As a 2021 Platinum Waterwise Council of the Year, the City of Cockburn is proud to partner with the Water Corporation to encourage more West Australians to create cooler, greener neighbourhoods.
To demonstrate how to create a waterwise verge, the City has joined Development WA and Josh Byrne and Associates to install a streetscape with how-to guide at the OneOneFive Hamilton Hill residential estate, formerly Hamilton Senior High School.
Since 2018,135 Cockburn verges have been transformed under the City’s Waterwise Verge Rebate Program which is part funded by the Water Corporation through the Waterwise Council program.
At OneOneFive Hamilton Hill, seven verges have been transformed with more to come, serving as an example to local governments wanting to explore similar projects to support biodiversity and create cooler, greener suburbs on a much larger scale.
City of Cockburn Sustainability Officer Lisa Brideson said the City, which had been a recognised Waterwise Council since 2015, was thrilled to be involved in the Waterwise Exemplar Partnership.
“It enables the City to trial some water sensitive urban design initiatives, increase waterwise verges and street trees for all verges currently without a tree, including demonstration verges and individual residents participating in the project.
“The City will also provide in-kind time, advice and financial support around our Street Verge Improvements Policy (2019) and Guidelines (2020), verge Maintenance Responsibilities, street tree requests, Waterwise Verge Rebate Scheme, Native Plant Subsidy Scheme and Sustainability Grants (2022).”
Waterwise verges form part of the Water Corporation’s Waterwise Greening Scheme which allows Waterwise Councils to apply for up to $10,000 in co-funding annually to support waterwise greening initiatives in local communities.
Initiatives include subsidised plants for ratepayers, verge programs, trees, gardening workshops, competitions and demonstration gardens.
Since 2019, the scheme has co-funded 83,000 waterwise plants, 1,145 waterwise trees, 425 verge transformations, six demonstration gardens and six garden workshops across WA communities.
The project to redevelop the former high school site into a sustainable residential estate has been recognised by the Water Corporation as a Waterwise Gold development while also earning six leaves in the Urban Development Institute of Australia’s EnviroDevelopment program.
Projects that contributed to the City’s status of 2021 Platinum Waterwise Council of the Year include:
- Diverting stormwater to public open space to reduce nutrients reaching Port Coogee Marina, installing permanent hydrocarbon booms and a sea bin at Port Coogee Marina, and achieving International Clean Marina accreditation
- Water Sensitive Urban Design along the Cockburn shoreline, hydro-zoning numerous parks, and upgrading Lakelands Hockey and Sporting Facility with a waterwise demonstration garden, and improved waterwise features in its clubrooms
- A Sustainability Policy that requires all civic infrastructure to allocate three per cent of project budgets to Environmentally Sustainable Design
- Verde Drive stormwater basin and tree retention
- Jakovich Park stormwater drainage upgrade
- Residential waterwise verge program
- Fertigation dosing units at local sporting fields saving thousands of kilolitres of water annually
- Picotee Park stormwater storage and groundwater recharge
- Increasing raingardens in development projects – Development Engineering
- Eliza Ponds lake infrastructure improvements
- Transforming a shopping centre carpark into a popup forest, and
- Nutrient stripping basins installed at local wetlands
Caption: l-r Minister for Water Dave Kelly, City of Cockburn Mayor Logan Howlett and Josh Byrne on a street verge undergoing waterwise landscaping adjacent to the OneOneFive Hamilton Hill residential development.