Stormwater harvest and reuse for a wholesale nursery

Abstract

The recent advent of water sensitive urban design has heralded a change in attitude for many toward environmental sustainability. In particular, the reduction of potable water demand has become a topic of focus. The scope of this study is to assess the feasibility for undertaking a rainwater harvest site retrofit at a wholesale nursery site in the city of Toowoomba in Queensland’s south-east. The process undertaken to construct and calibrate a water balance model is discussed. Several augmentation strategies are assessed using the constructed model. Each scenario is assessed based on reduction to potable water demand, rainwater harvest reliability and overflow frequencies. It was found that the potable water demand can be reduced by as much as 70% following the installation of water sensitive design devices.