Hunter Water releases guidelines for green open spaces

Hunter Water, in collaboration with the NSW Environment Protection Agency, has commissioned a series of Best Practice Guidelines to provide support for developing and maintaining green open spaces in the Lower Hunter.

The region’s turf sporting fields are under increasing pressure from a growing population, sports participation, budget constraints and a changing climate. The guidelines have been created in response to these pressures, to help plan, design, construct and manage sporting fields and open space areas.

Ardie Morris, Hunter Water Group Manager Business Customers, anticipates that the guidelines will be a useful document to help maintain recreational spaces for the community.

According to Morris, during the 2019–20 drought and subsequent COVID-19 pandemic, the importance of green open spaces to local communities became evident.

“The guidelines provide local community groups, organisations and councils with the tools to maintain these spaces,” Morris said.

The Best Practice Guidelines are divided into seven books that use an evidence-based approach on specific topics in response to real-world examples. Each book is a framework that defines best practice, along with advice on soils and turf, drainage, irrigation, planning and maintenance.

Morris said there was need to think more broadly about how the Hunter Region can use water more effectively, highlighted by the Lower Hunter Water Security Plan.

The guidelines are part of a larger portfolio of work that will ensure a resilient and secure water future for the region.

“Water is our most precious resource, and we can all play our part to make the most of what we’ve got,” Morris said.

While the guidelines have focused on public sporting fields, they can be used by anyone involved in planning, designing, building or maintaining turf surfaces, such as school ovals or golf courses.

To learn more, click here.