The Sydney Catchment Authority (SCA) recently received the 2011 EISSI Spatial Information Award for their ‘Neutral or Beneficial Effect (NorBE) on Water Quality Electronic Assessment Tool.’
NorBE, a key component of the assessment and approvals process established by the State Environmental Planning Policy (Sydney Drinking Water Catchment) 2011, must be completed for all development applications in the Sydney drinking water catchment area.
SCA engaged a national business and technology consultancy firm, Ajilon, to assist in the creation of the tool, which assesses development site conditions, stormwater and wastewater impacts and, where development proposals are in un-sewered areas, executes SCA’s wastewater effluent model. The tool allows users to overlay a plot of the spread of contaminants (faecal coliform, phosphorous and nitrogen) over aerial photography to determine the potential impact of the contaminants on the adjoining catchment area and properties.
David Hayward, Location Intelligence Director from Ajilon, says “The Ajilon team were pleased to be able to assist SCA in developing this tool. The system provides SCA with a consistent and simple process to assess proposed on-site wastewater systems, helping to ensure the raw drinking water for a large portion of the population of NSW remains of a high quality.”
