Blacktown City Council

The Blacktown Developer Toolkit for Water Sensitive Urban Design

Stormwater management practices in Blacktown are extremely complex because there are three planning instruments that govern the LGA including:

  • The North West Growth Centre (NWGC) SEPP
  • The Western Sydney Employment Area (WSEA) SEPP
  • The Blacktown

Stormwater infrastructure is being planned and designed by a multitude of different teams including:

  • Council in-house teams in the NWGC and infill areas
  • Council consultants designing stormwater infrastructure in the NWGC and WSEA
  • private developers who are working within the NWGC, WSEA and infill area.

With such a diverse range of designers and planners responsible for well over $500 million in stormwater infrastructure it is vital that Council is assured that we will inherit high calibre drainage infrastructure.

The Blacktown Developer WSUD Toolkit was developed to both simplify the implementation of WSUD in Blacktown and to improve the functionality and longevity of WSUD assets that will either be handed to Council or maintained privately.  The Toolkit is made up of the following suite of resources, available at www.blacktown.nsw.gov.au:

  • The toolkit involves the S3QM on-line deemed to comply tool (s3qm.com.au). Council’s version of this innovative web based tool is used at the Development Application (DA) stage by the applicant to firstly and rapidly identify the relevant stormwater planning controls which would apply to a proposed development and to then help the applicant to size the relevant stormwater management measures needed to comply with Council’s Development Control Plan.  The Tool seeks to provide clarity and certainty for Council Assessors and developers as well as reduced DA assessment times.
  • The WSUD Standard Drawings, are used in conjunction with the deemed to comply tool and fact sheets. They provide detailed technical design and construction requirements for a broad range of typical WSUD measures.  There is a strong focus on long term asset management – i.e. ease and safety of maintenance and life cycle management.

The Drawings include:

  • A detailed and comprehensively researched bioretention specification which is much more robust than the material developed by the CRCWSC and Water By Design alone.
  • Typical drawings for bioretention systems of all scales – raingardens, small systems and large systems.
  • Town Centre WSUD treatments
  • Permeable pavements
  • Rainwater tank guidance
  • Combined filter cartridge and On-site Stormwater Detention (OSD) systems

The WSUD Factsheets support the Development Control Plan Part J. They provide guidance to applicants on:

  • How to apply the WSUD controls in Part J,
  • The Precinct Scale Water Quality Offset Scheme for Infill Development. This scheme applies to areas within the Local Government Area that are undergoing rapid densification.
  • The On-site Stormwater Detention factsheets outlines Council’s revised OSD policy and explains how to implement it.
  • A factsheet on WSUD and Development in the North West Growth Centre (NWGC).