TOTAL WATERMARK - CITY AS A CATCHMENT

INTRODUCTION
City as a catchment is a fundamental principle and approach supporting the creation
of a water sensitive city. A water sensitive city aims to protect the waterways, respond to
climate change and sustainable manage the total water cycle. It recognises the important
role of the natural catchment but works primarily with the artificial city catchment (including
its roads, roofs and impermeable surfaces) to minimise mains water consumption and
reduce wastewater generation and lessen the impact of stormwater discharges on receiving
waters. This new approach promotes a localised water management model and provides a
framework that contributes to adapting to climate change.
This approach seeks local solutions to achieve sustainable water management,
including the adoption of demand-management practices and harvesting alternative water
supplies. These solutions aim to reduce the reliance on one centralised water supply source.
The city as a catchment approach explores interactions between supply, the quality and
quantity of stormwater and wastewater, land use, climate, and the receiving waterways
(rivers and bays). Furthermore, it is an adaptation strategy in response to climate change.
City as a Catchment will make it possible for the city to achieve targets for saving water,
increasing water sourced from alternative supplies, improving stormwater quality, reducing
wastewater and supporting groundwater.

BACKGROUND
The city of Malang is one of the most urbanised municipalities in Indonesia, which
has meant a great loss of vegetation within the city and its boundaries as well. The
population growing rapidly makes the demand for clean water is increase. To suffice the
water demand, there is an action to explore water sources within and around Malang city
and search for a new one if water sources already unserviceable or cannot meet the water
demand. The problem is, water sources in Malang city always come from spring water
outside urban area which can run out of water if used continuously. In addition, number of
spring water in Kabupaten Malang is decreasing due to illegal logging on the catchment area
or because its change of function to farmland.
Relying on spring water as water supply for Malang city is not a sustainable option.
Reduce rainfall and loss of vegetation has meant less water and reduced the availability of
spring water. Without new alternative sources of supply, these reductions in water storage
pose a threat to the water security of the Malang city. In addition, the spring water itself is

located outside Malang city, thus government has to pay for the water to suffice the water
demand. Make waterways along Malang city as water supply also cannot be done. The
health of the waterways is strongly influenced by the pollutants contained in its own water,
the environment around waterways and stormwater that flows into them. The waterways in
Malang are already not healthy, due to the waste from household and industry that
discarded into waterways body. Malang city need new approach to save its water storage
which has to be sustainable and in the same time is able to handle the environmental issues
in Malang city.
City as a catchment is an approach for saving water and makes a localised water
management within the city. Its benefit includes reducing wastewater and supporting
groundwater. Change Malang city into water sensitive city will protect the waterways and
manage the total water cycle sustainably. With this approach, Malang city can make its
water storage without reliance to other city or region. The city as a catchment approach is a
long-term project that is not easy to be applied, but its benefit will make it worth to be tried.

THE BASIS FOR CITY AS A CATCHMENT

In a time of drought, climate change and population growth, it is necessary for urban
communities to incorporate design strategies for water management that provide resilience
to future uncertainty. A traditional water supply city is based on a single, centralised
infrastructure, which provides limited flexibility for water management and re-use in times of
changing climate.
The framework for a water sensitive city focuses on the links within and between the
urban water cycle and built form and landscape. It uses diverse infrastructure associated
with the harvesting, treatment, storage and delivery of the water from both centralised and
decentralised water supply schemes. Any stormwater or wastewater not harvested is treated
before discharge to the environment. These remain challenges today, but they can be
managed in ways to ensure water is re-used where possible, and waterways are protected
from runoff pollution.
Moving towards a water sensitive city (Figure 1) can provide solutions for water
management. As this water sensitive city approach effectively changes the urban
landscape, new forms of urban design and architecture will be required within the built
environment.

Figure 1: Urban water management transition framework:

water supply city to water sensitive city

WATER SENSITIVE URBAN DESIGN (WSUD)

The city as a catchment approach is related the application of Water Sensitive
Urban Design (WSUD). WSUD is about integrating water cycle management into urban
planning and design. WSUD works at all levels at the lot level, street and precinct level, as
well as regional scales with the aim of protecting and improving waterway health by
mimicking the natural water cycle as closely as possible.
WSUD recognises that all water streams in the urban water cycle are a resource, not
just drinking water. This includes:

Rainwater

Stormwater

Potable mains drinking water (drinking quality water from catchment outside of
the urban area)

Greywater (water from the bathroom sinks, shower, and laundry)

Blackwater (water from toilet and kitchen)

Water mining (sewer)

All city sites, including buildings, roads, footpaths and open space can contribute to
sustainable water resource management across the municipality. This means that water can
be increasingly managed from the local catchment and rely less on external catchments. For
example:

Roads can be sources of water via stormwater harvesting (rainwater tanks)

Buildings can be sites for reducing stormwater pollution through rain gardens,
rooftop greening and urban forest

Porous pavement

Generally, WSUD seeks to achieve integrated water management by:

Reducing potable water consumption

Maximising water reuse

Reducing wastewater discharge

Minimising stormwater pollution before it is discharge to the aquatic environtment

Maximising groundwater protection

These principles are achieved through managing demand for water by reducing it
and applying best practice to stromwater management. Over time, this approach will build
the resilience of water resources and aquatic environments under the pressures of urban
growth and climate change. Local government influence must extend beyond adoption within
the public domain, through to education, incentives, partnerships with industry and regulation
to facilitate the uptake of WSUD in the private sector (including commercial and residential
sites).
Drinking quality water isnt needed for uses such as irrigation and toilet flushing and
alternative sources (possibly from reuse) should be found. Figure 3 express the major water
sources possibly use. This is a way to reduce the demand on the highest quality potable
mains water.

