1. Life Impact The University of Adelaide Prof. Mike Young Executive Director The Environment Institute The University of Adelaide Melbourne 25th June 2009 Barrier ZERO!

2. The Environment Institute Life Impact The University of Adelaide What would one do “upstream” if one wanted to recycle more water?

3. The Environment Institute Life Impact The University of Adelaide Supply costs down & demand up Improve the quality of –Sewage water –Storm water

4. The Environment Institute Life Impact The University of Adelaide Stormwater quality Water sensitive urban design Pollution avoidance –Harvest where it is cleaner? –First flush management? Tighter pollution controls More investment in street cleaning and cleaner streets Would a pollution audit pay?

5. The Environment Institute Life Impact The University of Adelaide Detergents Reduce the quantity of salt in detergents –By regulation? –Tax?

6. The Environment Institute Life Impact The University of Adelaide Water softeners Ban them totally? Don’t allow ones that use salt?

7. The Environment Institute Life Impact The University of Adelaide Stormwater credits Stormwater control infrastructure is expensive –But cheaper than floods! Establish a stormwater management authority to recover the full costs of flood control Stop subsidising infrastructure Offer credits to people who invest in activities that reduce peak storm water load Require developers to off-set or pay for marginal impact on cost of flood management infrastructure Off-setting encourages retrofitting

8. The Environment Institute Life Impact The University of Adelaide Load-based licensing Precursor to use of market- based instruments to improve sewage quality –Pollution charges –Trading within established limits

9. The Environment Institute Life Impact The University of Adelaide Sewage charging Simplest model is to charge in proportion to average daily volume of water used in winter Allow people to apply for a rebate if they reduce their sewage load! Watch the innovation occur Pass revenue to the business that treats the sewage?

10. The Environment Institute Life Impact The University of Adelaide Treatment plant location Put sewage treatment plants high-up in a city Use gravity to deliver water under pressure down hill Smaller decentralised plants may make this approach feasible

11. The Environment Institute Life Impact The University of Adelaide Increase sewage volume Encourage some storm water to flow into the sewage system –Not the first flush?

12. The Environment Institute Life Impact The University of Adelaide Full cost pricing + externalities No subsidies No grants 3 rd party access

13. The Environment Institute Life Impact The University of Adelaide Administrative unbundling Separate sewage treatment from the water supply business Separate storage management from bulk water supply Competition

14. The Environment Institute Life Impact The University of Adelaide Prof. Mike Young Water Economics and Management Email: Mike.Young@adelaide.edu.au Phone: +61-8-8303.5279 Mobile: +61-408-488.538 Subscribe to Droplets at www.myoung.net.au