Integrated Water Management Strategy – Inner Melbourne Precincts

Rain Consulting prepared an Integrated Water Management Strategy for the Arden and Macaulay precincts in inner Melbourne. The project mapped more than 200 opportunities to address flooding, improve waterway health, and establish a resilient water supply for future green spaces. Working closely with the City of Melbourne, Melbourne Water, City West Water, and the Victorian Planning Authority, Rain delivered a spatial plan and recommendations to embed Integrated Water Management (IWM) into upcoming urban renewal and infrastructure delivery.

Above & Beyond Strategies

The Arden and Macaulay precincts face high flood risk and poor waterway health. There is an urgent need to integrate water management into fast-changing, high-density urban environments. The challenge was to coordinate a considerable number of existing studies, stakeholder requirements, and project opportunities into a practical strategy for day-to-day planning and future investments.

Rain delivered the following solutions.

• Digitised and mapped over 200 IWM opportunities across the precincts, ensuring each was spatially referenced for future use.
• Facilitated collaborative workshops and consultations with all key agencies and City of Melbourne teams.
• Developed a staged plan, matching IWM projects to the timing of the developer services scheme (DSS) works and local priorities.
• Identified key “Blue” and “Blue-Green” streets for flood storage and flood conveyance, using local modelling and on-ground conditions.
• Delivered clear recommendations for land acquisition, staging, traditional owner engagement, urban design, and open space integration.
• Provided a high-level GIS dataset to help the council identify further opportunities whenever work is planned.
• Incorporated feedback from stakeholder workshops into final strategy and staging plans.
• Transparently addressed asset ownership, funding, and future maintenance responsibilities.

Rain Consulting delivered a practical, map-based strategy and toolkit to support the City of Melbourne in prioritising, designing, and delivering IWM projects across the Arden and Macaulay precincts. The project made sense of a complex field of studies and requirements, leaving the council with a user-friendly plan, a verified opportunities map, and recommendations for ongoing engagement, funding, and technical refinement.

The City of Melbourne and Melbourne Water will utilise the strategy and GIS data to inform the detailed design, land acquisition, and staging of future IWM projects. Rain recommended ongoing review and model updates as floodplain management, urban form, and climate data evolve.