COUNCIL NOTICE OF MOTION
TO:
Annual General Meeting
MOTION FROM:
City of West Torrens
RE:
STORMWATER DISCHARGE
MOTION:
That the LGA, on behalf of Councils, undertake a review into the feasibility of a concept of
individual Councils being able to introduce a “charge and rebate system” for stormwater
discharge from private property to kerb and gutter, creeks and adjacent properties.
COMMENT:
The initiative is to provide an inducement for environmentally responsible practices of on-site
water retention/re-use, and reduction of practices of diverting stormwater from private property to
public infrastructure.
BACKGROUND:
Council has as a matter of good environmental policy sought to encourage the State
Government and Councils to actively discourage discharge of stormwater to kerb and gutter and
subsequently to the Gulf St Vincent.
Council is committed to investing substantial capital contribution to stormwater mitigation projects
in the Brown Hill/Keswick Creek, the River Torrens and other major local drainage systems over
the next decade. The Brown Hill Keswick Creek requires infrastructure works of over $100m
alone.
Unfortunately much of that significant capital expenditure will be wasted if the peak population
levels predicted by the state are achieved since a significant component the present housing
stock will need to be given over to higher density and yield housing proposals seriously
aggravating ever increasing losses of impervious ground in typical housing redevelopments and
greater levels and intensity of stormwater discharge to kerb and gutter.
Of critical importance also is the perilous position of the state and metropolitan Adelaide to
diminishing water supplies both from the hills catchment and the River Murray. Introduction of
token efforts such as rainwater catchment and reuse in domestic housing are having little impact
on water demand and consumption. Projects such as 'Waterproofing Adelaide' do not provide a
significant policy perspective to change long established habits in not treating water as a finite
and valuable resource. A 'do nothing' approach to water use will inevitably lead to increasing
water restrictions which are now in place and significant increases in water charges to reduce
demand.
Environmentally these options will do little to retain, reuse and recharge groundwater at the local
(allotment) site.
Technically stormwater is a source of pollution and arguably, “waste”, and could have the same
principles applied to it as waste water or putrescible waste which attract a disposal fee via either
a specific charges or covered by property rates.
Environmental benefits of the proposal include:
 reduced volume and flow rate of stormwater to local creek lines, that cause erosion, turbidity,
flood and pollution
 reduced impact on the habitat of receiving water bodies (river, creeks and gulf) through the
improvement in the quality of runoff
 increased reuse of rainwater and possible site water, reduced pressure on mains water
(River Murray) supplies
 improve the health amenity and vitality of landscaping and vegetation, particularly during time
of mains water restrictions
 reduction in the frequency and magnitude of local flooding within the Cities for small storm
events (2-5 year ARI)
Social benefits include:
 restore natural groundwater replenishment processes
 financial contribution to stormwater infrastructure upgrade, lessening the burden on general
rates revenue
 incentives and rewards to encourage all individuals to take action rather than only those that
are environmentally conscious
 possibility of leveraging funds to attract further State or Federal Government funding for
improvement projects
Compliance regulation and management considerations:
The proposal involves a process of self regulation by Statutory Declaration on the part of the
property owner, and
 implementation of a statutory discharge fee based on land size for simplicity
 establishment of parallel planning requirements for new developments that will dove tail into
meeting overall objective of zero discharge for all but major events
Charges and Rebates System
Some rating and rebate regime options are:
 a sliding rate based on the dimensions of a property. The use of size groups such as
multiples of 500 square metres.
 a combination of land use category and size of property.
 the rebate system highlights the opportunities for property owners to reduce or avoid this
charge by taking actions to prevent discharge of stormwater from their properties.
 creating an incentive for ratepayers to better manage available water resources by offering
rebates up to 100% depending on the level of efficiency achieved
If this was achieved throughout the entire catchment, it would effectively eliminate a large
proportion of the runoff from 2 to 5 year ARI storm event and eliminate flooding in local
catchments for such storm events.
Legal Advice
Preliminary discussions with Wallmans Lawyers have yielded a positive response. It is
considered that the proposal bears strong similarities with the Community Wastewater
Management System and that this bodes well for its successful legal implementation. However,
at this stage, the following issues have been raised as requiring further consideration:

Arguable, stormwater is "waste" for the purposes of the Local Government Act, and hence
the Council is entitled to impose a service charge or rate for the collection, treatment or
disposal of stormwater. However, the classification of stormwater as waste is slightly more
tenuous that other forms of waste that Councils have traditionally imposed service charges in
respect of. Hence, it may be prudent to secure Ministerial approval through the insertion of a
regulation into the Local Government Act (General) Regulations confirming that Councils may
impose service rates and charges for the collection, treatment and disposal of stormwater.

The imposition of a service charge based on the surface area of a property is not presently
permitted under the Act and Regulations. As such, it may be necessary to again seek
Ministerial approval through the insertion of a regulation into the Local Government Act
(General) Regulations permitting the imposition of service charges in relation to stormwater
based on the surface area of properties. A similar regulation was previously inserted to
support the use of the CMWS Property Units Code upon which the Council imposes a service
charge for the collection, treatment and disposal of wastewater and effluent. Alternatively, it
may be appropriate to consider either one service charge of the same amount for all
properties or a service rate (based on land value) or a link to the LGA Property Units Code to
differentiate landholdings.
As indicated these are technical issues that can be dealt with more fully as the Proposal takes a
more definitive form.
Conclusion
The continued infill development required by the State Government to accommodate an
increasing population in metropolitan Adelaide, combined with a lack of any substantial statutory
restrictions on discharging of stormwater from private properties, poses a substantial challenge
for Councils in relation to the effective and responsible collection of stormwater. The solution to
this problem requires the Council to pursue a system that encourages responsible collection and
re-use of stormwater on an individual and local level.