Managing Urban Growth
We create guidelines for developers to ensure urban development meets appropriate standards of drainage and flood protection.
Our overall aim in managing urban growth is to:
- ensure public safety
- control flooding
- protect the health of our rivers and creeks.
Our work in this area includes:
- creating schemes that provide consistent guidelines for developing drainage infrastructure to ensure urban growth does not negatively impact on flood protection and river health
- assessing planning permit applications for development in flood-prone areas and placing appropriate conditions on them
- providing updated flood information to councils and the community.
Our requirements
The Land Development Manual outlines our standard requirements for providing drainage infrastructure in new urban developments.
The manual aims to provide developers and their consultants with information that will enable self assessment of most of our standard requirements.
Urban drainage system standards have increased as Melbourne has developed. The principal standards that govern drainage system design are:
- Underground drainage systems should have a 1-in-5 year flood capacity
- Overland flow paths, floodways, floodplains and retarding basins combined should provide a 1-in-100 year flood capacity without affecting public safety, or increasing flood levels on upstream or downstream properties
- Rivers and creeks should have stable beds and banks, vegetated with indigenous species
- Litter and sediment/suspended solids should be effectively trapped/screened to remove 70 per cent of litter and 80 per cent of suspended solids
- Nutrients should be treated to remove 45 per cent of nitrogen and phosphorous loads.
These standards are supported by further guidelines relating to the location and design of buildings.
More information:
Drainage infrastructure
To identify drainage infrastructure requirements and charges that will apply to fund drainage works, we prepare drainage schemes, now referred to as Development and Redevelopment Services Schemes.
We have consulted with stakeholders to develop 16 principles to guide the preparation of these schemes to ensure a consistent approach to drainage infrastructure in new and existing developments.
If you wish to find out what these principles are, please refer to Principles for Waterway and Drainage Services (PDF 179kb).
Development Services Schemes
A development services scheme outlines the strategy for planning new drainage infrastructure (such as pipelines, channels, retarding basins, litter traps and wetlands) in 'greenfield' (undeveloped) areas.
These schemes make sure that urban development provides safe levels of flood protection and does not harm the health of rivers and creeks.
Developers contribute towards the cost of these works. They also arrange for the design and construction of the works specified by Melbourne Water in accordance with our requirements.
Redevelopment Services Schemes
A redevelopment services scheme ensures that redevelopment in existing urban areas is properly serviced. The aim is to ensure that after an urban area has been redeveloped, and the redevelopment services scheme has been implemented, the existing level of flood protection is maintained for the community.
Implementation of the scheme can include creating or upgrading drainage infrastructure to ensure increased run-off due to higher density development does not reduce existing levels of flood protection.
Our schemes aim to ensure that:
- urban growth is properly serviced
- development and implementation (of the schemes) is undertaken in a cost-effective way that reduces the impact on the community and the environment
- drainage infrastructure (where required) integrates with the urban environment
- urban development is sustainable by encouraging water sensitive urban design and stormwater reuse.
Paying for drainage infrastructure
Drainage works are funded by contributions from developers, paid under an agreement with Melbourne Water at the time of subdivision. The contribution paid depends on the costs of implementing the scheme, and is related to the area and type of development. For example, industrial areas are usually charged at a higher rate than residential areas because they have more hard surfaces that generate more run-off.