve (the Reserve). As a result some changes were made to the Plan. DISCUSSION Wallaby Numbers (Action 11) It was broadly agreed by Council that sound research informs the monitoring and evaluation of the wallaby population at East Point. Council expressed expectation that activities within the Plan would help to determine actual population of wallabies, stability of the population, optimum carrying capacity of the Reserve, threats to wallaby population.

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2014 - 2018 Stakeholder Consultation (Action 7) Council requests a broad consultation process open to all interested parties on a regular basis. A communication strategy will be developed to manage this process. This action has been reworded to state: Action 7 – a) Engage interested parties with the intention of developing

an integrated approach to biodiversity management at the Reserve including a coordinated approach to weed management.

b) Host quarterly meetings.

CONSULTATION PROCESS In preparing this report, the following City of Darwin officers were consulted: Acting Parks & Reserves Contract Supervisor Team Leader Central Precinct POLICY IMPLICATIONS This report is in keeping with the City of Darwin Strategic Plan Evolving Darwin Towards 2020 (Outcome 3, Goal 3 An environmentally sustainable city states Council will ‘conserve and protect the Darwin environment’). This report also addresses actions under the Climate Change Action Plan 2011-2020:

B1 Increase native endemic vegetation to ensure conservation of existing communities B3 Continue to revegetate East Point Recreation.

BUDGET AND RESOURCE IMPLICATIONS Activities for actions 1 and 7 will be sourced from the existing Climate Change & Environment operational budget. Activities for actions 2 – 6, 10 and 13 will be sourced from the existing Parks & Reserves operational budget. Grant funding will be sourced to implement Action 10 during the 2014/15 year. The remaining actions require no additional budget. RISK/LEGAL/LEGISLATIVE IMPLICATIONS N/A

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2014 - 2018 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATIONS A documented strategy to maintain and improve biodiversity at the Reserve will deliver positive environmental outcomes. COUNCIL OFFICER CONFLICT OF INTEREST DECLARATION We the Author and Approving Officers declare that we do not have a Conflict of Interest in relation to this matter. SHENAGH GAMBLE MARK BLACKBURNMANAGER CLIMATE CHANGE & ENVIRONMENT

EXECUTIVE MANAGER

For enquiries, please contact Shenagh Gamble on 89300530 or email: [email protected]. Attachments: Attachment A: East Point Reserve Biodiversity 5 Year Management Plan 2014-

2018

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East Point Reserve Biodiversity 5 Year Management Plan 2014 – 2018

1. Introduction

East Point Reserve (the Reserve) is located on Alec Fong Lim Drive, Fannie Bay, on the most easterly point of Darwin Harbour, 6 kilometres from the Darwin CBD. The Reserve is a recreational, environmental and educational resource that aims to balance ecological, cultural and historic values, whilst providing recreation opportunities.

The site covers almost 200 hectares of land, 30 hectares which is maintained as natural forest as well as the large recreational Lake Alexander. The management and control of the Reserve was passed to the City of Darwin in 1984. Several private leases exist within the Reserve (see Figure 1: East Point Reserve vegetation type and leased areas).

Figure 1: East Point Reserve vegetation type and leased areas.

The Reserve has significant environmental value as it provides habitat for vulnerable fauna species identified by the Northern Territory’s Territory Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act 2000 such as the Mitchell’s Water Monitor (Varanus mitchelli) and Floodplain Monitor (Varanus panoptes). The Reserve also forms part of the larger Darwin Harbour Site of Conservation Significance (SOCS). SOCs are sites that have been identified by the Northern Territory’s Department of Land Resource Management as containing important biodiversity values which should be protected.

ATTACHMENT A

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The central location of the Reserve means it is regularly used by residents and tourists. However its location has also led to its isolation and fragmentation from the few remaining dry monsoon rainforest vegetation in Darwin. Where once the Reserve was covered almost entirely by dry monsoon rainforest, it is estimated cover stands as 20% today.1 City of Darwin recognises the importance of biodiversity, as well as the role East Point Reserve plays in providing habitat for fauna across Darwin, as demonstrated in its Strategic Plan Evolving Darwin Towards 2020. Outcome 3 in Goal 3 An environmentally sustainable city states Council will ‘conserve and protect the Darwin environment’. Council further recognises the importance of biodiversity in its Climate Change Action Plan 2011-2020 under actions:

B1 Increase native endemic vegetation to ensure conservation of existing communities B3 Continue to revegetate East Point Recreation.

2. Management Actions

The East Point Reserve Biodiversity 5 Year Management Plan (the Plan) provides Council with the direction required to meet its goals and outcomes as stated above in Strategic Plan Evolving Darwin Towards 2020 and Climate Change Action Plan 2011-2020. To support the development of the Plan, City of Darwin in 2013 commissioned EcOz Environmental Services (EcOz) to undertake a biodiversity survey of the Reserve, focusing on the dry monsoon forest (highlighted in Figure 2: Vegetation complexes and survey areas as Dense Monsoon Forest, Mid-dense Monsoon Forest and Dense Advanced Monsoon Forest Revegetation). Baseline fauna, flora and habitat surveys were conducted comprising o f a desktop study and two field surveys (wet and dry season). Wallaby counts were also undertaken. Figure 2 shows the survey sites. EcOz identified 79 native flora species from 40 different families within the Reserve, with surveyed sites averaging 20 – 27 species per site. This is greater than the surveyed mean number of species within dry monsoon forest in Northern Australia of 52 species.2 229 fauna species were also identified during both desktop and field surveys as inhabiting the Reserve. Of these, 49 were vertebrate fauna species, which is considered ecologically significant in such an isolated area.3 EcOz provided a suite of recommendations for future biodiversity management in the Reserve, many which have been incorporated into this Plan through the Actions. For more information, see the full report East Point Biodiversity Assessment, 2013 (common number 2415691). The Plan outlines a suite of management actions jointly developed by the Parks & Recreation and Climate Change & Environment departments which guide future management of East Point Reserve to year 2018. The actions are outlined below. Action 1 – Undertake an annual wet season biodiversity survey.

An annual biodiversity survey will be undertaken to monitor ecosystem changes and revegetation success. The survey will be undertaken during the wet season as survey results are more comprehensive during this period in comparison to the dry. Survey methods and key indicators will be replicated from the 2013 EcOz survey. The data collected in these surveys will identify the health of the ecosystem, as well as provide information required for the success of the implementation of existing and future management actions.

1 Franklin, D.C., Matthews, R., Lawes, M.J. (2010) History of the East Point monsoon forest. Northern Territory Naturalist 22: 2-16. 2 Russell‐Smith, J. (1991) Classification, species richness, and environmental relations of monsoon rain forest in Northern Australia. Journal of Vegetation Science 2(2). 3 Price, O., Woinarski, J.C.Z., Liddle, D.L., Russell-Smith, J. (1995) Patterns of species composition and reserve design for a fragmented estate: Monsoon rainforests in the Northern Territory Australia, Biological Conservation 74(1).

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Figure 2: Vegetation complexes and survey areas (EcOz East Point Biodiversity Assessment, 2013). 2.1 Flora

Maintaining the diversity of the flora within the Reserve is an integral part of conserving the areas overall biodiversity richness as well as contributing to a healthy, functioning ecosystem. Action 2 – Increase the current extent of monsoon forest strategic revegetation and reduce edge effects.

Strategic revegetation will be undertaken in key areas in particular degraded areas, or where weeds have been removed, either by physical or natural means. Reducing edge effects in turn reduces weed growth and joining corridors provides safe refuge for species such as the elusive Rainbow Pitta (Pitta iris). Priority revegetation over the next 5 years is highlighted in Figure 3: Future revegetation plan. Priority revegetation areas include grassed areas such as the corridor adjacent to the Aero-modellers Club lease. However, revegetation activities will take into consideration maintaining adequate open areas for wallaby foraging. Wallaby monitoring as outlined in Action 11 will provide more information on the open area foraging habits helping to determine total area to be revegetated.

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Figure 3: Future revegetation plan. Action 3 – Continue regular vegetation management such as controlled thinning of the upper stratum tree species. Regular controlled thinning of the upper stratum tree species, in particular pioneer species such as (Acacia auriculiformis), has helped to accelerate the vegetation community towards a more advanced, uneven-aged growth. This results in a more varied habitat for fauna species and allows understorey plant species to emerge. Vegetation modification such as this will continue as part of ongoing maintenance. Action 4 – Plant Atlas Moth larvae food plants Croton habrophyllus and Litsea glutinosa in revegetation works. Action 12 sees Council investigate the reintroduction of the Atlas Moth (Attacus wardi) into the Reserve. As a result, revegetation works over the next 5 years will include Croton habrophyllus and Litsea glutinosa (and other species deemed suitable) to provide suitable habitat for the Atlas Moth. In the 2013, EcOz identified the suitability and maximum stocking rate of Atlas Moth preferred species:

‘The survey identified the potential for between 498 and 994 C. habrophyllus and between 3217 and 5327 L. glutinosa plants to inhabit both the dense monsoon forest and the mid-dense monsoon forest within the East Point Reserve remnant monsoon forest. Habitat surveys determined that within East Point Reserve monsoon forest there are approximately 14.5 ha of Atlas Moth habitat, of which 2.1 ha is Highly Suitable habitat.’

Croton habrophyllus and Litsea glutinosa will be added to the preferred revegetation species list for the Reserve, and will feature heavily in future revegetation activities (Action 2) in order to build habitat for the Atlas Moth over the next 5 years.

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Action 5 – Continue to use locally-sourced seed to propagate nursery stock for revegetation.

Council will continue to use local nurseries such as Greening Australia who propagate native plants for revegetation ensuring providence where ever possible. Local nurseries source seed from seed collectors who gather seed stock from the Reserve. 2.1.1 Weeds

EcOz identified 15 introduced flora species during their 2013 survey (see Figure 5: Significant weed species locations within East Point Reserve). Of these, one is a Weed of National Significance (Jatropha gossypifolia) and two are Class B weeds in the Northern Territory (Senna obtusifolia and Hyptis suaveolens) (see Figure 4). Figure 4: Weed of National Significance Jatropha gossypifolia (left), Class B Hyptis suaveolens (centre) and Senna obtusifolia4 (right).

Action 6 – Continued control of all weed species.

Council will continue to control the growth and spread of weed species in line with its Weed Management Guide 2012. Methods may include spraying and slashing of grasses including Gamba (Andropogon gayanus) and Mission Grass (Pennisetum polystachion). Action 7 – a) Create the East Point Reserve Stakeholder Group with the intention of developing

an integrated approach to biodiversity management at the Reserve including a coordinated approach to weed management.

b) Host quarterly meetings.

Although Council is responsible for managing the Reserve, lessees are expected, as part of their lease agreements to control pests and weeds. Council will create the East Point Reserve Stakeholders Group which will hold quarterly meetings involving lessees and other stakeholders (Frogwatch, East Point Landcare Group, Power and Water Corporation and Northern Territory Crown Land). The aim of the meetings are to open communication lines, increasing knowledge sharing and ownership, further strengthening relationships, and developing a joint, integrated approach to biodiversity management at the Reserve. Council will draft terms of reference which will be presented to the group at the first meeting. Council will coordinate the meetings, however all members can contribute to agendas.

4 Images sourced from Northern Territory Government Weed Management Branch, 2012.

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Figure 5: Significant Weed species locations within East Point Reserve (EcOz East Point Biodiversity Assessment, 2013). 2.2 Fauna

Fauna play a vital role in a healthy, functioning ecosystem. The Reserve is home to a range of fauna species including the vulnerable Floodplain Monitor (Varanus panoptes) and Mitchell's Water Monitor (Varanus mitchelli) (see Figure 6). Figure 6: Floodplain Monitor Varanus panoptes5 (left), Mitchell’s Water Monitor Varanus mitchelli6 (right). Action 8 – Continue to support external stakeholders undertaking research at the Reserve.

Council will continue to solidify its relationships with current stakeholders such as Charles Darwin University and FrogWatch who utilise the Reserve for research purposes. Liaising with these groups to assist with data collection will not only help strengthen relationships but also provide an opportunity for knowledge and data sharing.

5 Image sourced from ReptileWatch, 2012. 6 Image sourced from Griffiths, A. Threatened species of the Northern Territory, Compiled by Simon Ward, 2012. Retrived September 17 2013, from http://lrm.nt.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/143129/Varanus_Mitchelli_VU_FINAL.pdf

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Parks & Reserves officers will continue to report reptile observations to FrogWatch including any carcasses found. FrogWatch collect these animals for information and research purposes. 2.2.1 Birds

Bird life is in abundance at the Reserve and EcOz identified 189 different species during their 2013 desktop and field surveys. The Reserve is also considered an important habitat for migratory shorebirds under the Australian Government’s Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act, 1999. Action 9 – Support the protection of shorebird roosting areas within and adjacent to the Reserve.

Although the land where the shorebird roosting occurs is under Northern Territory Government jurisdiction, Council will continue to support relevant stakeholders to ensure the protection of shorebird roosting areas on land within and adjacent to the Reserve. Action 10 – Install an artificial Osprey nesting platform.

Although eight raptor species including the Eastern Osprey (Haliaeetus cristatus) are known to frequent the Reserve, the foreshore currently lacks any appropriate roosting or nesting areas. To encourage these birds to nest, an artificial Osprey nesting platform will be constructed within the first 12 months. If considered successful, an additional platform will be constructed to further encourage nesting. 2.2.2 Wallabies

The Reserve is home to a population of Agile Wallabies (Macropus agilis). A maximum count of 114 wallabies was made in May 2013 by EcOz. The surveys provide information on the stability of the population and assist in identifying the important and preferred foraging areas. Action 11 – a) Train Council officers to undertake wallaby population surveys.

b) Undertake wallaby population surveys each month for the first quarter to allow adequate on-the-job training.

c) Continue wallaby population surveys on a quarterly basis.

Within six months, five Parks & Reserves officers will be trained to undertake wallaby population surveys, allowing Council to undertake its own surveys. Monthly wallaby surveys will be conducted for the first twelve months creating a baseline dataset, which will build on historical data. Data will be recorded using a survey record template and will be input into a spreadsheet accessible to the Team Coordinator Parks & Reserves for reporting purposes. After the first twelve months of monthly surveys, surveys will be conducted quarterly. 2.2.3 Atlas Moth

In their East Point Biodiversity Assessment 2013 EcOz comments:

‘The Atlas Moth (Attacus wardi) was first discovered within the Port Darwin area in 1908 at a time when large patches of monsoon r a i n forest and monsoon vine thicket were present, thus providing the habitat necessary to support the Atlas Moth population. Over time much of this habitat, including the plant species that the Atlas Moth larvae depend on for a food source, have been cleared to make way for the development. The Atlas Moth has since be-come extinct from the Darwin area.’

EcOz identified opportunities to reintroduce the Atlas Moth (Attacus wardi) (Figure 7) back into the Reserve which included the planting of larvae food plants species Croton habrophyllus and Litsea glutinosa (see Action 4 for more information on species inclusion in revegetation work).

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Figure 7: Atlas Moth Attacus wardi7.

Action 12 – a) Liaise with Atlas Moth expert and breeder on appropriate timing for reintroduction

of the Atlas Moth to the Reserve.

b) Reintroduce the Atlas Moth to the Reserve.

As outlined in Action 4, Croton habrophyllus and Litsea glutinosa will be added to the preferred revegetation species list for the Reserve, and a focus will be placed on planting these species in order to build habitat for the Atlas Moth over the next five years. Council will liaise with Atlas Moth expert and breeder Geoff Martin in raising 15-20 Atlas Moths for reintroduction and release at the Reserve. Release will occur once the larvae and host food plants have matured to a suitable age and density to support the moths through life stages. 2.2.4 Introduced Species

Feral animal numbers within the Reserve are considered low for an ecosystem in such close proximity to urbanisation (EcOz 2013) however they still pose a significant risk to the biodiversity in the Reserve. Introduced species identified during EcOz’s survey included the dingo (Canis lupus), wild dog (Canis familiaris), cat (Felis catus), Asian house gecko (Hemidactylus frenatus), blind snake (Ramphotyphlops braminus), cane toad (Rhinella marinus) and the common house mice (Mus musculus). Action 13 – Monitor and control introduced fauna species where appropriate.

If dingoes (Canis lupus) and wild dogs (Canis familiaris) are observed within the Reserve or in surrounding areas, trapping programs are and will continue to be implemented. Council will continue to assist FrogWatch in conducting ‘Toad Busts’ which monitor and reduce the cane toad population (Rhinella marinus). Assistance will also be provided to ensure the toad fence is maintained.

3. Roles and Responsibilities

7 Image Len Willan. and CSIRO Entomology. Threatened species of the Northern Territory, Compiled by Michael Braby, Colin Wilson, Simon Ward, updated 2012. Retrived September 2013, from http://lrm.nt.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0014/10904/Atlas_Moth_VU_FINAL.pdf

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The review, implementation and reporting of the East Point Biodiversity 5 Year Management Plan is the joint responsibility of the Parks & Reserves and Climate Change & Environment departments. The Team Coordinator Parks & Reserves is responsible for the implementation of actions, while the Manager Climate Change & Environment is responsible for annual reviews of the Plan, and the reporting to the Environment & Infrastructure Committee against the Climate Change Action Plan 2011-2020.

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4. Timeframe for Management Action Implementation

Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4

Action 1 Undertake an annual wet season biodiversity survey. 01/01/14 31/12/18 Once annually

Action 2Increase the current extent of rainforest through strategic revegetation and reduce edge effects.

01/01/14 31/12/18 Ongoing management

Action 3Continue regular vegetation management such as controlled thinning of the upper stratum tree species.


Action 4Plant Atlas Moth larvae food plants Croton habrophyllus and Litsea glutinosa in revegetation works.


