Water Sensitive Blue Mountains Strategic Plan

Alexa McAuley worked with Blue Mountains City Council during 2017-18 to develop the Water Sensitive Blue Mountains Strategic Plan. As a city within a World Heritage area, where waterways are a key feature of the natural landscape, Blue Mountains aims to be a leader in sustainable water management. However Blue Mountains City Council also faces the challenge of managing an urban area that is spread out over a 60 km ridgeline, and drains into fifty separate catchments. With limited resources, they needed a smart plan that would support their vision of being a sustainable, liveable and water sensitive city.

Alexa worked closely with Council to develop the plan, including meaningful engagement with different teams to understand the challenges they faced in implementing sustainable water management practices. Alexa also facilitated workshops with a broad cross section of staff, presented work in progress to senior managers, and refined the plan with Council’s strategic planners. The resulting plan has strong organisational support, and establishes a pathway for Council to improve their leadership in sustainable water management. The plan includes strong themes of building knowledge, building partnerships and continuous learning and improvement.

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