Water sensitive urban design

Water sensitive urban design (WSUD) is an approach to the planning and design of urban environments that supports healthy ecosystems through smart management of water. This approach is supported in Brisbane City Council's WaterSmart Strategy.

An important part of WSUD is applying best practice stormwater management, which helps to maintain, protect and improve the health of our waterways. This is achieved by minimising the impacts of urbanisation on the natural water cycle. Left unmanaged, urban stormwater can pollute waterways, cause erosion, sedimentation and increase flooding.

Brisbane City Plan 2014

Requirements and standards relating to erosion and sediment control for new development are contained in Chapter 7 of the Infrastructure design planning scheme policy of Brisbane City Plan 2014.

Guidelines and resources

The Water by Design program offers a range of guidelines and fact sheets to help with the delivery of WSUD.

For more information about managing erosion and sediment control in Brisbane, refer to Council's erosion and sediment control requirements.

WSUD Standard Drawings

Standard drawings for various WSUD or stormwater quality treatment solutions are detailed on Council’s Brisbane Standard Drawings web page. The relevant series numbers are 8301-8334 and 9031-9035.

More information

For more information, read documents on the following:

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