Action 5Continue to use locally-sourced seed to propagate nursery stock for revegetation.


Action 6 Continued control of all weed species. 01/01/14 31/12/18 Ongoing managementa) Create the East Point Reserve Stakeholder Group with the intention of developing an integrated approach to biodiversity management at the Reserve including a coordinated approach to weed management.

01/01/14 30/03/14First meeting to be held in 1st quarter 2014.

b) Host quarterly meetings. 01/01/14 31/12/18Ongoing on a quarterly basis

Action 8Continue to support external stakeholders undertaking research at the Reserve.

01/01/14 31/12/18 Ongoing as required

Action 9Support the protection of shorebird roosting areas within and adjacent to the Reserve.


Action 10 Install an artificial Osprey nesting platform. 01/01/14 30/12/14 Install first platforma) Train staff to undertake wallaby population surveys.

01/01/14 01/07/14Engage consultant and undertake training

b) Undertake wallaby population surveys each month for the first quarter to allow adequate on-the-job training.

01/01/14 31/12/14On a monthly basis during 2014

c) Continue wallaby population surveys on a quarterly basis.

01/01/15 31/12/18Ongoing on a quarterly basis

a) Liaise with Atlas Moth expert and breeder on reintroduction of the Atlas Moth to the Reserve.

01/01/14 01/07/14Initiate discussions with breeder within 1st quarter of 2014

b) Reintroduce the Atlas Moth to the Reserve 01/01/14 31/12/18Dependant on successful increase of plants to support the population

Action 13Monitor and control introduced fauna species where appropriate.


Finish Date

Notes

Action 7

Action 11

Action 12

Management ActionsStart Date

2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 46

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ENCL: YES


AGENDA ITEM: 9.8

WATER EFFICIENCY REVIEW


Presenter: Manager Infrastructure Maintenance, Kerry Smith Approved: General Manager Infrastructure, Luccio Cercarelli PURPOSE The purpose of this report is to provide an update on Councils Water Efficiency Review and to present the draft City of Darwin Water Efficiency Action Plan Summary Report. LINK TO STRATEGIC PLAN The issues addressed in this Report are in accordance with the following Goals/Strategies of the City of Darwin 2012 – 2016 as outlined in the ‘Evolving Darwin Towards 2020 Strategic Plan’:- Goal 3 Environmentally Sustainable City Outcome 3.1 Council’s carbon footprint reduced Key Strategies 3.1.4 Reduce Council’s water consumption KEY ISSUES Council has undertaken a Water Efficiency Study to review current water use and

make recommendations on future water use management practices. A Water Efficiency Action Plan has been prepared that summarises the

background study and recommends actions over a number of years. It is recommended that Council endorse the Water Efficiency Action Plan. That consideration be given to implementation of the plan in 2014/2015 subject to

budget.

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PAGE: 2 REPORT NUMBER: 14TS0045 KS:jw SUBJECT: WATER EFFICIENCY REVIEW RECOMMENDATIONS THAT it be a recommendation to Council:- A. THAT Report Number 14TS0045 KS:jw entitled Water Efficiency Review, be

received and noted. B. THAT Council refer to the 2014/2015 budget a new initiative of $200,000 for the

implementation of the first year actions identified in Report Number 14TS0045 KS:jw entitled Water Efficiency Review and that this be funded from the Water Reserve.

C. THAT the recommendations identified within the Water Efficiency Action Plan beyond year one be referred, for consideration, to the long term financial plan for funding in future years.

BACKGROUND In 2012 and 2013 Council implemented a study into Councils water use which would inform a water efficiency plan. That work has now been completed and a draft Water Efficiency Action Plan has been prepared to allow Council to consider options to achieve improved water efficiency within the management of its assets. A Water Efficiency Study update was provided to Council in May 2012 Water Efficiency Brief Update – May 2011 Report No. 12TS0073 KS (19/06/12) Common No. 1649021 THAT Report Number 12TS0073 KS entitled, Water Efficiency Brief Update – May 2012, be received and noted. DECISION No. 21/232 (26/06/12) Carried DISCUSSION In 2013 BMT WBM, a company with specialist expertise in the management of water completed a background study on Council’s water use across Parks and Reserves and Buildings. The study included possible options to improve the current use of water and whether any alternate water sources may be available. The study was implemented to assess Council’s current water use and to provide recommendations for management of water into the future to ensure efficient use of water in a growing city which may see levels of service increase in some areas. The Water Efficiency Action Plan provided at Attachment A provides a summary of the background report and a series of factors that affect the use of water with short term and long term actions to reduce financial and environmental pressures on available water resources.

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PAGE: 3 REPORT NUMBER: 14TS0045 KS:jw SUBJECT: WATER EFFICIENCY REVIEW Some of the key recommendations from the summary report are centred on gaining a full and accurate understanding of where water is being used and aligning this information with accounts from Power Water Corporation. Ensuring that our management practices are targeted towards proactively managing irrigation and water use infrastructure and automating any current manual systems for irrigation ensuring greater control and ability to monitor water use. The following table provides a summary of actions recommended for implementation in year one. The draft Water Efficiency Action Plan identifies a total of $440,000 investment in year one to achieve an estimated saving of $300,000 (ongoing) however staff have reviewed this level of investment and recommend that $200,000 be invested as an appropriate balance of available resources, 2014/2015 budget and the technical achievements available within one year. The following action plan is recommended as an effective way of testing the outcomes of the Water Efficiency study and to allow a more comprehensive understanding of advances that can be achieved from the Action plan over future years. ACTION OUTCOME ADDITIONAL

COST ESTMATED SAVINGS PER ANNUM

COMMENT

Database Alignment

Continue to reconcile Water Meter data with physical location and billing data

Nil Difficult to quantify

This action is essential to tracking water use and future efficient practice

Irrigation Control system training programme

More effective use of irrigation central control system

$40,000. Across these actions a total saving is estimated to be $130,000

Improved use of central control will enable staff to monitor irrigation performance from the office

Reduce Kangaroo Stands

Replace current manual locations with automated in ground systems

$50,000. Reduce water waste and implement greater control over run times

Fine tune irrigation system performance on site

Engage short term additional labour (contractor or temp staff) to test and monitor on site system performance

$90,000 Ensure irrigation systems are operating as designed

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PAGE: 4 REPORT NUMBER: 14TS0045 KS:jw SUBJECT: WATER EFFICIENCY REVIEW ACTION OUTCOME ADDITIONAL

COST ESTMATED SAVINGS PER ANNUM

COMMENT

Install master shut off valves

Install master shut off valve for remaining kangaroo stand locations

$20,000 $20,000 Master shut off valves enable systems to be shut down at the end of run time cycles ensuring water use is better targeted

TOTAL $200,000 $150,000 It should be noted that the estimated savings identified are ongoing and the estimated pay back on the $200,000 investment is less than two years. By committing a total of $200,000 from the water reserve Council retains the ability to preserve sufficient reserve funds for future variation that can occur due to climatic influence on water use. The savings listed above are estimated only and based on current use data and Power Water Corporation pricing. Outcomes in future years will remain as weather dependant and will be affected by seasonal fluctuations. The nil cost action is currently being actioned within current operating budgets. CONSULTATION PROCESS In preparing this report, the following City of Darwin officers were consulted: Senior Technical Officer Parks Acting Team Coordinator Parks and Reserves Team Leader Turf and Irrigation Team

In preparing this report, the following External Parties were consulted: BMT WBM PTY. LTD.

POLICY IMPLICATIONS It is intended that current service level provision will be maintained or improved in accordance with relevant policy on the provision of quality open space.

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PAGE: 5 REPORT NUMBER: 14TS0045 KS:jw SUBJECT: WATER EFFICIENCY REVIEW BUDGET AND RESOURCE IMPLICATIONS It is recommended that the year one recommendations identified in the Water Efficiency Action Plan be funded through $200,000 from the Watering Reserve via a new initiative submitted for the 2014/2015 budget. Current watering reserve fund balance is $578,699. RISK/LEGAL/LEGISLATIVE IMPLICATIONS Nil Assessed ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATIONS More efficient use of water will help to preserve current water supply sources. Leadership from Council on this important initiative will help extend an important message throughout the community. COUNCIL OFFICER CONFLICT OF INTEREST DECLARATION We the Author and Approving Officers declare that we do not have a Conflict of Interest in relation to this matter. KERRY SMITH LUCCIO CERCARELLIMANAGER INFRASTRUCTURE MAINTENANCE


For enquiries, please contact Kerry Smith on 893003654 or email: [email protected]. Attachments: Attachment A: City of Darwin Water Efficiency Action Plan

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City of Darwin Water Efficiency Action Plan Summary

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Attachment A

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Contents

1 Executive Summary 2

1.1 Alternate Water Supply Options Summary 2

1.2 Parks Summary 3

1.3 Buildings Summary 4

1.4 Action Plan 5

2 Introduction and Scope 8

3 City of Darwin Water Use 9

3.1 Where is Water Used? 9

4 The Water Efficiency Challenge 10

5 Why Consider Water Efficiency? 11

6 Alternate Supplies 12

7 Water Use in Parks Overview 14

7.1 Park Details 14

7.2 Environmental Conditions 17

7.3 Soil Quality 18

7.4 Turf Species Selection and Maintenance 19

7.5 Community Expectations 19

7.6 Infrastructure Maintenance 20

7.7 Service Levels 21

8 Existing Efficient Practices in Parks 23

8.1 Seasonal irrigation control 23

8.2 Advanced irrigation control system 23

8.3 Tracking of Water Use 23

8.4 Streamlining of water billing management 24

8.5 Specifications for new parks 24

8.6 Turf Selection and Research 24

8.7 Responsive Repairs 24

8.8 Soil and Turf Care 24

9 Water Use in Buildings Overview 25

10 Existing Efficient Practices in Buildings 26

10.1 Efficient bathroom upgrades 26

10.2 Leak checking 26

10.3 Cooling Tower Optimisation 26

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10.4 Responsive Repairs 26

11 Action Plan 27

12 General Actions 31

12.1 Continue to Improve Water Use Data 31

12.2 Monitoring and Meter Readings for Key Sites 31

12.3 Prioritise Communication on Water Wastage 32

12.4 Make Use of Water Tracking 32

12.5 Equate Water Use to Performance Indicators 32

13 Short Term Actions for Parks 33

13.1 Fine Tune Irrigation Zone Runtimes 33

13.2 Irrigation Control System Training 33

13.3 Replace Kangaroo Stands in Priority Areas 34

13.4 Master control valves for Remaining Kangaroo Stand Sites 34

14 Longer Term Actions for Parks 36

14.1 Investment and Savings Estimates 36

14.2 Determine and Endorse Council Targets for Service Level and Water Efficiency in Parks 39

14.3 Further Advancement in Open Space Management Practice 39

14.4 Optimise Irrigation Control System 40

14.5 Continued Research into Local Turf Species and Care 40

14.6 Continue to Replace Kangaroo Stands 40

14.7 Public awareness 41

15 Short Term Actions for Buildings 42

15.1 Continue to Repair any Leaks Immediately 42

15.2 Continue to Install Timed-Flow Taps or Flow Regulators 42

15.3 Replace Showers with Low Flow Versions 42

15.4 Encourage and Expand Leak Checking 43

15.5 Conduct Maintenance Immediately After Events 44

15.6 Site Staff Awareness 44

16 Longer Term Actions for Buildings 45

16.1 Preventative Maintenance in Heavy Use Areas 45

16.2 Continue to Install Efficient Fixtures in Upgrades 45

17 Conclusion 46

City of Darwin Water Efficiency Action Plan Summary – V3 – 28/2/2014

This report was written by Adam Jones from BMT WBM on behalf of Darwin City Council to appropriately explain and summarise findings from work done in

2012 and 2013. These are documented for internal Darwin City Council use in the full ‘Water Efficiency Action Plan (2013)’.

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1 Executive Summary

City of Darwin has a unique role, managing infrastructure for a significant (and growing) urban population in

a climate that is atypical for other larger cities in Australia. This presents a unique challenge particularly in

relation to water efficiency.

This report forms part of work commissioned by the City of Darwin in 2012 and 2013 to review Council’s

water use in parks and buildings – in order to better understand opportunities for optimising this in the future.

This document is a summary of the key findings from the ‘Water Efficiency Action Plan (2013)’ – a technical

background report intended for internal use.

The total water consumption for the City of Darwin Council in 2012 was 1,356 ML (1.356 billion litres of

water).

The latest announcements on water prices is that on 1 January 2014 a 5% increase in electricity, water and

sewerage took place and on 1 January 2015 a further 5% increase can be expected. A water price to

Government organizations of $1.9335 per kilolitre (1000 litres) exists as at January 1 2014. It is estimated

that the cost of Council’s water charges at current consumption and prices for the 2013-14 financial year will

approach $3 million, with $2.16 million for parks.

The estimated breakup of these costs is highlighted in Figure 1-1.

Figure 1-1: Council Water Bill Proportions

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Obtaining accurate data on water use at each individual park has been a difficult challenge historically,

though significant recent progress has been made – and the continuation of this is strongly recommended in

order to allow improved water use data and tracking in the future.

There are a number of challenges to the optimisation of water use in Darwin – including a difficult climate, a

growing and changing population and complexities in determining how to best serve the public with open

space management.

However there are still strong reasons for considering water efficiency – for future resilience, sustainability

and significant cost minimisation opportunities.

1.1 Alternate Water Supply Options Summary Initial feasibility analysis was conducted for a number of alternate water supply sources, including:

Rainwater harvesting for park irrigation,

Rainwater harvesting for building use,

Stormwater harvesting,

Groundwater use,

Recycled water treatment and use, and

Seawater desalination.

None of the options showed a strong cost effectiveness, due largely to limited yields of rainwater (due to

climate patterns) and the significant capital and ongoing costs associated with recycled water and seawater

treatment. The most effective options for improving water efficiency therefore remain the improvements in

efficiency on-site in parks and buildings.

However, external factors (such as the potential for future water restrictions or grant funding) may cause these

alternate supply options to become feasible for other reasons in the future.

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1.2 Parks Summary The best available data was used to extrapolate the estimated water use by park category, as shown in

Figure 1-2.

Figure 1-2: Estimated Annual Water Use by Park Category There are a number of key challenges affecting the efficiency of water use on open space in Darwin. These

include:

Harsh climatic conditions for vegetation,

Infrastructure maintenance challenges,

Poor soil quality and depth,

Mixed turf species,

Tradeoffs in goals regarding irrigation, and

A growing need for measurable service levels.

Despite these challenges, there are a number of efficient processes already in place – including:

Seasonal irrigation control,

Advanced irrigation system control,

Tracking of water use,

Streamlining of water billing management,

Specifications for new parks,

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Turf selection and research,

Responsive repairs,

Soil and turf care.

1.3 Buildings Summary Buildings under the responsibility of the City of Darwin represent a significant variety of sites – as highlighted

in Figure 1-3.

Figure 1-3: Number of Council Buildings by Category Darwin’s population is typically at its greatest in the cooler and dry months from May to August, when the

climate is the most comfortable and popular for tourism. This increased population period places additional

stress on many of the council building facilities – including the water using fixtures.

The level of involvement that council staff have at each site varies, and this affects the available

opportunities for improving efficiency.

Efficient procedure in place currently include;

Efficient bathroom upgrades

Leak checking,

Cooling Tower Optimisation, and

Responsive repairs.

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1.4 Action Plan The action plan shows the recommended options for water management and efficiency improvement, with

some guide for likely costs, timeline and savings as appropriate.

They represent both high level policy directions, development of procedures over time and immediate

actions.

General actions include:

Database alignment,

Internal co-ordination of water use data,

Identifying unused water meters,

Monitoring water use at key sites,

Prioritisation of communication on water wastage,

Use of ‘Planet Footprint’ water use tracking data, and

Equate water use to performance indicators.

Actions for Parks include:

Fine tune irrigation zone runtimes,

Master shutoff valves for remaining kangaroo stands,

Targets for service level and water efficiency,

Further advancement in open space management practices,

Optimise irrigation control system,

Continued research into local turf species and care,

Continue to replace kangaroo stands, and

Public awareness.

Actions for Buildings include:

Continue to repair any leaks immediately,

Continue to install timed flow taps or flow regulators,

Replace showers with low flow versions,

Encourage and expand leak checking,

Conduct maintenance immediately after events,

Site staff education,

Preventative maintenance in heavy use areas, and

Continue to install efficient fixtures in upgrades.

Some of these actions would require significant investment over time – especially in order to replace

kangaroo stands, optimise the irrigation systems, and advance open space management practices.

However, estimates of achievable savings indicate that water bill savings should more than pay back the

investment.

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Detailed scenario analysis is beyond the scope of this strategic review, but a simplified example outcome

from achieved savings is illustrated in Figure 1-4, showing immediate investment in updating equipment and

infrastructure ($2,000,000 over 2 years), additional system maintenance budget and also an additional

$300,000 per annum invested in staff (up to $800,000 per annum) – along with some overall water savings

(20% in the second year, 15% in the third year, 5% in the fourth year, and a slower increase in subsequent

years).

Figure 1-4: Illustration of Economic Effect of Investment to Improve Water Efficiency Though the graphs represent only a simplified illustration, they show that additional investment in equipment

and staff that equates to significant water savings will achieve a significant cost saving over time.

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It is recommended that the City of Darwin consider these actions and opportunities based on appropriate

timelines, and incorporate them as appropriate into operations and planning.

Through the effective implementation of these options over time, it is believed that the City of Darwin can

continue to improve the quality of service to the community while significantly reducing water consumption,

and thus offsetting what may otherwise be significant future costs of water.

This represents a key opportunity to demonstrate leadership - with excellent value and a high level of

environmental responsibility into the future.

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2 Introduction and Scope City of Darwin has a unique role, managing infrastructure for a significant (and growing) urban population in

a climate that is atypical for other larger cities in Australia. This presents a unique challenge particularly in

relation to water efficiency.

