By: David Nixon, NSW SQID Taskforce Chair, Sydney
Date: October 10, 2025
For decades, the stormwater industry has rightfully focused on one paramount goal: getting pollutants out of our waterways. When we talk about Stormwater Quality Improvement Devices (SQIDs), the conversation almost invariably circles back to “pollutant removal efficiency.” How much nitrogen, phosphorus, or sediment can it capture? While crucial, this singular focus has created a hidden crisis – one that is quietly bankrupting councils and undermining the long-term effectiveness of our green infrastructure.
The problem, as highlighted in the groundbreaking new NSW SQID Taskforce Report, is that we’ve been looking at only half the picture.
The Blind Spot: Lifecycle Costs, Maintainability, Safety & Constructability (LSCM)
Imagine buying a car based solely on its fuel efficiency, completely ignoring the cost of servicing, spare parts, insurance, or even how easy it is to drive off the lot. Sounds absurd, right? Yet, this is precisely how we’ve been evaluating our stormwater treatment assets.
The current national framework, the Stormwater Quality Improvement Device Evaluation Protocol (SQIDEP), is designed to rigorously assess how well a device removes pollutants. And it does that job admirably. But it critically fails to address what we call the Whole-of-Life Factors:
- Lifecycle Costs: Beyond the initial purchase and installation, what are the true, ongoing costs of operation, maintenance, energy, and eventual decommissioning over the asset’s lifespan?
- Maintainability: How easy is it to actually maintain this device? Are specialist tools required? Is access difficult or dangerous? What’s the frequency and complexity of required interventions?
- Safety: Does the design pose risks to maintenance staff or the public? Are there confined spaces, fall hazards, or other operational dangers?
- Constructability: How straightforward is it to install the device on site? Does it require complex earthworks or highly specialised contractors, driving up initial costs and potential for error?
By ignoring these LSCM factors, we’ve created a system riddled with inconsistencies. Councils across NSW are routinely inheriting “approved” assets that, while excellent at pollutant removal on paper, become operational nightmares. They face unexpectedly high and often unfunded ongoing operational costs, turning vital environmental infrastructure into financial liabilities.
The Hidden Crisis Revealed
This isn’t just an administrative inconvenience; it’s a systemic problem with severe consequences:
- Financial Strain: Councils, already stretched thin, bear the brunt of unexpected maintenance bills, diverting funds from other essential community services.
- Asset Degradation: When maintenance is too costly or difficult, it gets deferred, leading to asset underperformance and eventual failure – negating the very pollutant removal benefits we sought.
- Risk to Personnel: Complex or unsafe designs put maintenance workers at unnecessary risk, increasing accident potential and insurance costs.
- Inconsistent Outcomes: A lack of unified standards for LSCM means that the quality and longevity of stormwater management vary wildly from one local government area to another.
A Call to Action: Seeing the Whole Picture
The NSW SQID Taskforce Report argues that it’s time for a fundamental shift in how we evaluate SQIDs. We must integrate LSCM into our decision-making, ensuring that an approved device isn’t just effective, but also sustainable, maintainable, safe, and cost-efficient throughout its entire lifecycle.
The report proposes a new governance framework designed to assess these LSCM factors in parallel with pollutant removal. This isn’t about discarding our current focus on environmental outcomes; it’s about making those outcomes achievable and sustainable in the real world.
The challenge is clear: continuing to ignore the whole-of-life cost of stormwater assets is not just shortsighted, it’s fiscally irresponsible. The new NSW SQID Taskforce Report dives deep into this issue, providing the data and framework needed for a paradigm shift. To build a more sustainable future, your perspective is vital. We encourage you to read the full report and provide your feedback on its findings and recommendations.
We have commenced a broad consultation process across industry, government, councils and industries. We are aiming to prepare a feedback supplement at the conclusion of the consultation period.
Review the consultation draft, Volume One, outlining recommendations, available on the Stormwater 2030 website.Submit feedback via the Taskforce Feedback Form by Monday, December 1, 2025.
