Assessing the Ecological Footprint of a Large Metropolitan Water Supplier: Lessons for Water Management and Planning towards Sustainability

• Published in: Journal of environmental planning and management Vol. 46; no. 1; pp. 113 - 141
• Main Authors: Lenzen, M, Lundie, S, Bransgrove, G, Charet, L, Sack, F
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 01.01.2003
• Subjects: Australia, New South Wales, Sydney Water
• ISSN: 0964-0568
• DOI: 10.1080/0964056032000037168

Faced with the task of communicating their combined social, environmental and economic impact, water service providers are seeking to report overall performance in an aggregated way. Such a methodology must be scientifically robust, easily communicated and allow benchmarking of performance while reflecting a transition towards sustainability. In this paper the ecological footprint (EF) is calculated for Sydney Water Corporation (SWC), using input - output analysis and land disturbance in an innovative approach that overcomes problems identified in the original EF concept. This pilot study has allowed SWC to gain some valuable insights into its impacts: SWC's annual EF is about 73 100 ha in terms of land disturbance. Of this, 54 000 ha are projected to become disturbed as a consequence of climate change, with the remainder of 19 100 ha being disturbed on SWC's premises (2400 ha) and on those of upstream suppliers (16 700 ha). Total on-site impacts equal 9300 ha, while indirect land disturbance contributes 63 600 ha. The EF appears promising as an educational and communication tool and may have potential as a decision support tool. However, further research is needed to incorporate downstream impacts into the EF, which would have significant benefits to SWC in terms of assessing and communicating the organization's overall progress towards sustainability.