Landcom Book 4 Maintenance - WSUD

Water Sensitive Urban Design
Item to be
Monitored
Purpose of Monitoring
Performance
Target
Schedule
Maintenance or
Investigation
Immediate
Action Required
Maintenance Action Required
Plant
Condition
Vigorous plant growth is important
in ensuring good water treatment.
The plants take up nutrients and
provide surface area for biofilms to
form (another important mode of
nutrient removal).
The accumulation of decaying
vegetation can create mosquito
breeding habitats and inhibit
seasonal growth of plants.
Healthy vegetation
Poorly growing or
visibly stressed
Die back / dead
plants
Schedule an investigation of
cause: e.g. is the observed
changes in health and cover due to
inappropriate water level or water
level variation; disease; competition
by weeds; damage (e.g. by birds or
flood) or poison contaminant.
Maintenance action will depend
on the cause of die-back or poor
plant health. Once the problem
is rectified, infill planting may be
required, especially if more than 3
square meters of plantings has died.
Infill planting must be as per the
original design planting schedule.
Dead vegetation may need to be
removed as part of ensuring good
plant condition.
Litter
(organic)
Organic litter can provide an
additional source of nutrients to
the constructed wetland, and
introduce non-native species, which
out-compete native plants (both
terrestrial and aquatic).
Accumulated organic matter / litter
can also cause offensive odours
(such as methane gas and hydrogen
sulphide, i.e. rotten egg gas).
No litter visible Litter visible Litter blocking
structures or
detracting from
visual amenity
Identify source of organic litter and
address with appropriate response
action: e.g. change of landscape
maintenance practices; community
education re: litter dumping
(appropriate for repeat incidences).
In the interim, all litter must be
removed by maintenance crews.
Litter can potentially block the
inlet and outlet structures of the
constructed wetland resulting in
flooding, as well as detract from the
wetland’s visual amenity.
No litter visible Litter visible Litter blocking
structures or
detracting from
visual amenity
Identify source of rubbish from
catchment, for example, overflow
of rubbish bins. Target areas of
litter accumulation, for example,
backwater areas. Schedule general
maintenance to remove rubbish.
Litter
(anthropogenic)
Where required, address source
of rubbish (e.g. increase in
frequency of rubbish bin emptying;
gross pollutant traps in high load
generation land uses). In the
interim, all litter must be removed by
maintenance crews.
WARNING: Contact with sharp
objects, including hypodermic
needles is a risk when removing
litter. All workers must be made
aware of this risk, wear appropriate
protective gear and use caution.
30 Book 4 | MAINTENANCE