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27
Resilient urban systems:
a socio-technical study of community scale climate change adaptation initiatives
Table 1: Perceived problems with energy and water systems
Note: Caveat – The issues reported in this table are reported as perceived by interviewees. Their concerns
have not been verified. The researchers do not imply any flows, faults or liabilities to any party in reporting
interviewees’ perceptions of these issues.
Location Issue
Perceptions of primary
cause
Impact
Action taken by
residents/utility/
developer
Aurora
Discolouration
and odour of
recycled water
Insufficient flushing of the
recycled water network (S7;
A5; A7; A9; A12)
Temporary loss of
convenience, toilet
flushing
Residents
contacted YVW
Hot water
systems leak
during heatwaves
Various, including installation
(S16; A5; A6; A9; A11; A12;
A13)
On-going reduction
in hot-water supply
Residents
Contacted building
contractors
and system
manufacturer
Building thermal
performance
Various, including design and
construction (S10; S16; A3;
A4; A5; A6; A7; A8; A9; A11;
A12; A13)
Heating, ventilation,
cooling
None
External recycled
water tap does
not turn off
Faulty/worn tap seal (A7;
A11; A12)
Localised flooding,
wasted water,
higher bills
Changed tap
independently or
not yet reported
Silt blockage of
infiltration swales
Runoff, design and/or
maintenance (S13; S14)
Localised flooding,
failure of infiltration
zones
Initial replacement
of swales by CoW.
Swales now being
phased out.
WestWyck
Overflowing
rainwater
collection systems
Design failure during heavy
rainfall. (S2; S3; W2; W5;
W6; W7)
Amenity
First-flush system
re-configured
Greywater system
malfunctions
Various, including pump
failures, treatment
malfunctions (S1; S2; S3;
S12; W2; W3; W4; W5)
Temporary loss
of convenience,
Clothes washing,
toilet flushing
Residents
contacted Owners
Corp, and switched
water supply to
mains
High level of
rainwater seeping
into combined
Grey/Black- water
system
Design and/or installation
problem (S1; S2)
Reduced efficacy of
treatment process,
more frequent
overflow to sewer
System design
and components
overhauled.
There is no evidence of end-users directly causing system performance problems at either site despite
this being a key concern of institutional stakeholders interviewed for this project. However, stakeholder
interviews highlighted one key difference between Aurora and WestWyck. In the former case, problems were
prolonged and tended to be dealt with by notifying and seeking assistance from stakeholder organisations.
In a number of instances, residents also had difficulty identifying and notifying the responsible organisation
(S10; S13; S16). At WestWyck, the technical problems were immediately by-passed by switching to mains
services while the responsible organisation was notified, usually by the Body Corporate.