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The Eastern Metropolitan Regional Council (EMRC) is a progressive and innovative regional local government working on behalf of six member councils - Town of Bassendean, City of Bayswater, City of Belmont, Shire of Kalamunda, Shire of Mundaring and City of Swan.
Perth’s Eastern Region, represented by the six member councils that comprise the EMRC, stretches from the edge of the Perth CBD, along the Swan River through urban residential, commercial and industrial areas, to the scenic Swan Valley and into the forests and prime agricultural land in the
Darling Ranges. Covering approximately one third of the Perth metropolitan area, the region is home to a number of diverse cultural backgrounds, and with population growth forecast to reach around
360,000 by 2021; it is also one of the fastest growing regions in Western Australia.
The EMRC has approximately 100 skilled and dedicated staff who work across three core business units, providing a number of services including Waste Management Services, Environmental
Services, Regional Development and Resource Recovery.
The EMRC is committed to addressing environmental issues and supporting positive environmental action through a number of regional projects and programs. As such the EMRC is a participant of the
Cooperative Research Centre for Water Sensitive Cities (CRCWSC) and has been a member since its establishment in 2012. EMRC is also a member of the Western Region Regional Advisory Panel.
Membership of the CRCWSC ensures that the EMRC and member councils have access to the latest research and training in relation to best practice water management such as stormwater management, urban heat and water sensitive urban design. Local government does not normally have ready access to best practice research, nor the capacity for this type of research in-house. Local government makes significant investments into water related infrastructure and the CRCWSC research outputs will provide efficiencies in that investment. This leads to savings for the communities of Perth’s Eastern Region.
Local governments strive to make their local government areas attractive, liveable and economically viable, at the same time as accommodating population growth. Investment into the CRWSC enables local government to deliver best practice water management in their local communities.
Member councils will benefit from the CRCWSC by accessing research on ways to better manage water to overcome water shortages, reduce urban temperatures, improve waterway health and improve urban landscapes that are tailored for WA climatic conditions.
The work of the CRCWSC also supports water utilities, state and local government to deliver economic value and public good. It offers major direct and indirect economic benefits by adopting a mixture of centralised and decentralised approaches tailored to local circumstances to deliver:
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Greater productivity of use of existing infrastructure;
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Reduced flood damage and insurance burdens;
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Reduced community morbidity and mortality from urban heat; and
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Avoided or reduced restoration costs to urban waterways and adjoining rivers.
Collaboration has been strengthened between agencies due to the CRCWSC. One example of that is in July 2014 the EMRC co-hosted a CRCWSC workshop at the City of Bayswater on the Urban Heat
Island. This workshop was attended by more than 60 local government, state government officers and researchers from the CRCWSC. Feedback from participants was extremely positive. The workshop gave participants practical information to implement within their organisation on how to reduce urban heat.
The CRCWSC is a valuable multi-stakeholder mechanism that enables achievable long term urban water solutions and more liveable cities.
Submission Inquiries
Naomi Rakela
Manager Environmental Services
Eastern Metropolitan Regional Council
Naomi.Rakela@emrc.org.au
08 9424 2273
2 EMRC Submission - Cooperative Research Centres – Programme Review