WATER CONSERVATION DESIGN

My name is Nicole Markby, a final year Landscape Architecture student
from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Melbourne, Australia.

I am currently involved in designing a master plan for the Eurobodella
Native Botanic Gardens, 6km south of Batemans Bay on the coast of New
South Wales. The design is for a regional botanic gardens incorporating
vegetation and establishing micro-ecologies found throughout the region.
The site is prone to bush fire and its isolation in the surrounding
state forests has given rise to the importance of water management and
conservation throughout the site. Rainfall is increasingly sporadic with
often over half of the yearly rain falling in one month the year. The
flow of the existing river system has been altered due to the
construction of Deep Creek Dam upstream.

I'm seeking out case studies of landscape design where water
conservation practises are incorporated- any at all.

Three areas are of prime interest:

1. collection and recycling of storm water, grey water and black water.

2. alternatives to standard techniques of storm water disposal
ie. above ground management with use of swales, keyline principles etc.

3. low demand landscapes/xeriscaping in terms of site planning
(especially location of water bodies as fire precaution), plant
selection and maintanance.

Also of interest are inovative designs exploiting the potentials of
celebrating water in design eg.reflection, play of light, drying
patterns, sound, movement, smell, tactile sensations, surface tension.

I would be most grateful for any assistance regarding these issues.
My EMAIL address is- MARKBY@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Thanks in advance- Nic