This report forms part of work commissioned by the City of Darwin in 2012 and 2013 to review Council’s

water use in parks and buildings – in order to better understand opportunities for optimising this in the future.

This document is a summary of the key findings from the ‘Water Efficiency Action Plan (2013)’ – a technical

background report intended for internal use.

This process forms part of the City of Darwin Climate Change Action Plan (as shown below), and has taken

into account all existing information, investigations, and a broad variety of inter-relating technical and human

factors affecting water use.

Figure 2-1: Water Efficiency Corporate Action from the 2011-2020 Darwin City Council Climate Change Action Plan.

Through investigating the existing challenges and a number of specific sites, a number of recommendations

have been suggested, along with an ‘Action Plan Table’ that puts recommendations into a feasible and

manageable order for possible implementation.

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3 City of Darwin Water Use

3.1 Where is Water Used? The total water consumption for the City of Darwin Council in 2012 was 1,356 mega litres - this is equivalent

to 542 Olympic swimming pools.

Of this, 72% was used for the irrigation of parks - and the remaining 28% for a variety of uses across all

other Council properties and buildings.

The latest announcements on water prices is that on 1 January 2014 a 5% increase in electricity, water and

sewerage took place and on 1 January 2015 a further 5% increase can be expected. A water price to

Government organizations of $1.9335 per kilolitre (1000 litres) exists as at January 1 2014. It is estimated

that the cost of Council’s water charges at current consumption and prices for the 2013-14 financial year will

approach $3 million, with $2.16 million for parks.

The estimated breakup of these costs is highlighted in Figure 3-1.

Figure 3-1: Council Water Bill Proportions

It has been historically difficult for the City of Darwin to understand where water has been used, largely as a

result of limitations with water billing information

Progress has been made in this area during the term of this project, and ongoing refinement will allow more

accurate cost and usage data to be available in the future. Estimated water use breakups have therefore

been compiled for this report to provide ‘snapshots’ using available data - with the assumption that improved

metrics for tracking costs and usage will become available over time.

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4 The Water Efficiency Challenge

Optimising water use is increasingly becoming a challenge for most cities and councils throughout Australia.

In Darwin it is uniquely challenging, as:

The combination of local soil and climate are deceptively harsh on turf, plants and equipment–requiring more active care than many other parts of Australia. Despite the often lush landscape in the wet season, there is very little to support resilience in the long dry season.

A growing and seasonally changing population of residents and visitors will continue to place more pressure on existing buildings and parks, and new parks and buildings will continue to be added to the large council portfolio into the future.

It can be complex to discern how to best serve the community.

Parks are very important to the Darwin lifestyle – there is a large amount of green open space that is valuable to the community and heavily utilised. If expectations increase for greener and softer surfaces, significant amounts of care and water are needed to meet these expectations.

This highlights the often competing nature of goals – the excerpts from the 2020 Strategic Plan below highlight landscaping improvement and water efficiency as goals, and the ‘trade-off’ between these is an example of a challenge that makes it difficult for actions and decisions to be justified simply.

Targets and Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) would assist this by providing drivers for staff, but setting these properly is a key organisational challenge.

Figure 4-1: Strategic Plan Goals Referring to Improving Landscaping and Water Efficiency

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5 Why Consider Water Efficiency?

Water efficiency has been a high priority in drought sensitive areas

for some time, but in recent years it has become increasingly

relevant to many other areas of Australia – particularly those areas

experiencing population and industry growth.

All kinds of organisations are now seeking to better understand their

water use for such reasons as:

Future resilience in the face of any potential supply pressures

Environmental considerations

A responsibility to spend wisely amidst increasing water costs

This is different from the ‘emergency water restrictions’ used in the past in other parts of Australia, as it

instead looks to gain the same (or even better) value from water use using a smarter approach.

In addition, the cost of water supplied by ‘Power and Water Corporation’ is on a rising trajectory (shown

below). This mirrors price changes in most areas of Australia over the past decade, indicating a high

probability that prices will continue to climb into the future.

Figure 5-1: Recent Water Price Changes in Darwin

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6 Alternate Supplies

Initial feasibility analysis was conducted for a number of alternate water supply sources, including:

Rainwater harvesting for park irrigation,

Rainwater harvesting for building use,

Stormwater harvesting,

Groundwater use,

Recycled water treatment and use, and

Seawater desalination.

None of the options showed a strong cost effectiveness, due largely to limited yields of rainwater (due to

climate patterns) and the significant capital and ongoing costs associated with recycled water and seawater

treatment. Figures 6-1 and 6-2 below show modelling outputs based on local rainfall data using

conservatively large storage volumes. These highlight how a nominal yield is achieved on the edges of the

wet season, but that for the majority of the year the storage provides no benefit.

Figure 6-1: Rainwater modelling results for a 1ML tank from a 5,000m2 roof

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Figure 6-2: Stormwater modelling results for a 6ML pond from a 50,000m2 catchment

The most effective options for improving water efficiency therefore remain the improvements in efficiency on-

site in parks and buildings.

However, external factors (such as the potential for future water restrictions or grant funding) may cause

these alternate supply options to become feasible for other reasons in the future.

In light of this, the use of recycled water from the Leanyer/Sanderson Ponds treatment plant for use as fit-for-

purpose irrigation water is considered the most appropriate for continued investigation through discussions

with Power and Water Corporation.

Seawater desalination for local precincts may be appropriate for supply security, but requires a significant

capital investment and as such is not a recommended option.

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7 Water Use in Parks Overview

7.1 Park Details

The City of Darwin is currently responsible for a total of 389 irrigated sites, with irrigated area totalling 192

Hectares.

These are split into categories relating to the nature of the area (active sporting fields, passive recreational

parkland, landscaped road reserves, turf at other council facilities) and the relative value of the area.

Figure 7-1 shows a breakup of total park numbers in each category.

Figure 7-1: Breakup of Council Irrigated Areas by Category

Tables 7-1 and 7-2 also show the number of sites in each category, and the average area of each site.

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Table 7-1: Park Area Details

Park Category Description Number of Parks

Irrigated Area (Hectares)

Regional Active Premium sports grounds 6 12.8

District Active Typical sports grounds 11 19.0

Regional Passive High profile non-sporting

recreational areas 18 47.3

District Passive Other major non-sporting

recreational areas 41 35.1

Neighbourhood Passive Local neighbourhood parks 139 52.7

Landscaped Zone A High profile road verge

landscaping 12 2.1

Landscaped Zone B General road verge

landscaping 96 7.3

Table 7-2: Other Irrigated Area Details

Other Sites with Irrigation Number of

Buildings with Irrigation

Irrigated Area (Hectares)

Cemeteries 2 3.3

Council Facility (Car Park, Community Centre, Child Care)

15 2.6

Shopping Centre Verges 28 2.3

Leased Areas 21 7.3

This shows how the City of Darwin has a relatively small number of high value areas with large irrigated

areas, in contrast to hundreds of small lower value areas spread across a range of site types.

It has been difficult in the past to accurately attribute water use to parks directly, making tracking and

analysis difficult. But for the purpose of this report, available information (analysis of the Council database,

Council’s internal meter readings and monitoring) was used to generate typical water use benchmarks in

each park classification, and extrapolations for what kind of total water use this implies – shown in Table 7-3.

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Table 7-3: Average Water Use Estimates by Category

Irrigated Area Category

Water Use per Irrigation Area

(L/m2/day)

Total Extrapolated

Water Use per Annum

(ML/annum)

Average Annual

Water Use per Site

(ML)

Regional Active 1.8 83.5 13.9

District Active 2.5 173.8 15.8

Regional Passive 3.3 576.9 32.1

District Passive 2.5 320.7 7.8

Neighbourhood Passive

1.2 226.8 1.6

Landscaped Zone A 2.3 17.6 1.5

Landscaped Zone B 2.9 77.6 0.8

Figure 7-2 shows the relative extrapolated total water use as a pie chart.

Figure 7-2: Estimated Annual Water Use by Park Category

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It is important to note that these estimates have been generated from available data, and it is recommended

that these estimates be superseded with more accurate versions as database alignment continues in the

future.

7.2 Environmental Conditions There are a number of factors that make Darwin’s ‘tropical savannah’ climate unique in comparison to other

areas of Australia, particularly in relation to the irrigation of plants and turf.

Traditionally, 6 seasons are described as part of the annual cycle highlighting changes in temperature,

precipitation, humidity and storm events. These can be pragmatically simplified to ‘wet’ and ‘dry’ seasons,

but with allowance for some unpredictability in rainfall during the transition periods.

The wet season usually brings consistent rain from December to March, reducing the need for irrigation. In

contrast, the dry season shows little to no precipitation from April to September, and there are unpredictable

local events during October and November. In addition to continued year-round high temperatures, the dry

season also shows high evaporation with the Bureau of Meteorology recording mean daily evaporation levels

as high as 8.0 mm in October. This climate data is highlighted in Figure 7-3.

Figure 7-3: Darwin Climate Graph

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These high evapotranspiration levels during the dry season provide little relief and very little margin for error

for the visual degradation of turf in particular.

Even healthy turf is likely to ‘brown off’ significantly after as little as two days interruption to normal irrigation

patterns. In practice, this tight margin creates a consistent urgency in response to any changes or failures in

irrigation patterns – especially in higher value areas.

Figure 7-4: Dry Season Turf – natural state and irrigated state

Also, high evaporation levels contribute to significant losses whenever sprays are used – especially during

daylight hours.

Conversely the high precipitation during the wet season can accelerate leaching of nutrients and erosion of

topsoil, plus the high standard of vegetation health that is generated by the constant precipitation during this

time regularly resets high expectations for lush vegetation each year.

7.3 Soil Quality The other significant challenge is poor soil quality. In many areas of Australia, it is common to use a rich soil

structure for new parks - 200mm or more of sandy loam with a high organic content. A soil structure like this

has a large ‘field capacity’ (the water that can be held in the soil after wetting) and provides ample nutrients.

The parks in Darwin typically have less than a 100mm soil depth (as low as 10mm in some locations) on top

of hard bedrock. The soil itself is hard (derived from laterites) and easily compacted to a degree that turf

roots cannot penetrate – further contributing to extremely shallow root depths. This creates ‘weak’ turf and

soil with little holding capacity to supply vegetation between rain or irrigation events. Conversely it can also

cause waterlogging in areas that cannot drain.

Adding to this difficulty, available topsoil is also of a relatively poor quality, often comprised of river mud with

minimal organic content. Even if better quality topsoil could be sourced remotely, there is significant risk that

erosion and leaching could minimise the effectiveness of this treatment.

This leaves relatively few options for effectively improving soil quality (decompaction, sand topdressing, slow

release fertiliser, compost application) and leaves a significant challenge for efficient irrigation in Darwin.

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7.4 Turf Species Selection and Maintenance Hot, tropical monsoonal conditions in Darwin make turf species selection a unique challenge for the region.

An ideal species would be soft, water efficient, tough, slow to grow vertically (to minimise mowing), quick to

establish from seeds or sods, and highly resistant to weed ingress – but all available species represent

tradeoffs in some of these areas.

The most common general use species in most areas is Bahia grass (Paspalum notatum). This is a tough

species that can survive with no water during the dry season – but it is not ideal for sports (a rough surface

with some itching) and with minor overwatering it can have ingress from weeds and other more thirsty grass

species (such as broad leaved carpet grass, and Chryopogon acicularis).

Once weeds and inefficient species have become established in a park the susceptibility to browning off with

reduced irrigation increases significantly, and care for the turf becomes more complex. It is believed that a

significant number of parks and ovals throughout Darwin now have a broad mix of grasses and weeds.

Figure 7-5 below shows Bahia grass on a sports oval with evidence of other species also mixed in.

Figure 7-5: Example of ‘mixed’ Bahia Grass

7.5 Community Expectations Requests continue to be received from ratepayers and residents requesting the improvement in service level

delivery to parks and reserves, particularly in respect of uniform irrigation, and this indicates that the Darwin

community places significant value on turf health.

However, it remains difficult for staff to discern how great that value is for the wider community, and the true

nature of their expectations.

It is reasonable to expect that with the anticipated strong economic and population growth in Darwin, that

urban infill will bring changing expectation with regard to turf and gardens.

If the number of parks and the expectations of green health throughout the dry season continue to increase,

these expectations will be difficult to meet satisfactorily into the future without consideration of extensive

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resources and infrastructure. This is likely to be the case irrespective of water efficiency, though the efficient

use of water does at least offer some related economic benefit due to reduced water bills.

While there is presumed to be a general awareness and motivation for environmental sustainability

increasing in some Darwin residents (as in most parts of Australia), the primary communication to Council

from the community regarding parks in recent years has been occasional and specific complaints if parks

become brown or irrigation systems are seen running during rain events.

The community perceptions of park quality and Council water efficiency are a key aspect that will drive

Council efforts into the future, so further research in this area is recommended.

7.6 Infrastructure Maintenance At various times throughout the year there are different external causes of equipment wear and failure.

The wet season has periods of intense lightning which often strike the controllers, requiring extensive

protection. However, it is difficult to avoid damage in the case of a strong direct strike, so this represents a

significant ongoing and unpredictable maintenance and repair cost.

The constant soil moisture in the wet season also creates increased pest activity, and soil dwelling insects

can eat wiring, conduit and sensors unless materials are selected carefully.

In sandy areas, pipe leaks or overwatering will not be seen on the ground surface as the water infiltrates,

however most of the soils throughout Darwin are hard rock. Boggy patches during the dry season generally

indicate pipe leaks, valve failure, or overwatering.

The periods of dry heat in the dry season can ‘bake’ fragile equipment like rain and soil moisture sensors,

and the regular (often daily) use of irrigation zone solenoids can also cause these to wear more quickly.

Worn, broken or poorly matched sprinkler heads are difficult to identify (without detailed auditing) due to

automatic irrigation occurring overnight, and this issue is compounded for sites without booster pumps. This

is because the mains pressure can vary over time - and for some sites has been further affected by meter

replacements and backflow prevention upgrades reducing the high flow dynamic pressure.

For these reasons sprinkler head problems can continue for some time without being identified. This can be

recognized by green patches in the turf around the sprinkler head (Figure 7-6) or erosion of a nearby area as

the sprinkler no longer rotates.

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Figure 7-6: Sunset Park, showing broken sprinkler head and irregular irrigation distribution

7.7 Service Levels Without targets or guidelines for park condition in the past, irrigation practices have been governed by

informal goals with boundaries determined by the expectations of the community (tracked through individual

site complaints).

This has resulted in a priority for green turf, and created a culture of responsiveness to resident requests.

However, it is now becoming apparent that the increasing population and changing expectations for turf

appearance require the consideration of a strategic approach of formalised and endorsed targets and

standards.

This process had already begun, with a process over the last 18 months of documenting some ideal service

levels for informal park type classifications. The classifications are summarised in Table 7-4.

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Table 7-4: Park Classifications

Class Description

Active Turf

(Sporting Areas)

Active Parks are defined as land that caters for publicly

available organised sports and recreation activities.

Regional

Defined as parks that receive the highest level of

service with the purpose of providing a highly aesthetic

environment.

District

District Parks are kept to a lower standard than regional

parks, yet still catering to the needs of a broader

population. These parks are also watered each night

and several are on the telemetric control system. The

aim is to have at least partial coverage of green grass.

Neighborhood

These parks provide for regular local use, generally

providing recreation for relaxation and children’s play.

During the dry season many of these smaller local parks

are watered by hand or manually controlled irrigation

systems when precinct crews are able to water them.

They may also be watered more frequently around

playground equipment or if residents complain about the

grass dying.

Landscaped

Zone A

Landscaped road verges and other smaller areas in

high value highly frequented areas.

Watering of these areas is situation specific – it can

occur daily, weekly or on alternate days.

Landscaped

Zone B

Landscaped road verges and other smaller areas in less

critical areas.

Watering of these areas is situation specific – it can

occur daily, weekly or on alternate days.

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8 Existing Efficient Practices in Parks

Council has already implemented a range of initiatives on a number of different fronts that have already

improved water efficiency, while maintaining or improving the quality of service to the community.

These initiatives are commended and are already either contributing to optimised water use, or laying the

foundation for future optimisation.

Some examples of existing practices employed by the City of Darwin that are already assisting water

efficiency in parks include:

8.1 Seasonal irrigation control Automatic and manual irrigation events alike are adapted to account for the wet, dry and transition seasons.

In addition to set season bypasses, irrigation flow times are factored in transition periods.

8.2 Advanced irrigation control system Many of the larger parks have advanced irrigation control systems that communicate with a central control

system and track information from sensors. Flow meters are used to track water use volumes, pressure

sensors help to flag equipment problems and a significant number of sites have rain sensors for use during

the transition into the wet season when rainfall can be highly localised.

Figure 8-1: Rain and Pressure Sensors

8.3 Tracking of Water Use The City of Darwin has started tracking overall water use information with

providers ‘Planet Footprint’ to provide ongoing updates of performance. Already

the proactivity of staff with this information has earned the highest rating of

‘Gold’ from the organisation, for demonstrating key criteria to show that the City

of Darwin is ’continuously tracking and improving energy and environmental

performance across all Council operations.’

The City of Darwin also gathers water use information and records in addition to

the utility billing data, providing the opportunity for unusual patterns and

changes in water use to be recognised with greater speed and resolution.

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Council staff read a significant number of water meters, and flow continuous meter data is transmitted and

saved for larger irrigation sites.

8.4 Streamlining of water billing management With a large water account encompassing water use at a range of sites and assets, it is often difficult for

large Councils to correctly attribute water bills to sites and track information in a useful way. The City of

Darwin has been working for some time to develop a way for staff to access meaningful water use

information from billing data.

