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Research Outputs

From November 2017 to February 2018 workshops and a survey told us about barriers to WSUD, and quick solutions. The resulting research ran from March 2018 to April 2019, generating the following series of outputs: research reports, case studies and maintenance checklists.

Research Reports

The research is described in a series of five reports:

More Than Water assessment tool

The name ‘More Than Water’ reflects the potential for WSUD to deliver multiple benefits and cost-related advantages, in addition to more familiar considerations associated with management of the hydrological and water quality effects of urban development. MTW provides for the evaluation of a wide set of benefits and costs criteria using a simple qualitative assessment method. The tool generates graphical outputs that can be used to demonstrate how benefit and cost outcomes may vary under different development scenarios.

The tool is available as a Microsoft Excel workbook.

A description of the development of MTW, instructions on its use and case study applications is available. Note that, while most features of the MTW workbook are locked, it is possible to:

  • re-size the worksheet view to fit any screen size; and
  • make multiple copies of the benefits and costs worksheets within the workbook, for instance to allow results for several scenarios to be saved and compared.

Guidance for assessing each of the benefits and costs criteria in MTW is also available.

The Activating WSUD research team welcome feedback and suggestions for improvement on any aspect of the tool, for instance its performance, functionality, appearance and limitations. Please email the team here with any comments.

MTW assessment tool resources

Case Studies

Research findings on costs, benefits and maintenance have been demonstrated through the following series of case studies, each described in a detailed information sheet.

Maintenance guidance and checklists

Guidance sheets have been developed for the design of low-maintenance swales, raingardens, green roofs and wetlands.

Maintenance checklists have been developed for swales, raingardens and green roofs.

WSUD walking tours

Guides on WSUD walking tours linked to the Activating WSUD workshops are available for:

2017 Workshop presentation and notes