The Zero Additional Maintenance Water Sensitive Urban Design (ZAM-WSUD) project led by the City of Manningham, Victoria, has been progressing well over the last few months.
Some of the recent developments towards WSUD without maintenance requirements for asset owners include:
ZAM-WSUD Stage 1 Installations
Installations constructed in early 2015 are looking good. Grass coverage has thickened at all sites over late autumn and early winter, refer to the photos below.
ZAM-WSUD Stage 2 Installations
Seven ZAM-WSUD systems have now been constructed in a new car parking area at Mullum Mullum Reserve, corner Springvale and Reynolds Roads, Doncaster East.
Installations include four grassed systems and three landscaped systems.
Comparative Grass Species Trial
A trial of alternative grass species for ZAM-WSUD systems has now been underway for four months. Preliminary observations are showing that Kenda Kikuyu and Empire Zoysia are growing particularly well.
For more information, refer to the Comparative Grass Species Trial – Preliminary Observations Report.
Research to date is now confirming that different grass species are best suited to different site conditions.
Integration of ZAM-WSUD into “Business as Usual” at Manningham Council
During 2016/17 ZAM-WSUD at Manningham will move from being a research project to “business as usual”. Capital Works Program co-ordinators and project managers have been given the challenge of integrating ZAM-WSUD systems into projects scheduled for construction in 2016/17. Potential installation sites are being identified and then prioritised based on a long term strategic approach that identifies “local scale treatment zones” and “catchment scale treatment zones”.
Updated ZAM-WSUD Handbook
The ZAM-WSUD handbook has been updated to include learnings from the comparative grass species trial and feedback received following the ZAM-WSUD presentation at the Victorian Stormwater Symposium in May.
The most up-to-date version of the ZAM-WSUD handbook will continue to be available via the Clearwater WSUD capacity building website.
For more information, contact Simon Brink, Projects Engineer, Manningham City Council via email.