8.5 Specifications for new parks New parks built for eventual handover to Darwin City Council are required to meet a set of requirements as

part of the development application process. This helps to ensure that new parks maintain a consistent high

standard of irrigation infrastructure and design so that effective ongoing care will be possible in these areas

also.

8.6 Turf Selection and Research Care is taken with turf species to ensure that

species in use have sufficient resilience,

establishment and usability to suit the climate,

soil and use at each site.

This has been supplemented with Council

partnership into some additional local research

into performance of different turf varieties.

Appropriate turf selection and care has a

significant impact on regular water requirements.

8.7 Responsive Repairs A high priority is placed on responsiveness to irrigation and park maintenance and repairs, particularly in light

of the small margin for error before turf browns off in the dry season.

8.8 Soil and Turf Care There is an existing team dedicated to turf and soil care, that has successfully softened, deepened and

improved the soil profile at some of the sports ovals through carefully managing aeration, decompaction,

sand topdressing and fertilizer application.

Water use data indicates that this has already made a significant difference in improving the quality of these

surfaces while also reducing the required irrigation volumes and frequency. This process is also generating

valuable learning about local conditions that may be useful at other sites in the future.

Figure 8-2: Wagaman Park Turf Trial (ATSC Milestone Report #105)

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9 Water Use in Buildings Overview

The City of Darwin owns and is responsible for approximately 110 buildings. These facilities have a wide

range of purposes and uses, and include; libraries, childcare centres, cemeteries, car parks, shopping

centres, community halls, offices, sporting areas and pools.

Darwin’s population is typically at its greatest in the cooler and dry months from May to August, when the

climate is the most comfortable and popular for tourism. This affects the use of public parks and amenities in

some areas, but most of the use of council parks and buildings is independent from this population variation.

A breakup of the number of sites in each broad category (from Council’s asset register) is shown in Figure

9-1 below.

Figure 9-1: Number of Council Buildings by Category

Water audits at four selected buildings highlighted that water is used primarily in bathrooms, but is also used

for kitchens, cleaning, cooling towers, pool makeup and a range of other minor uses.

The most common facilities are toilet blocks, commercial/leased properties and car parks. Council has

limited responsibilities over staff actions in leased properties, as it organises repairs (reported by staff and

cleaners) and leaves day-to-day operations to the tenants. This could lead to the possibility of introducing

tighter lease requirements with water use targets/quotas and excess use payments.

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10 Existing Efficient Practices in Buildings Some examples of existing practices employed by the City of Darwin that are already assisting water efficiency in buildings include:

10.1 Efficient bathroom upgrades With the substantial number of bathroom areas throughout the various Council sites, the selection of bathroom fittings has a significant effect on water efficiency. The City of Darwin already has a policy and system for replacing bathroom fittings with best practice units over time with each refurbishment and replacement. This refers to lower water use toilets, low flow showers and taps and fittings that resist damage and leakage – such as time-flow taps.

10.2 Leak checking In addition to checking and review of water use in bills, staff conduct manual leak checks at the water meter for buildings to identify any hidden losses. This helps to ensure that even minor tap, toilet and pipe leaks are known before water is unnecessarily lost.

10.3 Cooling Tower Optimisation Cooling towers are installed on some buildings to reject heat and can use large quantities if poorly operated. However all cooling towers were confirmed to be already operating efficiently.

10.4 Responsive Repairs A high priority is placed on checking, reporting and a fast response to plumbing repairs. This helps to ensure water isn’t wasted by repair delays.

Figure 10-2: Civic Centre Cooling Towers

Figure 10-1: Upgraded Taps

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11 Action Plan

The action plan shows the recommended options for water management and efficiency improvement, with

some guide for likely costs, timeline and savings as appropriate.

They represent both high level policy directions, development of procedures over time and immediate

actions. The intent of this plan is to provide a logical approach to ordering these actions, though costs and

savings are estimated for comparison purposes only – it is expected that the specifics be developed and

proposed over time in a way that suits the City of Darwin.

The key actions are summarised in the following sections.

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Database Alignment (progress

already made)

Continue to rationalise the numerous water meter IDs, locations and billing

information to generate an accurate database that is easily tracked for unusual

water use patterns.

Accounts and Assets

Departments

Medium staff time

cost from existing

roles

Internal Co-ordination of Water

Use Data (already initiated)

Utilise the above database to determine baseline water consumption at each of the

key sites, and group these to continually track water use by park category and

regional area as appropriate. Expand to consider other useful metrics such as

greenhouse tracking.

Parks, Building Service

Management, Climate

Change and Environment and

Assets Departments, along

with Infrastructure Managers

Medium staff time

cost from existing

roles

Identify Missing or Unused Water

Meters to be Removed (already

initiated)

Continue to identify meters that appear to be non existent or unrequired, confirm

these, and liaise with Power and Water above removing these from the accounts for

cost saving and simplification of water data.

Accounts and Assets

Departments

Low staff time cost

from existing roles

Monitoring and Internal Meter

Readings for Key Sites

For key sites that do not yet have a flow meter tracking water use across the whole

site, use of a datalogger on the billing meter can help to avoid wastage with

information and alarms. If extensive monitoring across key sites is not feasible, an

alternative would be to continue Council's own checks of meter readings as part of

regular park inspections (as per procedure actions) with an improved method to

reduce errors.

Parks and Building Services

Management and Staff

$1,500 per logger

per annum, medium

staff time cost from

existing roles, some

logger equipment

cost and changes

to procedures

Prioritise Communication on

Water Wastage

Ensure simple and effective channels of communication continue to report of issues

relating to water wastage amongst the different groups of parks staff and building

stakeholders.



Low staff time cost

from existing roles

Make Use of Water TrackingMake use of recently available 'Planet Footprint' data as part of normal operations to

supplement or replace existing manual process

Climate Change and

Environment and Assets

Departments, along with

Building Service Management

Medium staff time

cost from existing

roles

Equate Water Use to Performance

Indicators

Track staff, visitor or event numbers - and equate water use to these, in order to

track water efficiency despite busy periods or changes



Medium staff time

cost from existing

roles

Not directly linked to savings, but

valulable for tracking performance

and avoiding leakage

Not directly linked to savings, but

information is fundementally

required for all other actions and

savings to be targeted and

verified. Likely to highlight areas

of wastage not yet identified.

Longer Term (3-5+ Years)

GE

NE

RA

L A

CT

ION

S

Water Saving Potential

Short Term (Immediate to 2 Years)

Strategy Action Summary Responsibility Estimated Cost

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Fine Tune Irrigation Zone

Runtimes

Provide the time and resources for existing irrigation staff to reduce and optimise

zone runtimes - through criteria for allocating park priorities, and additional short-

term help.

Irrigation Team, with

external/internal assistance

Medium staff time,

estimated at

$150,000

Irrigation Control System TrainingEngage additional training for staff with the Central Irrigation Control System to

allow maximised use of existing infrastructure

Parks Management and

Irrigation Team

Approximately

$40,000

Replace Kangaroo Stands in

Priority Areas

Eliminate the need for kangaroo stand use in priority areas through the upgrade of

appropriate sites to automated systems.

Irrigation Team, Parks

Management, mowing

contract liason

Approximately

$150,000

Master Shutoff Valves for

Remaining Kangaroo Stands

Install automatically controlled solenoid valves on supply lines to QC valves in parks

to avoid excess water use until kangaroo stands can be superseded.


Management

Approximately

$100,000

23ML/annum (worth

$40,000/annum)

Determine and Endorse Council

Targets for Service Level and

Water Efficiency in Parks

Process to generate and endorse appropriate KPI targets - through refined savings

estimates, consideration of community expectations above, workshops with council

staff, an open space management strategy, defined service delivery levels and

defined water efficiency targets.

All Parks Stakeholders,

Elected Council, Facilitation

Consultant, other external

consultants as required

Medium staff time

cost from existing

roles, external costs

if assistance is

needed

Not direct - sets targets and

enables savings to be prioritised

Further Advancement in Open

Space Management Practices

Work towards improving park care to a best-practice level over time - with regular

irrigation system inspections, annual irrigation performance audits, preventative

maintenance, irrigation budgeting and scheduling, climate response, soil and turf

care, integrated mowing, staff development etc.

All Parks Management and

Staff, External Experts as

appropriate

Optimise Irrigation Control System

Invest in bringing the existing irrigation control system to full functionality - by

maintaining equipment consistency, optimising the control system for helpful daily

use and upgrading existing systems to full operation.


Management

Continued Research into Local

Turf Species and Care

Use similar testing methods to those used for the current turf trial to identify

appropriate species for minimal water and care requirements in passive areas.

Parks Management and Staff,

External Consultants

Continue to Replace Kangaroo

Stands

Eliminate the need for kangaroo stand use, through upgrade of appropriate sites to

automated systems, and use of natural irrigation where appropriate.


Management, mowing

contract liason

Public AwarenessInform and educate community on decisions about parks to grow awareness and

support for the improved park care system over time.

Climate Change and

Environment, Parks and

Community Engagement staff

Low staff time cost

from existing roles

Not direct - enables future

community support



Responsibility Estimated CostAction SummaryStrategy

est $2,000,000

captial investment,

$300,000 per

annum

Water Saving Potential

611 ML/annum (worth $1,060,000

/annum)

PA

RK

S A

CT

ION

S

149ML/annum (worth

$260,000/annum)

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Continue to Repair any Leaks

Immediately

Fast response to leak repair was observed, and it is recommended this continues as

a priority


and Staff

Continue to Install Timed Flow

Taps or Flow Regulators

Tap replacements and refurbishments are already including appropriately efficient

fixtures, and it is recommended that this is continued and reinforced


and Staff

Replace Showers with Low Flow

Versions

Any showers currently used with flowrates over 12L/min are worth replacing with

new units with flowrates of 9L/min or less


and Staff$100 per unit

15.6kL/annum per unit (worth

$100 per unit in water and

energy), assuming 4 short uses

per week

Encourage and Expand Leak

Checking

Expand existing practices of plumbers and staff checking the billing meter for

movement when no water use is occurring - to identify valve and pipe leakage.


and Staff

Low staff time cost

from existing roles

600-6,000kL/annum for each site

with leakage (worth $1,000 -

$10,000 per annum)

Conduct Maintenance Immediately

after Events

Prioritise maintenance of event sites immediately after events (rather than

immediately before) to save water lost as leakage in the meantime.


and Staff

Low staff time cost

from existing roles

400-8,000kL/annum for each site

with recurring leakage (worth $700

- $14,000 per annum)

Site staff educationConsider appropriate signage and communication for site staff to discourage

prolonged hosing of gardens and prevent fixtures left running overnight.

Building Service

Management, Climate

Change and Environment and

Staff, Community Services

Team

Low staff time cost

from existing rolesVariable

Preventative Maintenance in

Heavy Use Areas

In heavily used areas, consider regular maintenance to replace washers, flow

regulators and toilet fill and flush valves before these fail (eg every 6-12 months).


and Staff

Increase in

contract plumber

parts and labour

Cost increase likely to be offset by

reduced leak callouts and water

savings

Continue to install Efficient

Fixtures in Upgrades

Continue to install 4 star WELS rated (or better) tap, shower, toilet and urinal fittings

in new or renovated amenities and Council buildings.


and Staff

Low staff time and

equipment cost

from existing roles

and suppliers

Continued Practice

Strategy Action Summary Responsibility


Continued Practice Continued Practice

Estimated Cost Water Saving Potential

BU

ILD

ING

S A

CT

ION

S


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12 General Actions

12.1 Continue to Improve Water Use Data It is acknowledged that there can be significant challenges associated with managing a large account for

water billing, and extracting water use patterns in a format that is useful.

However, good and accessible data is important to compare, justify and confirm any future efforts to improve

efficiency. It is therefore recommended that work to date on streamlining water use and billing information is

continued. This has included:

Rationalising water meter and site information to match Power and Water Data to attribute water bills to sites

Co-ordinating staff efforts to provide water use data to relevant managers in a useful format

Identify missing or unused water meters to optimise fixed charges on water account.

These efforts are already requiring staff time as part of existing roles.

12.2 Monitoring and Meter Readings for Key Sites Permanent flow monitoring for key sites would be useful to provide detailed information on water use

performance as well as allowing fast notification of any damage or unexpected water use. A number of the

larger parks have flow meters installed already; other sites could have these retrofitted or monitoring devices

fitted on the main meters.

Monitoring is already occurring for a number of parks through irrigation flowmeters (already installed and

calibrated as part of many existing systems), but for parks without telemetry systems installed and key

buildings, monitoring would allow tracking of water use to quantify use, and quickly identify any leaks or

wastage.

Most systems allow sms and/or email alarms to be triggered if excessive water use occurs within a

timeframe, or if water is left running out of specified hours. Loggers can also be moved from site to site, so

in addition to the ongoing monitoring of key sites, it may be useful to have ‘roving’ loggers on hand that could

be temporarily installed on a park to investigate water use for a short time.

There are a range of providers for remote data loggers, a cost guide would be $1,500 per unit per annum.

Some staff time from existing roles would also be necessary to install the equipment and keep an eye on the

flow data.

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Figure 12-1: Monitoring Installed on Parks Meters

12.3 Prioritise Communication on Water Wastage Effective communication between staff teams and employees was observed consistently, but as the effective

tracking and reporting of leaks and other water wastage is such an important factor in water efficiency in

parks and buildings, it is recommended that skills and communication are continually reinforced in this area.

12.4 Make Use of Water Tracking One of these successes has been the provision of historical data by site for most properties that is regularly

updated and maintained by ‘Planet Footprint’. This data should allow more powerful tracking of water use by

providing useful historical trends.

It is therefore recommended that this data continued to be checked for accuracy, and then adopted where

possible as part of ongoing water management for Council’s building assets.

12.5 Equate Water Use to Performance Indicators For some buildings, it may be useful to track additional statistics for comparison to water use. For example,

a community hall may have dramatically increased water use over a period, but this may coincide with a

busy period of functions or events. In this case, it may still be possible to identify whether there is likely to be

an issue to address if it was possible to calculate water use against a key performance indicator (KPI).

Some common water use KPI’s for council properties include:

Water use per park area (L/m2)

Water use per visitor (L/visitor)

Water use per staff member (L/person)

Water use per event (kL/event)

Water use per child (L/child) – for Child Care Centres

For sites with highly variable use patterns, it is recommended that these kinds of records are tracked and

that these are used to generate ‘benchmarks’ of typical water use.

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13 Short Term Actions for Parks

13.1 Fine Tune Irrigation Zone Runtimes Optimal irrigation is a complex science with a range of competing factors, and a particularly delicate balance

with the climate and soil profile in Darwin. Ensuring that the ideal amount of water is delivered at the right

time requires ongoing scrutiny for each irrigation zone and sprinkler.

Significant technical upgrades are mentioned as part of longer term options, but even without these some

improvements could be realised with more targeted operation and control. It is believed that with growing

understanding and continual reviewing of each park, lower total water volumes can be used while park

health is further improved.

Estimates indicate that staff time costs equivalent to $150,000 could provide savings of approximately 149

ML/year (worth $260,000 at current water prices) in conjunction with the following options in 13.2 and 13.3.

13.2 Irrigation Control System Training In order to enable the most efficient and effective optimisation of irrigation runtimes (as above), it is

considered worthwhile to improve the understanding, setup and use of the central irrigation control system –

which is currently functional for many of the larger parks, but seldom utilised to its potential.

Figure 13-1: Irrigation Control System Screenshots

Building this capacity within the parks team through targeted training would be valuable to aid in maximising

the water and time efficiency of many irrigation duties, while unlocking much of the value already developed

from significant past investment in the advanced irrigation control system.

And estimated training cost of $40,000 would form a key element in helping to achieve the 149 ML/year

estimated saving mentioned in 13.1.

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13.3 Replace Kangaroo Stands in Priority Areas Movable ‘kangaroo stands’ have been a necessary means of cost effectively watering large turf areas in past

years, with mixed results. Key challenges include a tendency to overwater small areas, and the ongoing risk

of excessive water use in cases of vandalism, failure or staff delay.

Flow monitoring and park inspections have highlighted that the proportion of water wasted is often high, and

the resulting quality of coverage remains low. For this reason, a significant number of stands have been

decommissioned and replaced with more comprehensive irrigation systems in recent years – allowing

irrigation that is more consistent, convenient, even and efficient.

Full replacement of all kangaroo stands is discussed as part of the longer term actions, due to the significant

investment required at 35 park sites currently using kangaroo stands. But it is recommended that

replacement of some sites is continued in the short term at priority parks agreed on by parks staff (in

consideration of water use and serviceability). It is recommended these are replaced with more appropriate

and effective systems that are linked in with the existing irrigation technology.

It is estimated that a cost of $150,000 would enable the full upgrade of 3-5 parks to a full specification

system, depending on the size and complexity of selected parks – again contributing to the 149ML/year

savings mentioned in 13.1

13.4 Master control valves for Remaining Kangaroo Stand Sites There is also the opportunity to reduce losses from remaining kangaroo stands in the short term through the

installation of master control valves at each site.

These valves allow the automatic control of all water flow to an area – controlling the supply to all kangaroo

stands on that line for defined time and allowing staff placing the stands to ensure the area is irrigated only

for a set length of time.

This would help eliminate oversaturation, avoid the case of stands forgotten and left running overnight, and

allow areas to be watered at the end of the day (when evaporation is lower) without the need for the stand to

be turned off by a staff member.

Figure 13-2: Kangaroo Stands in Use

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Additionally, a master valve is a useful component that is installed as part of full specification Rainman

systems at automatically controlled sites. Therefore this valve can continue to provide effective use in the

future, even once the park is upgraded to a full-featured control system.

It is therefore suggested that ‘master control valves’ be installed on water supplies to parks and areas where

kangaroo stands are not replaced, to allow automatic shutoff after use.

