Cities failing to support green water management

Australia lacks a national policy to guide and enforce sustainable water management practices in its major cities, according to a report on urban planning.

The Cooperative Research Centre for Water Sensitive Cities says some states have not integrated water quality targets into their planning regulations and stormwater flow targets are largely regarded as “discretionary” or voluntary.

The report’s authors are Melbourne-based environmental lawyers Barnaby McIlrath and Linda Choi.