Professor Tony Wong, chief executive officer of the Co-operative Research Centre for Water Sensitive Cities, said the benefit of rainwater trading would depend on how many apartments per building were using the same tank; a higher number of residents would reduce the available savings to be traded.
“Thinking of rainwater almost as if you are thinking of renewable energy and feeding into the grid is certainly a new concept,” Professor Wong said.
But he said the concept of using a market mechanism to save water in high-density cities was worth exploring.
Fishermans Bend is a 490-hectare development zone planned to be built over the next 30 years into Australia’s largest urban renewal area, with 80,000 residents and 60,000 jobs.