Figure 13-3: Example of an Electronic Master Shutoff Valve

Estimates indicate that approximately $100,000 would allow the installation of 35 valves that could provide

savings of approximately 23 ML/year (worth over $40,000 at current water prices).

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14 Longer Term Actions for Parks

These options relate to key aspects of a possible future trajectory for water use in Darwin City Council. Each

option is still expected to be cost effective, but with greater savings opportunities there are also greater

challenges – in terms of preparation, investment, technology and development.

However, implementation of these is likely to have a strong positive impact on utility costs, ongoing facility

condition and environmental performance – while potentially highlighting Darwin City Council as a best

practice organisation with sustainable water use practices even amidst a challenging environment.

14.1 Investment and Savings Estimates In order to provide a broad estimate of potential water savings, a daily timestep irrigation model was run

using local Darwin data, and irrigated park areas. This combines the dynamic calculation of soil field

capacity for turf areas using recorded local evapotranspiration values (from the Bureau of Meteorology); and

assumptions for soil water deficit, crop coefficient, crop stress factor, soil effective rainfall losses, root depth

and distribution of uniformity.

An output graph showing total average modelled use by month for active, passive and landscaped open

space is provided in Figure 14-1.

Figure 14-1: Irrigation Model Outputs showing Total Use by Month

Comparing average irrigation volumes from the theoretical model with extrapolated estimates of water use by

park category, the potential savings shown in Table 14-1 suggested.

0

10,000

20,000

30,000

40,000

50,000

60,000

70,000

80,000

90,000

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Ave

rage

Irri

gati

on

Per

Mo

nth

(kL

)

Passive Landscape Active

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Table 14-1: Estimated Savings Suggested by Model

Irrigated Area Type Average Potential

Saving (ML/annum)

Potential Saving

Proportion

Active 46 18%

Passive 512 46%

Landscaped 53 55%

Overall 611 41%

This indicates that the most significant opportunities for savings exist with the passive parks, and that an

overall reduction in water use of 40% should be possible while still maintaining appropriate turf quality.

These savings assume no change in soil or root depth, which would in theory allow further savings to be

possible.

It must be noted that there are limitations to the accuracy of the model – particularly due to the poor soil

quality, variation in turf types, variation in soil depths and unknown effect of the Darwin climate on

conventional crop stress factors. Also, the savings represent averages over 25 years of local data, and may

not reflect the unique weather patterns in a given year.

However, these ‘potential savings’ can provide a rough guide by which the economic advantage to improved

efficiency can be demonstrated.

Figure 14-2 shows a comparison of simplified overall park costs over 10 years.

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Figure 14-2: Illustration of Economic Effect of Investment to Improve Water Efficiency The second graph shows significant and immediate investment in updating equipment and infrastructure

($2,000,000 over 2 years), additional system maintenance budget and also an additional $300,000 per

annum invested in staff (up to $800,000 per annum) – along with some overall water savings (20% in the

second year, 15% in the third year, 5% in the fourth year, and a slower increase in subsequent years).

Though the graphs represent only a simplified illustration, they show that additional investment in equipment

and staff that equates to significant water savings will in fact represent a significant cost saving over time.

These graphs assume an annual average increase in water usage prices of 5% over the next 10 years,

though this may be conservative in light of the ~18% average annual price increase per annum from 2008-

2013). A higher rate of water price increases would further amplify the benefits of investing in water savings.

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14.2 Determine and Endorse Council Targets for Service Level and Water Efficiency in Parks

There are not yet any specific targets or strategies to guide decisions on parks, and the most frequently used

metrics are community complaints.

With an engaged staff team, historical water use data now available and the recent increases in water prices,

it is now considered an ideal time for increased direction in this area. This will help managers to apply

resources in a way that is justifiable and aligned to Council’s vision to serve the community.

It is recommended that steps are made towards defining a council-endorsed service delivery level for parks,

and a KPI target for water use reduction.

Appropriate steps towards this goal are recommended to include:

Acknowledge the limits to current service levels,

Continue to understand community attitudes towards parks – particularly neighbourhood parks,

Production of an Open Space Management Strategy, that sets out reasonable expectations and targets for service provision to the community, and that integrates water efficiency as a key goal,

Generation of priority service delivery levels and KPI targets, and

Endorsement of targets.

These decisions will need to acknowledge the tradeoff between resources, efficiency and turf health in the

short term – but moving towards efficient and consistent management systems for open space is considered

a wise investment for cost efficiency and resident satisfaction into the future.

14.3 Further Advancement in Open Space Management Practice There are many facets to effective management of open space for a large asset base – from the complex

science of optimising turf and soil in a range of conditions, the technical management of mechanical and

control system equipment, climate responsiveness and the logistics of active care at a large number of sites.

It is realistic to expect that the ongoing advancement of practice in this area will require significant

investment over time to improve Council’s tools and capacity, but this opportunity also provides the greatest

efficiency advantages and long-term cost effectiveness.

It involves maximising the performance of turf, soil and infrastructure through developing procedures for

continually checking, integrating, zoning, understanding and optimising the soil and turf care across the

various classes and types of parks.

This would include as appropriate:

Regular Irrigation System Inspections

Annual Irrigation Performance Audits

Preventative Maintenance

Baseline Irrigation Budgeting

Optimum Irrigation Scheduling

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Monitor and Review of Irrigation Volumes

Strategy for Aligning Irrigation with Climate

Soil and Turf Maintenance Program

Integrate Mowing with Turf care

Consider Efficiency in Park Refurbishment

Consider Piloting Best Practice Technology

Regular Up-skilling of staff

Plan for Drought Response

Service Level Guide

14.4 Optimise Irrigation Control System The existing network of ‘Rainman’ irrigation controllers is the result of significant capital and maintenance

costs in recent history, but the existing capabilities are not currently being utilised to full potential.

It is recommended that consistency of equipment is maintained, that the systems are upgraded to full

coverage and functionality, and that the system be optimised for effective daily use.

Maintaining and Expanding the Advanced Irrigation Control System to work with all parks would be a

significant capital investment, but this is considered necessary for proper open space management as

specified above. A completed system would provide complete control and responsiveness in adapting to

weather and community needs, and allow advanced optimisation of irrigation volumes.

14.5 Continued Research into Local Turf Species and Care Darwin City Council has been a partner in Turf research in recent years, which in has included a test plot of

various species at Wagaman Park. As turf resilience in the local Darwin climate has such a significant

impact on irrigation requirements, any closer knowledge on turf care and options for improved species is

considered a wise investment.

Work to date has targeted sporting surfaces, but there may be further value in similar research targeting

species for passive parks that would maximise resilience and performance between watering events.

14.6 Continue to Replace Kangaroo Stands As discussed as part of the short term actions, it is recommended that kangaroo stands are decommissioned

as appropriate.

Following on from the short term improvements, it is suggested that all stands are phased out over time,

being replaced with more appropriate and effective systems that are linked in with the existing irrigation

technology at other sites.

Note that the above options from 14.3 to 14.6 are inter-related. A broad package cost estimate of $2-4million is largely attributed to equipment upgrade costs, and some additional staff and equipment resourcing. Potential savings estimated at 600+ ML/year (worth $1.1+million/year at current water prices).

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14.7 Public awareness People play a significant role in water efficiency, and at Council properties awareness can help improve

efficiency.

Providing simple messages to staff and members of the public to inform them of service level goals,

encourage them to avoid wastage, report leaks and avoid duplicating water use is recommended to help

build awareness and engagement over time.

Figure 14-3: A Kangaroo Stand and Pop-up Spray in Operation

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15 Short Term Actions for Buildings

15.1 Continue to Repair any Leaks Immediately Leaks run constantly, and this adds up to significant volumes - therefore it is always considered cost effective

and worthwhile to repair any water leaks immediately.

There is evidence of this practice already occurring well, and it is recommended that this is continued as part

of normal practice.

15.2 Continue to Install Timed-Flow Taps or Flow Regulators In public amenities throughout Darwin it appears to be common practice for high flow taps to either have flow

regulation or timed flow taps retrofitted. This is considered efficient practice and cost effective, and is

recommended to be continued for any remaining basin taps with flowrates above 4L/min.

Timed-flow taps are designed to limit water use through automatic shutoff, and these are already working

effectively in a number of public areas.

In other bathroom areas where manual taps are still desirable, a four star rating requires a flow rate of 4L/min

or lower. When retrofitting, this is easy to achieve using pressure-compensated flow regulators installed in

tap spouts, though regulators can also be installed in the tap set of the spout if incompatible with standard

aerators.

An example is shown in Figure 15-1.

Figure 15-1: Pressure Compensated Spout-Mounted Flow Regulator Already Installed

15.3 Replace Showers with Low Flow Versions Similar to taps, if a high flow shower (with a flowrate of 12L/min or higher) is used at all, it should be

considered cost effective and worthwhile to replace the unit with a high-quality version with a flowrate of

9L/min or less, achieving a 3 star WELS rating.

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Even for an existing shower with installed regulator (15L/min flowrate) and only moderate use (4 showers per

week for 5 minutes each) the payback period is only one year.

This assumes a $100 cost for a replacement fitting, as the 15.6kL/annum saved represent approximately

$100 per annum in water and energy costs.

It is not recommended for flow regulators to be installed in older fittings or for cheap fittings to be installed, as

these will commonly provide a lower quality stream that encourages users to vandalise the fittings or

completely remove the integrated flow regulator.

15.4 Encourage and Expand Leak Checking The existing system for reporting of issues for attention and repair is proving effective, and the practice of

encouraging plumbers to check for meter movement in order to identify leaks is considered a positive

initiative.

It is recommended that this continues to be encouraged and expanded - to ensure that all sites have a meter

leak check at least every few months.

It is also recommended that alterations are made where appropriate to allow checking of areas where hidden

leaks are possible. Examples would include tanks or cooling towers with overflow outlets plumbed directly to

floor drains, where a ‘tundish’ could be added to allow for fast ‘walk-by’ visual checking of whether water flow

is occurring.

This will allow council or contract staff to quickly check during any visit if there is any constant wastage

occurring in the cooling towers, as there should not normally be any constant flow through that line – and

constant flow is likely to indicate a problem with the fill valve.

An example is the possible installation of a tundish to observe any future overflow in the Civic Centre cooling

towers – as shown in Figure 15-2.

Figure 15-2: Civic Centre Cooling Tower Overflow

Overflow Drain Points Suitable for Tundish Installation

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Hidden leakage can cost significant amounts of water compared to other uses, it is estimated that typical

leak repairs for Darwin buildings could save anywhere from 600 – 6,000kL/annum (worth $1,000 - $10,000

per annum in water charges).

15.5 Conduct Maintenance Immediately After Events A common procedure change that can help water use at event sites (such as sports and entertainment

facilities) is to book in maintenance staff for checking and repair immediately after the event.

Commonly, maintenance is scheduled to occur immediately before events to ensure the area is in good

condition. However, leaks are commonly generated during events, and there can be significant wastage if

these run until the next event. Scheduling the maintenance straight after an event is likely to take the same

time and resources, and also eliminate the chance of water losses in the meantime.

Depending on the nature of the site, it is common for the immediate maintenance practice to save anywhere

from 400 – 8,000kL/annum (worth $700 - $14,000 per annum in water charges).

15.6 Site Staff Awareness It is recommended that some simple signage or tenant guidelines be considered (in conjunction with the

building services and community services teams). These may help to inform staff, encourage consideration

of water efficiency and avoid duplicated water use.

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16 Longer Term Actions for Buildings

16.1 Preventative Maintenance in Heavy Use Areas A fast response to repairs and maintenance has a significant impact in reducing unnecessary water use. To

reduce any losses even further requires a ‘preventative’ approach, which may be suitable in some key

buildings and parks that experience heavy use. This involves periodic replacement and refurbishment of

irrigation and fixture valves and equipment before performance is affected or leaks occur.

In areas of heavy public use such as public toilets, it is recommended that valve washers in particular are

replaced at regular intervals – in order to prevent the most common types of leaks before they occur.

The frequency would naturally depend on the fitting or level of use in an area, but some examples of good

preventative maintenance in buildings may be:

Replacing tap washers and toilet/urinal flush valve washers in public toilets every 6 months,

Replacing toilet/urinal fill valves in public toilets every 12 months,

Replacing tap and shower flow regulators every 12 months.

While there is an additional cost associated with plumber time and materials for regular scheduled

replacements, it is common for this to be offset by the reduction in reactive maintenance callouts, and the

water savings associated with avoiding leaks before they occur.

16.2 Continue to Install Efficient Fixtures in Upgrades There is clear evidence that Council is now installing more water efficient fixtures and fittings as part of any

refurbishments and upgrades. It is recommended that this is continued and developed to ensure that fittings

installed in new areas strike an appropriate balance of efficiency, reliability and practical management.

Most fittings are rated by either the ‘Water Efficiency Labelling Scheme’ (WELS), or the ‘Smart Approved

Water Mark’ – and these provide a useful guide to the selection of best practice fittings. BMT WBM

recommends the following parameters for common fittings:

Timed flow taps in heavily used public amenities,

Taps with a flowrate of 4L/min or lower in staff bathrooms (spout-mounted flow regulators recommended for performance and easy maintenance),

Taps with a flowrate of 9L/min in kitchens and kitchenettes,

Showers with a flowrate of 9L/min or less in a high quality stream (to discourage vandalism),

Water flush urinals with minimal daily flushes (a single daily flush is sufficient for many areas),

Hoses fitted with robust spray guns limited to flowrates of 10L/min or less, and

Dual-flush toilets (with pans designed to work with the cistern and mechanics) with flush volumes of 4.5/3L or lower.

No significant additional cost is anticipated for the low flow fittings.

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17 Conclusion The work to date has highlighted a number of areas where Darwin City Council efforts have already been contributing to water efficient operation – despite various challenges. A number of opportunities exist to reduce quantities of water in a smarter way, in order to deliver the same level of amenity to the Darwin community with further cost effectiveness and environmental sustainability. General actions include:

Database alignment,

Internal co-ordination of water use data,

Identifying unused water meters,

Monitoring water use at key sites,

Prioritisation of communication on water wastage,

Use of ‘Planet Footprint’ water use tracking data, and

Equate water use to performance indicators.

Actions for Parks include:

Fine tune irrigation zone runtimes,

Master shutoff valves for remaining kangaroo stands,

Targets for service level and water efficiency,

Further advancement in open space management practices,

Optimise irrigation control system,

Continued research into local turf species and care,

Continue to replace kangaroo stands, and

Public awareness.

Actions for Buildings include:

Continue to repair any leaks immediately,

Continue to install timed flow taps or flow regulators,

Replace showers with low flow versions,

Encourage and expand leak checking,

Conduct maintenance immediately after events,

Site staff education,

Preventative maintenance in heavy use areas, and

Continue to install efficient fixtures in upgrades.

It is recommended that the City of Darwin consider these actions and opportunities based on appropriate

timelines, and incorporate them as appropriate into operations and planning.

It is also recommended that opportunities for cost effective use of alternate supplies continue to be considered, for future implementation once other easier gains have been made.

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Through the effective implementation of these options over time, it is believed that the City of Darwin can

continue to improve the quality of service to the community while significantly reducing water consumption,

and thus offsetting what may otherwise be significant future costs of water.

This represents a key opportunity to demonstrate leadership - with excellent value and a high level of

environmental responsibility into the future.

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BMT WBM Bangalow 6/20 Byron Street, Bangalow 2479

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BMT WBM Newcastle 126 Belford Street, Broadmeadow 2292 PO Box 266, Broadmeadow NSW 2292 Tel +61 2 4940 8882 Fax +61 2 4940 8887 Email [email protected] Web www.bmtwbm.com.au

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ENCL: NO


AGENDA ITEM: 9.9

MALAK OVAL TRAINING LIGHTS - CHARGING RATE AND CHARGING SYSTEM

REPORT No.: 14TS0064 DL:vl COMMON No.: 313949 DATE: 18/03/14

Presenter: Manager Design, Planning & Projects, Drosso Lelekis Approved: General Manager Infrastructure, Luccio Cercarelli PURPOSE The purpose of this report is to present options for the charging rate and charging system to be implemented for the use of the Malak Oval training lights. LINK TO STRATEGIC PLAN The issues addressed in this Report are in accordance with the following Goals/Strategies of the City of Darwin 2012 – 2016 as outlined in the ‘Evolving Darwin Towards 2020 Strategic Plan’:- Goal 2 Vibrant, Flexible and Tropical Lifestyle Outcome 2.3 Increased sport, recreation and leisure experiences Key Strategies 2.3.5 Enhance and improve services and facilities which encourage healthy lifestyle

choices KEY ISSUES

Council has resolved to proceed with the installation of the Malak Oval training lights.

Council requested a further report outlining the user fees and charges method options for the training lights.

Tenders for the Malak Oval training lights project closed on 27 February 2014 and will be assessed in accordance with normal processes.

It is recommended that Council’s user charge be to recover the electricity cost per hour only for the use of the Malak Oval training lights.

It is recommended that the Malak Oval lighting charge be $16 per hour, which is based on electricity costs only of the four (4) lighting towers operating simultaneously.

The charge is effective as of 1 July 2014 and incorporated into Council’s 2014/2015 Fees and Charges.

An electronic card charge facility will be incorporated within the lighting system.

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PAGE: 2 REPORT NUMBER: 14TS0064 DL:vl SUBJECT: MALAK OVAL TRAINING LIGHTS - CHARGING RATE AND CHARGING

SYSTEM

Vehicle movements at the access to and around the Malak Oval will be monitored after the installation of the Malak Oval lighting system to determine if any action is required to address any issues.

