Integrated Water Cycle Management (IWCM)
What is it?
Integrated Water Cycle Management (IWCM) aims to ensure safe and reliable water supplies without compromising the ecological function of the water catchment. It is based around a holistic approach to managing water supply, wastewater (sewage), stormwater and waterway health within long-term strategic planning goals.
By incorporating all the components of the natural and urban water cycles into a single management framework, opportunities are maximised and water resources are able to be managed as a whole.
What is an IWCM Strategy?
An Integrated Water Cycle Management Strategy has a long-term planning horizon. The first phase of the Strategy (the Concept Study) defines the key characteristics of the catchment, water resource and urban water system, and identifies key issues along with some preliminary improvement objectives, potential options and solutions.
Once the issues are broadly defined, studies are undertaken for the second phase to better define issues and look at ways of managing them. The studies estimate population and water demand projections, examine water supply and water extractions from the environment and increase the amount of water supplied from alternative sources such as reuse and rain water tanks. This process results in the adoption of long-term strategies for the integrated delivery of water supply, sewerage and stormwater services.
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