Figure 2: Major water sources

Water sensitive urban design principle is basically similar with the conventional urban
water management but at the higher level. The conventional water management separated
into three major water systems in urban areas:

Potable mains water supply piped system treating and delivering drinking
quality water from catchments outside of the urban area

Sewerage system piped system collecting and transporting residential and

commercial wastewater to treatment plants before it is discharged to waterways

Stormwater system natural flowpaths, waterways and underground piped

systems transporting stormwater and other natural sources of water to
waterways.

Traditionally, urban water management in urban area has primarily meant:

Quicklymoving urban stormwater to the nearest natural waterway for flood

protection

Safely removing and treating wastewater through centralized infrastructure

Supplying safe, good quality drinking water through centralised piped

infrastructure.

In WSUD approach, urban stormwater has to be reduced as high as possible and

being treated for possibly water source. The catchment area is moved from outside of urban
area to within urban area. Thus, the city is no longer reliance its storage water on outside
catchment area. That way, the groundwater, spring water and the waterways can be
preserved and protected as well.
FRAMEWORK FOR A WATER SENSITIVE CITY
The purpose of a water sensitive city approach is to implement best-practice water
sensitive urban design (WSUD) techniques to conserve, re-use and recycle water, and
manage the quality of stormwater runoff. Such an approach provides a framework for
adaptation to climate change by responding to various water supply opportunities. Risks and
opportunities for water management are considered on the basis of infrastructure renewal,

climate change impacts, urban consolidation and population growth. There are three
fundamental attributes for implementing a water sensitive city. These are described in detail
below, and include:
1. Access to a diversity of water sources (both centralised and decentralised)
2. Provision of ecosystem services for the built and natural environment
3. Community engagement for sustainability

1. Access to a diversity of water sources

Malang water sources are reliant on catchment run off outside urban area and are
vulnerable to drought and climate change. To reduce their vulnerability, cities like Malang
need to lessen demand on their high quality water supply, and source their water in various
ways, including water harvesting and water recycling. The concept of fit-for-purpose water
use helps to priorities alternative water sources to different water demands based on a
cascading range in quality (as shown in Figure 4). With the exception of wastewater, the
closer the match in quality of the source and demand, the less treatment required (and
generally the less energy intensive and most cost efficient).

Figure 4: Cascading consideration and uses of alternative water sources

2. Provision of ecosystem services for the built and natural environment

Landscapes are the product of natural (ecological landscapes) or built forms. The
water sensitive city recognises that ecological landscapes are bound by built landscapes
including roads, roofs and impermeable surfaces. At the local scale, landscapes can be
categorised as a source (e.g. sites that can harvest stormwater such as a road, or harvest
rainwater such as a building with a large roof) or a sink (e.g. a sports field or large waterusing business). Water-cycle links can be made between these landscapes.

The new approach of City as a Catchment recognises the biodiversity value of

WSUD features in the urban environment. To further enhance this, WSUD works will involve
diverse planting to support local biodiversity.

3. Community engagement for sustainability

Organisational commitment and community acceptance for WSUD is fundamental to
the urban capacity to deliver the Total Watermark City as a Catchment strategy. Local
governments and communities will play an important role in bringing sustainable urban water
management practices into the mainstream. Projects led by local government should involve
community participatory action models, including workshops to jointly imagine sustainable
water futures and action-based forums to develop local strategies and WSUD plans.
Projects proposed independently by the community should be supported as much as
possible. This includes finding opportunities to link beneficial community projects into urban
operations. Mainstream adoption of WSUD requires behavioural change and the uptake of
sustainable urban water management practices across the private domain. For this to occur,
the city must empower the community to get involved and contribute to reducing demand on
potable water supplies and protect downstream environments through minimising
wastewater and stormwater generation.
MAKE ALTERNATIVE WATER SOURCE
A fundamental principle of Total Watermark City as a Catchment is to emphasise
decentralised water supply options that reduce reliance on potable water brought in from
outside the catchment. To accomplish that goal, the following basis actions are
recommended for sustainable water management in the urban area.
1. Conduct water demand reductions
Save water in buildings through efficient fittings, appliances, good design and
good behaviour. Save water in open spaces through good design and planting.
2. Consider rainwater harvesting
Smaller rainfall volumes are easy to harvest because the equipment required
(e.g. tanks, storage pond, lakes) to hold this volume of runoff can be relatively
small, yet are able to contribute to reducing some of the residential and Council
demands on mains water supply. Rainwater harvesting also helps to reduce
stormwater pollutants.

3. Consider stormwater harvesting

Stormwater harvesting allows for a much greater amount of rainfall to be
harvested once it has landed on roads, footpaths, open space and other
impermeable areas. Stormwater needs treatment, therefore requiring more
management, financing and energy than rainwater harvesting. Stormwater
harvesting generally requires planning for large storage areas once the water has
been captured and treated. Stormwater harvesting provides the greatest
reductions in stormwater pollutants compared with other alternative water
sources.
4. Consider water recycling
Treatment standards for recycled water (greywater and blackwater) must protect
public health and the environment.