RECOMMENDATIONS THAT it be a recommendation to Council:- A. THAT Report Number 14TS0064 DL:vl entitled Malak Oval Training Lights -

Charging Regime and Billing System, be received and noted. B. THAT Council include in the City of Darwin’s 2014/2015 Fees and Charges, a

user charge of $16 per hour for the use of the Malak Oval lights, which is based on the electricity cost of operating all the lights and towers.

C. THAT Council advise the current Malak Oval user groups that the 2014/2015

charge for the use of the Malak Oval lights will be $16 per hour, which is based on the electricity cost of operating all the lights and towers, and that this rate will be subject to annual review.

BACKGROUND At the Ordinary Council Meeting on 24 September 2013, Council resolved as follows: Malak Oval Training Lights - Consultation Outcome Report No. 13TS0178DL:vl (18/02/14) Common No. 313949 A. THAT Report Number 13TS0178 PC:mm entitled Malak Oval Training Lights -

Consultation Outcome, be received and noted. B. THAT Council proceed with the installation of the Malak Oval training lights. C. THAT a request for an additional $15,000 required for the planning, design and

installation of the Malak Oval training lights, as identified in Report Number 13TS0178 PC:mm entitled Malak Oval Training Lights - Consultation Outcome, be referred to the 2013/2014, 1st Quarter Budget Review.

D. THAT a further report be presented to Council outlining the user fees and

charging method options for the training lights and car movement controls on the site.

E. THAT Council write to respondents to the community consultation who provided

contact details, thanking them for their feedback and advising them of Council’s decision.

Decision No.21\1459 (24/09/13) Carried

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SYSTEM At the Ordinary Council Meeting on 25 February 2014, Council resolved as follows: Malak Oval Training Lights – February 2014 Update Report No. 14TS0017DL:vl (18/02/14) Common No. 313949 A. THAT Report Number 14TS0017DL:vl entitled, Malak Oval Training Lights –

February 2014 Update, be received and noted. B. THAT the report regarding Malak training oval lights user fees and charging

method options be presented to Council prior to becoming operational. Decision No.21\1822 (25/02/14) Carried This report considers options for user fees and charges for the use of the Malak Oval training lights and provides information on the intended charging system. DISCUSSION The whole of life costs for the maintenance, operation and replacement of the lights was calculated to determine the appropriate hourly rate to cover costs based on expected usage. The estimated hourly cost rates calculated for the various cost scenarios ranging from partial user pays to a full user pays system, are as follows:

i.) Electricity cost only - $16/hour; ii.) Maintenance cost only - $34/hour; iii.) Electricity plus maintenance cost - $50/hour; and iv.) Capital cost of replacement, maintenance plus electricity cost -

$73/hour. In order to achieve the required level of lighting for training (100 lux), all luminaires with all four (4) lighting towers must be operating simultaneously. An electronic card charge facility will be incorporated within the lighting system for Malak Oval users to pay for the use of the lights similar to that used at the Alawa Oval. It should be noted that Council could provide the lights at no charge to the user groups. This option is not recommended as it is not in keeping with current practice for operating and charging for ovals and other council operated sporting facilities.

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SYSTEM Operations and Maintenance Costs The following assumptions were made in determining the above mentioned estimated hourly rates: The expected hours of usage of the lights for the calculation of estimated

minimum income from the lights from electricity cost is 12.5 hours per week, 36 weeks per year, this is based on current usage at the oval;

The repairs and maintenance cost rate is based on a rate of 5% of the total capital cost of the lighting per year; and

The expected life of the lights is 30 years for the estimated capital cost of replacement.

For the purposes of comparison: The Charles Darwin University manage the Alawa Ovals, one of which is illuminated for football (soccer). This Oval is hired at $9 per hour with the lighting charged additionally at an hourly rate of $8 based on the electricity cost only for the full Oval at 100 lux illumination. Access to and payment for the lights is made with a lighting card that can be re-charged or have credit added; i). The lighting at Alawa Oval consists of four (4) 18 metre high poles, each fitted

with two (2) luminaires; and ii). The cost of operating the Alawa Oval lights is approximately $1.00 per hour, per

luminaire; so activating all eight (8) luminaires will accumulate a cost of approximately $8.00 per hour.

It is important to note that the Alawa Oval lights only illuminate one (1) sporting field to a lighting level of 100 Lux, with a total of eight (8) luminaires, whereas the Malak Oval lights would illuminate a significantly larger sporting field area, to a lighting level of 100 Lux, with a total of 24 (2,000 Watt) luminaires. Consequently, the electrical costs associated with the Malak Oval lights are greater than those associated with the Alawa Oval lights. Malak Oval is currently hired out at the charge of $1,430 per season. This equates to approximately $3.44/hour based on current usage. Consequently, at current charging levels, with the additional proposed charge of $16 per hour for lighting, the total cost of hiring the Oval at night would be $19.44 per hour (lights plus field hire charge). This compares favourably with the total night-time charge for the use of the Alawa Oval of $17 per hour (lights plus field hire charge). Malak Oval is allocated for Dry Season use by the Football Federation NT and is utilised by Darwin Olympic and Casuarina Football Clubs. It is utilised for ten (10) hours of junior training on weekdays and six (6) hours on Sunday for junior and senior competitions. In total, there are 416 hours of bookings per Dry Season (16

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SYSTEM hours per week). There are no seasonal allocations for Malak Oval during the Wet Season. However, it is anticipated that Football Federation NT and other user groups would apply to use the ground once lighting is installed. As the cost scenarios associated with replacement and maintenance may potentially be cost prohibitive for users, it is recommended that Council charge only the electricity component of the operating cost, at a current rate of $16 per hour for the use of the Malak Oval training lights. This rate compares favourably with the rate charged for the use of the Alawa Oval lights and also the typical $20/hour rate which is charged for amateur sports lighting interstate for training at 100 lux level. In comparison the typical cost of amateur sports lighting interstate for competition standard lighting at 200 lux level can be as high as $80/hour. The City of Darwin’s charge rate for lighting at Malak Oval would be reviewed annually as part of the annual Fees and Charges review. The Charge should also be reviewed as part of the Sporting Oval Strategy which is to be developed by Council. It is recommended that Council adopt a charge rate for the use of the Malak Oval training lights of $16 per hour in the City of Darwin’s 2014/2015 Fees and Charges, that this fee be revised annually and that the current and prospective users of Malak Oval be advised of this charge. Adopting the electricity cost only scenario is considered in line with the philosophy employed by Council in its user charges for the fields not being full cost recovery and in line with charging for the sporting lights at Alawa Oval, managed by the Charles Darwin University. A charging system incorporating pre-paid, rechargeable stored value cards, with non-refundable and unlimited credit, will be incorporated into the Malak Oval training light system. It is envisaged that these cards will be issued through the City of Darwin’s Customer Services section. To address concerns raised previously, vehicle movements at the access to and around the Malak Oval will be monitored after the installation of the Malak Oval lighting system, to determine if any action is required. CONSULTATION PROCESS A comprehensive community consultation process was undertaken prior to Council deciding to proceed with the installation of the Malak Oval training lights, and was the subject of a previous report to Council. The community consultation concluded that there is no identified community concern or disagreement regarding the project to install training lights at Malak Oval.

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SYSTEM This report was considered by the Chief Officer’s Group on Monday, 10 March 2014 and now referred to the Environment & Infrastructure Committee for consideration. In preparing this report, the following City of Darwin officers were consulted: Recreation and Open Space Coordinator Roads and Lighting Engineer

POLICY IMPLICATIONS The City of Darwin’s future Fees and Charges will need to incorporate the charging regime for the Malak Oval lighting. Any recommendation to alter the current fees and charges considers three (3) key policies. These are: Policy 008 Community Services Cultural and Social – General. Policy 055 Asset Management. Policy 019 Fees and Charges. BUDGET AND RESOURCE IMPLICATIONS At present, the City of Darwin does not have any illuminated sporting fields and therefore does not have any lighting fee in its current Fees and Charges. Funding to the amount of $306,000 for the implementation of the Malak Oval Training Lights was allocated in the 2013/2014 budget. The final capital cost will be subject to the tendered construction prices. Once the lights are installed, there will be new ongoing operational costs, which will include electricity, repairs and maintenance. These costs will need to be accommodated in future operational budgets and will be subject to the hours of operation of the lights. 2014/2015 budget new initiatives have been submitted for the estimated income and maintenance and electricity costs for the Malak Oval training lights. Based on 12.5 hours usage of the lights per week over a 36 week per year period, the estimated minimum income for the lights is $7,200 per annum. This is for the electricity charge only option. RISK/LEGAL/LEGISLATIVE IMPLICATIONS There is a risk that Malak Oval users will not accept the lighting charge set by Council, as users may consider the charging regime cost prohibitive and the lights are not utilised therefore the users, Council and the community not obtaining any benefit from the project.

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SYSTEM At the time of community consultation, although no specific charge rate was mentioned, it was made clear that there would be a charge for the use of the Malak Oval training lights. Council has currently approved limited hours of operation of the lights until 9.00pm. The installation of the lights may result in increased demand, therefore requests for increased hours of operation. This may result in objections from the community, particularly nearby residents whose amenity and quality of life may be impacted upon by the lighting operating beyond 9.00 pm. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATIONS The Malak Oval lighting design considers energy efficiency issues. The installation of lighting will provide more opportunity for the use of the oval promoting sport and a healthy lifestyle in the area. Lighting will also provide opportunities to user groups utilise the oval at times more conducive to sports in the topical environment. COUNCIL OFFICER CONFLICT OF INTEREST DECLARATION We the Author and Approving Officers declare that we do not have a Conflict of Interest in relation to this matter. DROSSO LELEKIS LUCCIO CERCARELLIMANAGER DESIGN, PLANNING & PROJECTS


For enquiries, please contact Drosso Lelekis on 8930 0414 or email: [email protected].

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ENCL: YES


AGENDA ITEM: 9.10

BOAB TREE - CAVENAGH STREET CARPARK - PROPOSED MAINTENANCE WORKS


Presenter: Manager Infrastructure Maintenance, Kerry Smith Approved: General Manager Infrastructure, Luccio Cercarelli PURPOSE The purpose of this report is to advise Council of the decline of the Heritage listed Boab Tree located within the Cavenagh Street car park and recommend actions to improve the tree’s health and mitigate potential risk from falling branches. LINK TO STRATEGIC PLAN The issues addressed in this Report are in accordance with the following Goals/Strategies of the City of Darwin 2012 – 2016 as outlined in the ‘Evolving Darwin Towards 2020 Strategic Plan’:- Goal 2 Vibrant, Flexible and Tropical Lifestyle Outcome 2.2 A sense of place and community Key Strategies 2.2.3 Improve the landscaping, streetscape, infrastructure and natural environment KEY ISSUES

The Heritage listed Boab tree located within the Cavenagh Street Car Park is currently in decline and requires action to improve its health and longevity.

The Heritage Council, Northern Territory, has written to Council requesting action be taken to improve the health and longevity of the tree.

A number of options have been investigated to alter the ground conditions surrounding the tree to provide an improved root zone.

Car Parking is a particularly sensitive issue in the Darwin CBD and options to provide protection for the tree without adversely affecting car parking availability have been carefully considered.

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PAGE: 2 REPORT NUMBER: 14TS0025 KS:jw SUBJECT: BOAB TREE - CAVENAGH STREET CARPARK - PROPOSED

MAINTENANCE WORKS RECOMMENDATIONS That it be a recommendation to Council: A. THAT Report Number 14TS0025 KS:jw entitled Boab Tree - Cavenagh Street

Car Park - Proposed Maintenance Works, be received and noted.

B. THAT Council undertake works, in 2013/2014, to alter the garden bed surrounding the Boab tree within the Cavenagh Street Car Park and alter the design of the car park as outlined within Option 4 of Report Number 14TS0025 entitled Boab Tree - Cavenagh Street Car Park - Proposed Maintenance Works.

C. THAT Council write to the Heritage Branch, Northern Territory Government

requesting assistance through grant funding to help fund the Boab tree’s root zone improvement works.

D. THAT the works identified within Option 4 of Report Number 14TS0025 entitled

Boab Tree - Cavenagh Street Car Park - Proposed Maintenance Works be funded from the car parking reserve and that a third quarter budget variation be submitted.

BACKGROUND The Boab tree (Adansonia gregorii) within the Cavenagh Street car park, Darwin is an iconic example of its species within the Darwin area. The tree and surrounds were declared a heritage place on 16 March, 1994. It is unknown if the tree was planted, or is naturally occurring, however it is estimated to be between 150 – 200 years old. A photo of the tree taken in 1957 shows it in good condition having a full and well balanced crown, Attachment A. The car park, constructed around the tree, has resulted in a compacted impervious layer over the tree’s root zone. This has significantly contributed to the trees senescence. City of Darwin staff have raised concerns for the health of the tree in recent years and in 2012, engaged a local arboriculture company to assist with assessing the health of the tree, documenting evidence of decline and possible options to improve its health and longevity. The report provided at Attachment B was prepared by the external consulting arborist and shows a declining trend in the trees health and vigour with short term and long term recommendations to reverse this trend.

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MAINTENANCE WORKS In 2013 the Heritage Council, Northern Territory, wrote to Council requesting that action be undertaken to improve the “declared heritage area” beneath the tree with the intention to improve the root zone Attachment C. DISCUSSION A Tree Management Plan was developed by Remote Area Tree services in association with Homewood Consulting Pty. Ltd. Key recommendations from the report are:

That the loss of available root area has restricted physiological processes within the tree causing it considerable stress. There has been dieback of branches within the canopy leading to limb failure. Further limb failure and ultimately tree death is likely to occur unless site conditions are improved;

That pruning works to remove decayed limbs are undertaken; That a tree protection zone consisting of a mulched and planted area

protected from vehicle access be constructed, Attachment D by reinstating an area around the tree to allow for root growth and exchange of air, water and nutrients, to aid the health of the tree and reduce the potential for further decline and limb failure;

That if the loss of car parking spaces within the tree protection zone was not able to be accommodated then a permeable surface treatment be installed Attachment E;

That regular inspections be undertaken. The pruning works recommended within the Tree Management Plan were completed in October 2012. Since receiving the report, staff have researched developing technology to construct root zones for trees under paved areas and have investigated altering the car park design to achieve a solution to the conflict between the tree protection zone and the availability of valuable CBD parking. Possible engineering solutions have been considered and a summary of those options are as follows; Option 1 (Not Recommended)

Remove car parking spaces and increase the garden bed area around the tree:

- Protects the tree and mitigates risk of damage from limb failure; - Benefit of this option is that it would be relatively easy to implement,

lowest capital cost option, can be implemented as soon as sufficient consultation has been completed;

- Weakness of this option is reduction of car park space in CBD, loss of revenue, may be seen as a poor solution to the public who rely on parking availability at this car park and surrounding streets;

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MAINTENANCE WORKS

- Cost estimate $61,000. Or $160,000 with additional paving; - Total number of car bays reduces from 381 to 365 (loss of 16 spaces).

This option is not recommended due to cost and the loss of parking. Option 2 (Not Recommended)

Remove car parking spaces, increase the garden bed area and redesign line marking to a portion of car park to minimise parking loss:

- Protects the tree and mitigates risk of damage from limb failure; - Includes locating 25 spaces within the full root zone of the tree which

may be improved by further capital cost to install permeable paving; - Benefit of this option is that it would be relatively easy to implement,

second lowest capital cost option, can be implemented as soon as sufficient consultation has been completed;

- Weakness of this option is reduction of car park space in CBD, loss of revenue. May be seen as a poor solution to the public who rely on parking availability at this car park and surrounding streets;

- Cost estimate $67,000. Or $165,000 with permeable paving; - Total number of car bays reduces from 381 to 371 (loss of 10 spaces).

This option is not recommended due to cost and loss of parking. Option 3 (Not Recommended)

Provide permeable paving over a load support system that would allow car parking over the root zone without compromise to the root zone requirements:

- Protects the tree and mitigates risk of damage from limb failure; - Remove existing bitumen, install subsurface root zone load support

system and repave with permeable paving; - Benefit of this option is no loss of parking or revenue, most likely be

seen as reasonable outcome for the public who rely on the parking in the area;

- Weakness is the capital cost, would require detailed design to assess impacts of increasing final pavement height after installing root zone infrastructure which may be an increase of current height by 300 mm;

- Would require car park to be out of service minimum two weeks; - Cost estimate $201,00; - Total number of car bays remains the same, 381 (no loss of spaces).

This option is not recommended due to cost and unresolved technical concerns.

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MAINTENANCE WORKS Option 4 (Recommended)

Remove existing bitumen from minimum recommended exclusion zone around the tree and then redesign existing line marking across the entire car park to make more efficient use of available space;

- Protects the tree and mitigates risk of damage from limb failure; - A sub option is to complete as above and install subsurface root zone

load support system and repave with permeable paving across the whole car park;

- Benefit of this option includes an increase in available car parks spaces, may be relatively quick to complete 6 – 8 days, provides an opportunity to redesign traffic flow within the car park;

- Cost estimate $285,000; - Total number of car bays increases from 381 to 401 (increase of 20

spaces).

This option is recommended due to consideration of value for money over time, increases parking and provides required outcome for the tree. Option 4 is the preferred option as it has the least impact on the service delivery, provides an opportunity to recover capital cost over time and achieves sound asset management outcomes for the car park. The protection of this tree fits with a number of Strategic Goals identified within Councils Evolving Darwin 2020 Strategic Plan. CONSULTATION PROCESS In preparing this report, the following City of Darwin officers were consulted: Technical Officer – Parks and Reserves Team Leader – Civil Design Team Leader – Parks and Reserves In preparing this report, the following External Parties were consulted: Homewood Consultancy/Remote Area Tree Services – Tree report and

Management Plan Adbri Masonry – Permeable pavement supplier Heritage Branch – Northern Territory Government POLICY IMPLICATIONS Council has a strongly conservative policy toward the retention of live trees and to preserve as many trees as possible.

