Invitation to Attend

Water Sensitive Communities: Inevitable or Pipe Dream?

On behalf of the Conference Organising Committee, we would like to invite you to join us for the 2018 Stormwater Victoria Conference. The Conference will be held at the Sheraton Melbourne Hotel, Victoria on Wednesday 6th and Thursday, 7th June, 2018.

Like much of the world Victoria faces the following challenges: population growth and aging, changes in lifestyle and values, climate change and climatic variability and challenging economic conditions.

Our use of water underpins our economy, recreation, health and surrounding environment. It is important that Indigenous values are appropriately recognised.

A water sensitive community uses water in a way that is productive and sustainable, while acknowledging the need for the environment to be resilient to changes and liveable for all in it.

The theory of Water Sensitive Cities is well documented and understood. The three pillars of Water Sensitive Cities as articulated in Wong and Brown (2009) are:

Cities as Water Supply Catchments
Cities providing Ecosystem Services
Cities comprising of Water Sensitive Communities.

Alternate water sources, reliability, environmental risk, cost and the difference between decentralised and centralised systems are commonly considered in projects. The benefits and creation of beneficial microclimates, carbon sinks, habitat and biodiversity are emerging themes.

Communities are complex and often comprise of disparate and diverse groups with differing socio, economic and environmental needs. This Conference wishes to explore whether Water Sensitive Communities are still a pipe dream or whether definitive steps have been made in implementing and demonstrating why it is inevitable that we all live in a water sensitive community.

Ann Pugh
Conference Chair
2018 Stormwater Victoria Conference

Conference Secretariat

For all Conference enquiries, please contact
GEMS Event Management Australia
on +61 2 9744 5252.