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MAINTENANCE WORKS BUDGET AND RESOURCE IMPLICATIONS Specialised Tree pruning $1,000 completed and accommodated within existing operational budget; and Investigation for design options to engineering solutions and landscape works $4,620 accommodated within operational budgets The cost of the recommended option 4 is estimated at $285,000. It is recommended that this work be funded from the car parking reserve as it is appropriate with managing lot 5803 Cavenagh Street Darwin, containing the car park, and achieves an improved car park design with an increased number of spaces. RISK/LEGAL/LEGISLATIVE IMPLICATIONS Council has statutory obligations to protect the health of the tree under the Heritage Act. Obligations to take action to improve the health of the tree are not proscribed in the Heritage Act although where a work order is issued under the Act, it is an offence if that work order is contravened or ignored. Under the Heritage Act 2011 the Minister may order work to be completed to a Heritage listed site at the land owners expense. Heritage Act 2011, Part 3.5 Work Orders. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATIONS The tree provides significant cultural and historic value, providing a link between generations of Darwin’s history and is Heritage Listed. The tree currently provides support to an ecosystem and provides carbon storage, and urban heat island reduction performed by trees generally.

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MAINTENANCE WORKS COUNCIL OFFICER CONFLICT OF INTEREST DECLARATION We the Author and Approving Officers declare that we do not have a Conflict of Interest in relation to this matter. KERRY SMITH LUCCIO CERCARELLIMANAGER INFRASTRUCTURE MAINTENANCE


For enquiries, please contact Kerry Smith on 8980 3654 or email: [email protected]. Attachments: Attachment A: Photograph of the Boab Tree Circa 1957 Attachment B: Tree Management Report Prepared by Remote Area Tree Services Attachment C: Letter from Heritage Council Northern Territory Attachment D: Aerial Photograph indicating minimum area requiring conversion

from current treatment to mulched garden bed Attachment E: Aerial Photograph Indicating Permeable Paving Over Root Cell

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ATTACHMENT A 117

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In association with

Homewood Consulting Pty. Ltd.

Summary of

Tree Management Plan

for

City of Darwin

Assessment of an Adansonia gregorii (Boab) within the Cavenagh Street Car Park, Darwin

Prepared by

Remote Area Tree Services

PO Box 37384 Winnellie, NT 0821

Prepared For

Kerry Smith

GPO Box 84 Darwin NT 0801

Consulting Arborist

Arran Provis

Bachelor of Science Advanced Diploma Horticulture (Arboriculture)

Email: [email protected] Mobile: 0401 071 204

11 February 2014

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Attachment B

Summary of Tree Management Plan City of Darwin

Reference: 2260

Executive Overview The Adansonia gregorii (Boab) within the Cavenagh Street car park, Darwin is a large and old specimen estimated at having been planted in the 1800s. The tree has a long association with the area, with the tree and the surrounds declared a heritage place on 16 March, 1994.

The tree was in good condition in 1957, having a full and well balanced crown based upon archival photographic evidence. Since this time a car park has been established around the tree that has resulted in a large loss of available root area for the tree. See Figure 1. In recent years the tree has shed several branches into the car park below, raising concerns over its health and safety by Darwin City Council.

Figure 1: Location of tree within car park

The car park has reduced the volume of soil available to the roots, which has restricted physiological processes within the tree. As a result of this stress there has been dieback of branches within the canopy and limb failure. Further limb failure and ultimately tree death is likely to occur unless site conditions are improved.

Conditions can be improved by reinstating an area within the car park to a mulched garden bed. This will allow for root growth and development which will not only aid the health of the tree; it will also reduce the level of risk the tree poses.

Works to improve conditions and reduce the level of risk include:

specialised pruning

development of an exclusion zone

design and implementation of a drainage plan

a redesign of the car park, with increased permeable/porous surfaces.

Any future construction should remain well clear of the tree and the Protection Zone as specified within this report.

This report is a summary of the original management plan, emphasising improving the area around the tree. Assessments, works and additional discussion are within the 2012 document.

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Reference: 2260

Recommendations Refurbishment works:

1. Prior to refurbishment works, drainage requirements for the area are considered

2. Lift and remove asphalt carefully and under project arborist supervision to minimise damage of the root system at the interface

3. Remove concrete kerbing and raised soil around the tree base to approximately the natural soil level prior to car park development (as per Figure 3)

Attaining this level will depend upon root development within this zone as these roots must be preserved

Root damage should be minimised by using an Airspade® or similar non-destructive tool to remove soil/fill away from the base following removal of the kerb

An experienced operator should be engaged as sandblasting/damage of the roots can occur through improper or forceful use.

4. Apply a 100mm thick layer of composted mulch around the exclusion area (Figure 7) to create a garden bed

Composted mulch will prevent potential problems associated with nitrogen drawdown, which could be detrimental to the health of the already stressed tree

5. Exclude pedestrians and vehicles beneath the canopy by underplanting with shrubby and/or clump forming species

Possible species for underplanting include:

Acacia goniocarpa (Wuluru)

Acacia dimidiate (Swamp Wattle)

Calytrix exstipulata (Turkey bush

Cymbopogon bombycinus (Lemon grass)

Cycas sp.(Cycad)

Grevillea sp. (Grevillea)

Livistona sp. or other small palm species may be appropriate

The use of flowering plants can attract nectar feeding birds and butterflies, improving the amenity of the relatively barren car park.

Underplanted acacia species can aid long-term nutrient (nitrogen) cycling that is beneficial to tree health.

6. Use permeable/porous surfaces in the area outside of the mulched zone (Figure 8)

Reinspection:

7. Reinspection should occur within a year following refurbishment to determine the response of the tree to works

8. Following initial reinspection a schedule of assessment every 3-5 years thereafter should be implemented

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Reference: 2260

Contents

Executive Overview ................................................................................................................ 2

Recommendations ................................................................................................................. 3

1. Site Map ............................................................................................................................ 5

2. Tree Assessment ............................................................................................................. 6

3. Observations/Discussion ............................................................................................... 7

4. Actions ............................................................................................................................. 9 4.1 Tree Pruning ............................................................................................................... 9 4.2 Target Exclusion and Root Refurbishment ................................................................. 9 4.3 Future Development and Arborist Involvement ........................................................ 10

5. Conclusions ................................................................................................................... 11

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Reference: 2260

1. Site Map

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Reference: 2260

2. Tree Assessment

Botanical Name Adansonia gregorii

Common Name Boab

Origin Native to Northern Territory

Tree Dimensions (H×W) 12m x 14m

Diameter at Breast Height 287cm

Health Fair

Structure Poor

Useful Life Expectancy 40+ years

Landscape Contribution High

Individual Significance Exceptional

Figure 2: Adansonia gregorii

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Reference: 2260

3. Observations/Discussion The tree is located within a car park accessed from Cavenagh and Woods Street in the heart of Darwin CBD. It is an old specimen, having been planted in the 1800s, with the tree and the immediate surrounds declared a heritage site by Darwin City Council. It provides a ‘High’ contribution to the landscape and due to its age and heritage has an ‘Exceptional’ individual significance.

As part of the car park development, kerbing and a raised area (approx. 30cm high) has been installed around the base of the tree, with an asphalt surface for car parking outside this ‘box’. Figure 3 and Figure 4 demonstrate this change. The root system of the tree is likely to have been damaged by car park construction and there is now only a small area available for root development.

Several larger sized branches have failed following car park installation with Figure 5 and Figure 6 illustrating changes in the tree’s canopy condition following car park installation.

Figure 3: Natural soil level at trunk base – note the presence of roots at the soil surface

Figure 4: Fill around tree base and absence of surface roots

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Reference: 2260

Figure 5: Condition of tree prior to car park installation in 1957 (Photo from Darwin City Council n.d.)

Figure 6: Condition of subject tree 2012, with some branch failure points highlighted

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Reference: 2260

4. Actions

4.1 Tree Pruning Given the significance of the tree, all pruning works should be carried out by qualified arborists, with the minimum qualification being a National Certificate in Horticulture (Arboriculture) AQF Level 4.

All pruning undertaken must conform to the Australian Standard Pruning of Amenity Trees (AS-4373 2007).

Pruning was specified in the original report (Provis 2012) that has since been undertaken.

4.2 Target Exclusion and Root Refurbishment Given the high heritage and individual significance of the tree, it is crucial that target exclusion and root area refurbishment occurs.

Figure 7 indicates the minimal area that should be converted to a mulched garden bed/exclusion zone. This area will minimise branch failure onto parked vehicles, protect large roots close to the soil surface in the south west area and encourage new root growth and development. The exclusion area equates to 445m2, which is approximately 65% of the Tree Protection Zone (TPZ). The TPZ radius for this tree is 15m and has been determined using AS 4970-2009 Protection of trees on development sites.

Figure 7: Area within the car park that should be excluded and converted to mulched garden bed

(yellow hatching) and TPZ area (green circle).

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Reference: 2260

In addition to these works, it is recommended that the area outside the mulched zone is designed to be permeable/porous. Figure 8 provides the extent to which this area should extend.

Drainage of the site should be considered as removing the asphalt will alter drainage patterns and can potentially result in water pooling within the garden bed. If this is prolonged the roots can be deprived of oxygen and death of the tree can occur. It is recommended that an irrigation and drainage specialist is consulted to determine site specific requirements.

Figure 8: Area that should be considered for conversion to permeable/porous area (white hatching).

4.3 Future Development and Arborist Involvement Any future works or development at the site should consider the requirements of the tree and should allow for the maximal TPZ radius of 15m. Plans for the site should be developed in consultation with the project arborist to ensure that the designs are tree sympathetic to minimise construction impact.

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Reference: 2260

5. Conclusions An assessment of one Adansonia gregorii located within the Cavenagh Street car park was undertaken in August 2012. The tree was planted in the 1800s and the tree and the surrounds were declared a heritage place on 16 March, 1994.

The tree provides a ‘High’ contribution to the landscape and due to its age and heritage has an ‘Exceptional’ individual significance.

The health of the tree was ‘Fair’ and the structure was ‘Poor’, which is likely a consequence of the current conditions it has to survive in. There has been a considerable change in the environment surrounding the tree including:

a raised area of approximately 30cm with fill material around the base of the tree,

compaction of soil for the car park and

an impermeable asphalt surface.

Previous root damage has occurred to the tree and there have been several large branch failures, with additional failures likely. Pruning and target exclusion can substantially reduce the likelihood of branch failure and the likelihood of a branch hitting a target in the event of failure.

The roots of the tree are likely to be shallow and extend a long way out from the trunk. The roots of the tree are likely to have adapted to the modified environment and it is expected that a significant volume of roots and feeder roots have developed at the asphalt-soil interface. Care is required to minimise the damage to these roots during refurbishment of the root area.

Target exclusion and root refurbishment will promote the health of the tree, aid in recovery and reduce the number of additional branch failures. It is important these works are commenced immediately.

A redesign of the car park around the tree to use porous/permeable materials will provide additional area for root growth and development, further promoting the health and vigour of the tree and aid in recovery.

Removal of the asphalt will alter drainage patterns of the site. This may cause waterlogging or pooling within the garden bed that is detrimental to the health of the tree. To address this issues an irrigation and drainage specialist should be consulted to determine site requirements.

Reinspection of the tree will allow for determination of long-term retention viability and ensure that the tree remains at an acceptable level of risk within the landscape.

Any future works or development at the site should consider the requirements of the tree and should allow for the maximal TPZ of 15m in radius. Plans for the site should be developed in consultation with the project arborist to ensure that the designs are tree sympathetic and minimise construction impact.

The tree is a fantastic specimen to have within the CBD of Darwin and is long steeped in the history of the City. The conditions within which the tree is currently surviving are harsh and the tree is stressed and shedding limbs in response. These conditions can be markedly improved to allow for the retention of such a remarkable tree and improve the amenity of the area.

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Postal address GPO Box 4198

Darwin NT 0801

Tel 08 8999 5039

Email [email protected]

Our ref HAC2001/0031

The Right Worshipful the Lord Mayor of Darwin Katrina Fong Lim GPO Box 84 DARWIN NT 0810 Dear Lord Mayor It recently came to the attention of the Heritage Council that the heritage listed Boab

(Adansonia gregorii) in the Council’s car park in Cavenagh Street may be ailing.

The Heritage Council recently met in Darwin, and arrangements were made to visit the

tree on the morning of 6 December 2013. Mr Chris Bailey and Mr Eden Fisher attended

from the City of Darwin. They were able to confirm that the tree is indeed ailing.

A key issue is the fact that there is bitumen paving too close to the tree; certainly well

within the 9m radius that constitutes the ‘declared heritage area’ under the terms of the

Heritage Act. It would appear that if nothing is done, the tree is likely to have a limited

life.

The Heritage Council is aware that dealing with this issue will have an impact on the

number of car park spaces available. Nevertheless we believe the significance of the

tree is such that something needs to be done to address the situation.

It would be greatly appreciated if you could let the Heritage Council know what steps the

City of Darwin is taking to remedy the situation.

Yours sincerely

Dr Brian Reid Chairman 20 December 2013

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Attachment C

ATTACHMENT D 130

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ATTACHMENT E 131

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ENCL: NO


AGENDA ITEM: 9.11

RELOCATION OF BUS SHELTER AT RAPID CREEK SHOPS

REPORT No.: 14TS0062 JW:jw COMMON No.: 2186056 DATE: 18/03/2014

Presenter: Manager Technical Services, Nadine Douglas Approved: General Manager Infrastructure, Luccio Cercarelli PURPOSE The purpose of this report is to seek Council endorsement for the request from the Northern Territory Government (NTG) for the existing bus shelter along Trower Road, in front of the Rapid Creek Shops, to be relocated into the City of Darwin’s managed road reserve. LINK TO STRATEGIC PLAN The issues addressed in this Report are in accordance with the following Goals/Strategies of the City of Darwin 2012 – 2016 as outlined in the ‘Evolving Darwin Towards 2020 Strategic Plan’:- Goal 1. Collaborative, Inclusive and Connected Community Outcome 1.4 Improved relations with all levels of government and significant stakeholders Key Strategies 1.4.1 Actively engage with all levels of government to coordinate efficiencies and

develop opportunities KEY ISSUES The Northern Territory is seeking to relocate and upgrade the bus shelter on

Trower Road adjacent the Rapid Creek Shops. The proposed shelter is an upgrade of the existing single bay shelter, which is

intended to meet future user demand and disability requirements. The proposed bus shelter will promote alternative transport options by

accommodating future growth, providing adequate shelter for users and improving on access for all issues.

The proposed upgrade bus shelter is unable to be accommodated within the Government road reserve.

NTG is seeking permission to utilise Council managed road reserve. Considerations for approval to use Council’s managed road reserve include the

potential for the proposed bus shelter to limit the future options for use of the site, impact on landscaping and potential improvements to the public bus users.

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PAGE: 2 REPORT NUMBER: 14TS0062 JW:jw SUBJECT: RELOCATION OF BUS SHELTER AT RAPID CREEK SHOPS RECOMMENDATIONS THAT it be a recommendation to Council: A. THAT Report Number 14TS0062 JW:jw entitled Relocation Of Bus Shelter At

Rapid Creek Shops, be received and noted. B. THAT Council approves the relocation of the Northern Territory Government

bus shelter within Council controlled road reserve as outlined in Report Number 14TS0062 JW:jw entitled Relocation of Bus Shelter at Rapid Creek Shops subject to: i). The installation and maintenance of the bus shelter is undertaken by, and

at the cost of, the Northern Territory Government; ii). A lease agreement is entered into at a peppercorn rental of $1.00 per

annum; iii). An approved additional tree to be planted as a part of the reconstruction

of the garden beds; iv). Northern Territory Government consult with adjacent residents,

businesses and land owners of the planned bus shelter relocation and the outcomes be provided to Council’s;

v). That prior to Construction final design drawings of works within Council’s road reserve be submitted to Council for approval; and

vi). All works being undertaken to the satisfaction of Council and at no cost to the Council.

BACKGROUND The Northern Territory Government (NTG) has plans to upgrade the size and location of the bus shelter in front of the Rapid Creek Shops on Trower Road to meet user demand and ensure compliance with current disability regulations for bus stops. The current bus shelter is located within the Department of Infrastructure, Trower Road reserve. The proposed location of the bus shelter is to move it away from the road and into City of Darwin managed road reserve. This report discusses the proposed location and considerations required for the bus shelter to be relocated to within Council road reserve. DISCUSSION The existing bus shelter along Trower Road is currently within the road reserve for Trower Road, as indicated in the image below. The red line on the image indicates the approximate line between the NTG road reserve and the Council managed road reserve in front of the Rapid Creek shops. The area is a part of the Pearce Place road reserve, a Council road.

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PAGE: 3 REPORT NUMBER: 14TS0062 JW:jw SUBJECT: RELOCATION OF BUS SHELTER AT RAPID CREEK SHOPS Bus shelters and stops are traditionally built within the road reserve of the road that the bus is servicing. The specific locations are agreed to between the reserve owner, adjacent properties and the NTG. The area of road reserve managed by Council is part of Pearce Place which extends around the shopping centre area.

Site Map – Road Reserve Boundary

The new bus shelter location is intended to meet the higher demand, current disability requirements and encourage alternative transport. In order to achieve this, the new bus shelter is proposed to be located within the City of Darwin road reserve, near the existing car park, as indicated below.

Site Map – Proposed Bus Bay Design

NTG Road Reserve

Council Road Reserve

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PAGE: 4 REPORT NUMBER: 14TS0062 JW:jw SUBJECT: RELOCATION OF BUS SHELTER AT RAPID CREEK SHOPS As the road reserve area currently exists, there are not considered to be any technical issues with a new bus shelter being located within the Pearce Place road reserve, however, the new location may limit the future options for use of the road reserve for Council. The impact on the current area with the proposed works would be the extending of the garden bed around the existing large tree and a relocated pedestrian path. The extended garden bed would allow for further root development of the existing tree and a larger rain catchment area, benefitting the tree. It has also been identified that an additional tree could be incorporated into the garden bed to improve the shade and amenity of the area, which could be included as a Council requirement with the bus shelter works. All pavement and retaining wall works will match to the existing appearance to keep the aesthetic value of the area. All of the works described would be undertaken in conjunction with Council officers and will be at the cost of NTG. Potential Issues There are several issues that need to be considered due to the bus shelter being relocated into a road reserve area that the bus isn’t directly servicing, such as:

Maintenance of the bus shelter Ability to use the road reserve in the future

Discussions with NTG have provided confirmation that the maintenance of the bus shelter would remain with NTG into the future as is the current practice. This will include cleaning, litter collection and servicing of the shelter’s public waste bins. A lease agreement is recommended to be entered into with NTG (for a nominal sum) to ensure that it is clear that the bus shelter is within Council road reserve and that there is no guarantees on the future of the road reserve remaining in its current form and that if the bus stop is required to be removed, then it is at the cost of NTG. This would also include maintenance responsibilities. The form of the lease agreement would be similar to that of awning agreements. There will also be a requirement for NTG to consult with the adjacent business holders, landowners and residents to Council’s satisfaction. CONSULTATION PROCESS In preparing this report, the following External Parties were consulted: Byrne Design (NTG consultant) Northern Territory Government - Department of Infrastructure

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PAGE: 5 REPORT NUMBER: 14TS0062 JW:jw SUBJECT: RELOCATION OF BUS SHELTER AT RAPID CREEK SHOPS POLICY IMPLICATIONS No policy implications identified. BUDGET AND RESOURCE IMPLICATIONS All works to be conducted at the cost of the Northern Territory Government. Bus stops and shelters are provided within Council’s road reserves at no cost the the Northern Territory Government for use of the reserves. Generally shelters are place within the road reserve being serviced by the bus route. It is proposed in this case to enter into a lease for a peppercorn rental of $1.00 per annum. RISK/LEGAL/LEGISLATIVE IMPLICATIONS There is a risk of legal complications in the future if no agreement is put in place and the Council controlled road reserve is later required for other purposes. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATIONS Allowing this upgrade will assist in improving and encouraging the use of alternative transport options. There is a positive environmental impact with the existing tree having more space to extend its root system and there will be a larger water catchment area for the tree. A new tree will also be planted in the garden bed area. COUNCIL OFFICER CONFLICT OF INTEREST DECLARATION We the Author and Approving Officers declare that we do not have a Conflict of Interest in relation to this matter. NADINE DOUGLAS LUCCIO CERCARELLIMANAGER TECHNICAL SERVICES


For enquiries, please contact James Whyte on 89300413 or email: [email protected].

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ENCL: NO


AGENDA ITEM: 9.12

STORM DAMAGE & RISK ASSESSMENT FORESHORE RESERVES


Presenter: Manager Infrastructure Maintenance, Kerry Smith Approved: General Manager Infrastructure, Luccio Cercarelli PURPOSE The purpose of this report is to provide information regarding the extent of damage caused to foreshore reserves and Council assets during recent storm activity and to consider options for controlling risk at unfenced coastal cliff locations. LINK TO STRATEGIC PLAN The issues addressed in this Report are in accordance with the following Goals/Strategies of the City of Darwin 2012 – 2016 as outlined in the ‘Evolving Darwin Towards 2020 Strategic Plan’:- Goal 2 Vibrant, Flexible and Tropical Lifestyle Outcome 2.2 A sense of place and community Key Strategies 2.2.3 Improve the landscaping, streetscape, infrastructure and natural environment KEY ISSUES Wet season storms produced damaging wind gusts and significant wave wash on

Council reserves in mid-January to mid-February 2014. Damage occurred to a number of Council assets namely trees and pathways. That total cost, to date, of response and repair to the storm damage is estimated

at $460,000. Council will need to assess risks and liabilities for unfenced coastal areas.

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PAGE: 2 REPORT NUMBER: 14TS0063 KS:jw SUBJECT: STORM DAMAGE & RISK ASSESSMENT FORESHORE RESERVES RECOMMENDATIONS THAT it be a recommendation to Council:- A. THAT Report Number 14TS0063 KS:jw entitled Storm Damage & Risk

Assessment Foreshore Reserves, be received and noted. B. THAT Council undertake a risk assessment on unfenced sections of coastal

foreshore reserves including seeking legal advice to clarify what obligations arise from Councils duty of care at unfenced coastal foreshore reserves.

C. THAT Council refer to the 2014/2015 Budget, a new initiative of $390,000 for the construction of a seawall along Casuarina Drive between Kiranou Place and Kurrajong Crescent, Nightcliff.

BACKGROUND In January and February 2014 an extensive monsoon trough containing tropical low weather systems lay across the top end coast region including the City of Darwin. The weather systems created extensive rain and strong winds with frequent

strong wind gusts over the period from mid-January to mid-February 2014.

The weather was accompanied by some of the highest tides in the region and the combination of these natural environmental factors caused damage and erosion to Council’s coastal assets and foreshore reserves. One aspect of the storm conditions created along the coast was a relatively well publicised attraction of people to the Nightcliff Foreshore to watch a spectacular display of wind and waves that washed up and over cliffs. Council has a programme of fencing coastal cliff areas to control access to foreshore reserves and an observation made during the storm activity was that large numbers of people were attracted to one of a few foreshore cliff areas that is not currently fenced. At the Ordinary Council Meeting on 11 February 2014, Council resolved as follows: Monsoon Storms Clean-Up Common No. 2703515 Member K J Worden congratulated the Council on the clean-up of the Nightcliff Foreshore following the recent monsoonal activity and requested the cost of the clean-up. Member K J Worden raised concerns regarding the behaviour of the public at the Nightcliff Foreshore during the monsoonal activity and inquired whether Council had a role in managing this area.

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PAGE: 3 REPORT NUMBER: 14TS0063 KS:jw SUBJECT: STORM DAMAGE & RISK ASSESSMENT FORESHORE RESERVES Member H I Galton raised concerns of the debris along the road at the Darwin Ski Club. Alderman H I Galton raised concerns regarding East Point Reserve on pot holes near the Military Museum Member R K Elix requested the cost for a rock wall in the vicinity of Kurrajong Crescent, Nightcliff. The General Manager Infrastructure advised a report will be presented to an Environment & Infrastructure Committee addressing the questions raised. DISCUSSION The monsoonal and wet season storm events of early 2014 caused erosion and damage to foreshore areas in particular, but other reserves and streetscapes were also affected. The most severe damage occurred to paths along the coast with two sections of shared path washed away. Trees were felled by wet ground conditions and high winds and roads and paved areas were damaged due to the continuous and heavy rain. A summary of the damage that occurred is as follows, actual final costs will not be known until completion of the reinstatement work. STORM DAMAGE SUMMARY Out of hours response to storm conditions. Road pavement damage including potholes and subsidence. Fallen trees removed. Shared path wash away. Severe erosion of beaches, foredunes and foreshores. Severe erosion of beach access tracks. Extensive clean-up from foreshore reserves to remove sand and debris deposit. The response to the storm damage is continuing with works planned to be completed over the coming weeks. Tasks yet to be completed include reclamation of beach sand and reinstatement of beach access ways at Mindil and Vesty’s beach, reinstatement of shared path Mindil beach (front of Casino), reinstatement of mangrove boardwalk and reinstatement of rock protection to Nightcliff Foreshore (south of sunset park). Nightcliff Foreshore is fenced from “surfers corner” near the Rapid Creek end of the reserve along the top of the cliff up to approximately 205 metres (in a straight line) from the base of the jetty. Large numbers of people gather for social events or quiet enjoyment along the length of the foreshore including the unfenced area where many were attracted by the natural spectacular show turned on by nature during the storm and wave activity.

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PAGE: 4 REPORT NUMBER: 14TS0063 KS:jw SUBJECT: STORM DAMAGE & RISK ASSESSMENT FORESHORE RESERVES Council as the land owner owes a duty of care to all visitors of the reserve to mitigate any known risks that may occur in the vicinity, as far as reasonably practicable. Mitigation methods will vary depending on the risk. Council’s foreshore fencing programme is currently funded from revenue and is an ongoing programme to provide and upgrade fencing at foreshore reserves to restrict and control access. The program has been running for a significant number of years. Fencing has been used to control access for a number of reasons including but not limited to unstable cliff condition, erosion control and protection of sensitive areas. Many factors can influence how an area should be treated including level of risk, number and type of users to an area, proximity to population intended use of area and infrastructure within the area. In addition, there is case law regarding duty of care encompassing publicly accessible cliff-side locations. It is recommended that Council undertake a detailed risk assessment of the area and obtain legal advice prior to consideration of this matter. A further report will then be prepared including mitigation options for issues identified. Consideration will be given to mitigation via infrastructure provision and/or legislative control based on Council’s duty of care. It was also requested that staff review costs associated with providing a seawall along the section of Casuarina Drive between Kiranou Place and Kurrajong Crescent. This area currently has no seawall protection and sustained coastal erosion and damage to the shared path during the recent events due to wave action and surcharge. Areas to the north and south of this section do contain a rock seawall. An initial cost estimate to construct a seawall is $390,000. The 2013/2014 budget does not contain an allocation for this project. CONSULTATION PROCESS In preparing this report, the following City of Darwin officers were consulted: Senior Technical Officer Parks. Acting Team Coordinator Parks and Reserves. Acting Team Coordinator Cityworks. Risk and OHS Officer. POLICY IMPLICATIONS Not assessed at this stage.

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PAGE: 5 REPORT NUMBER: 14TS0063 KS:jw SUBJECT: STORM DAMAGE & RISK ASSESSMENT FORESHORE RESERVES BUDGET AND RESOURCE IMPLICATIONS Storm clean-up costs to date are approximately $460,000 including labour hours, contracted services and materials supply and works are still continuing. The construction of a seawall along Casuarina Drive near the Kurrajong Crescent area is $390,000. The cost of legal advice and a risk audit of the unfenced Nightcliff Foreshore adjacent to the jetty, estimated at $10,000. RISK/LEGAL/LEGISLATIVE IMPLICATIONS Once the risks are identified Council needs to consider how its responsed to these risks to ensure it protects the community, minimises risk and meets its duty of care. There is case law in relation to clarifying what duty of care exists in relation to publicly assessable cliff side locations. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATIONS Not assessed at this time. COUNCIL OFFICER CONFLICT OF INTEREST DECLARATION We the Author and Approving Officers declare that we do not have a Conflict of Interest in relation to this matter. KERRY SMITH LUCCIO CERCARELLIMANAGER INFRASTRUCTURE MAINTENANCE


For enquiries, please contact Kerry Smith on 8980 3654 or email: [email protected].

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ENCL: NO


AGENDA ITEM: 9.13

SHOAL BAY WASTE MANAGEMENT FACILITY - TRANSFER STATION MODIFICATIONS

REPORT No.: 14TS0057 ND:bf COMMON No.: 2125544 DATE: 18/03/2014

Presenter: Manager Technical Services, Nadine Douglas Approved: General Manager Infrastructure, Luccio Cercarelli PURPOSE The purpose of this report is to update Council on unplanned modification works to the waste transfer station at the Shoal Bay Waste Management Facility. LINK TO STRATEGIC PLAN The issues addressed in this Report are in accordance with the following Goals/Strategies of the City of Darwin 2012 – 2016 as outlined in the ‘Evolving Darwin Towards 2020 Strategic Plan’:- Goal 3 Environmentally Sustainable City Outcome 3.2 Darwin community’s carbon footprint reduced Key Strategies 3.2.2 Increase awareness through encouraging the use of waste management

options, including recycling across Darwin KEY ISSUES The current design of the Transfer Station does not meet current safety

standards and has been identified in a safety audit as requiring attention. The risks are in relation to fall from heights and vehicles entering the bins when

the existing kerb is ‘jumped’. The design of the facility is over 15 years old and has seen ongoing minor

modifications in its operating life to address various issues due to changing requirements.

Council staff have been working on a design to retrofit barriers to the Transfer Station to improve safety and to prevent vehicles and users from falling into the bins.

An interim measure of additional kerb stops is being considered for installation to prevent vehicles entering the bins until a final solution can be implemented.

A concept design to improve safety is proposed for endorsement by Council.

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PAGE: 2 REPORT NUMBER: 14TS0057 ND:bf SUBJECT: SHOAL BAY WASTE MANAGEMENT FACILITY - TRANSFER STATION

MODIFICATIONS

As part of the overall development strategy for the Shoal Bay Waste Facility a review on the future design and operation of a transfer facility will be undertaken and staged into the strategy.

RECOMMENDATIONS THAT it be a recommendation to Council:- A. THAT Report Number 14TS0057 ND:bf entitled Shoal Bay Waste

Management Facility - Transfer Station Modifications, be received and noted. B. THAT Council approve the concept for modifications to the Transfer Station

as described in Report Number 14TS0057 ND:bf entitled Shoal Bay Waste Management Facility - Transfer Station Modifications with the cost of works and consultation to be funded from the Waste Management Reserve.

BACKGROUND The current Shoal Bay Waste Management Facility (SBWMF) - Transfer Station is over 15 years old and has had minor modifications to it over its operating life. The design of the Transfer Station no longer meets current safety requirements, particularly in relation to fall from heights. This report recommends modifications to the Transfer Station to improve the safety of users by reducing the risk of falls and vehicles into the bins or over the edge. DISCUSSION The current design of the Transfer Station is to allow residents to empty waste directly into open bins. Residents can reverse their vehicles and trailers up to, and over, the waste bins which are then emptied by the contractor at the landfill. There is a kerb on the edge of the wall and warning signs, as shown in the images below, however these are no longer considered sufficient to prevent falls occurring and/or mitigating risk. The height of the waste bins is approximately 2 metres.

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MODIFICATIONS

There is potential risk for a person to fall either into the bins or on to the ground below which requires attention. Research into other landfills has shown that transfer stations are very similar; however the one type of best practice is to reduce the height of the station. This is done by having an area that is dropped into and then machinery pushes the waste either into bins or straight into landfill for compaction. Reducing the height to below 2 metres is the optimum solution, however that would require a complete redesign and change in operations for the SBWMF Transfer Station, which would be a significant cost. This issue will be considered as part of the ongoing development and operational strategy for Shoal Bay.

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MODIFICATIONS In resolving the issue facing the existing station, the intention is to reduce the risk of a fall or vehicles entering by placing a physical barrier between the users and the bins. This is a common design at transfer stations, as indicated in the image below.

The barrier design is currently underway and concept images are shown below.

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MODIFICATIONS The final design will;

Meet barrier requirements to prevent falls Prevent vehicles from inadvertently entering the bin Incorporate new signage Be cost effective whilst mitigating the risks.

The issues that could occur following the implementation include;

Users standing/sitting on the barrier and still having the risk of fall Users leaving waste on the barrier, or in the road way, rather than placing it

over the barrier Users claiming injuries as they have to lift the waste over the barrier, rather

than the current common method of pushing it out of the ute/car/trailer People damaging their vehicles by reversing into the barrier.

As an immediate measure, which may later be combined with the final design, there will be kerb stops placed at the transfer station to prevent vehicles reversing into the bins. When the barriers are in place, they will prevent vehicles hitting the barriers. The contractor operating the site has been consulted about the development of the concept design and is satisfied with the solution. There has not been any indication that a variation to the contract would be required for the operation of the Transfer Station if the barrier is constructed. The barrier will be designed to be easily installed at the Transfer Station. The majority of the barrier will be constructed off site and installed in stages. There are 8 bays, each with the capacity for 2 vehicles, which during the week are not being used to their full capacity. This allows for the works to occur during the week and after hours, and to be staged (i.e. 2 bays at a time) to minimise the impact on users. Modifications to the SBWMF Transfer Station are required to reduce the safety risk to users and workers. It is recommended that the concept of the barrier design be endorsed by Council in order for the works to occur as soon as possible. CONSULTATION PROCESS A community information plan is being developed to inform the community of the modifications of the Transfer Station. This will include flyers at the weighbridge, newspaper advertising and signage at the Transfer Station. Staff will also be available at the Transfer Station to discuss concerns with users at peak periods, in conjunction with the contractor. The community information will include the construction phase as there will be minor disruption to the Transfer Station as discussed in the report.

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MODIFICATIONS In preparing this report, the following External Parties were consulted: Jacobs SKM consulting Territoria Civil POLICY IMPLICATIONS Works and consultation will occur in-line with Policies. BUDGET AND RESOURCE IMPLICATIONS The cost of constructing, installing barriers, associated signage and information/advertising is estimated to be in the order of magnitude of $80,000. This estimate will be subject to the final design and construction methods required. It will be recommended that this be funded via the Waste Management Reserve. RISK/LEGAL/LEGISLATIVE IMPLICATIONS There is currently a high risk of falls from heights at the Transfer Station. The height of 2 metres is the height at which the fall is considered dangerous. There’s no standard requiring certain barriers at certain heights in public spaces such as transfer stations and as such workplace safety guidelines and the Building Code of Australia are being used to determine the most appropriate barrier design. The risk of vehicles entering the bins with a barrier becomes very low. The concept is to minimise risk of falling and vehicles entering into the bins. However, due to the nature of the operation and user behaviours risks will always remain. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATIONS None identified that directly relate to this report and the proposed modifications. COUNCIL OFFICER CONFLICT OF INTEREST DECLARATION We the Author and Approving Officers declare that we do not have a Conflict of Interest in relation to this matter. NADINE DOUGLAS LUCCIO CERCARELLIMANAGER TECHNICAL SERVICES



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10. GENERAL BUSINESS

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