Your Development

Mawson Lakes (South Australia) is a fully planned, integrated mixed use community on 600 hectares of land 12 kilometres north of the CBD and is a joint venture between Delfin Lend Lease (DLL) and the Land Management Corporation.  The project timeframe is 1998 – 2010.

Ultimately, the Project is forecast to accommodate community of approximately 10,000 residents, 6,000 workers and 5,000 students.  The residential component of Mawson Lakes will include a range of dwelling types including detached, townhouses, terraces and apartments, totalling 4,000 homes.

In addition to residences, the area incorporates a retail town centre, offices, professional and medical services, a hotel complex, cafes and restaurants.  A University of South Australia campus is located on-site, as are a secondary, primary school and child care facilities.

The Mawson Lakes Development has been the recipient of awards including:

• 2005    UDIA (SA Division) Award for Excellence Environmental – Mawson Lakes Recycled Water System, Mawson Lakes Development
• 2005    Engineers Australia (SA Division) Engineering Excellence Award Environmental Category – Mawson Lakes Recycled Water System, Mawson Lakes Development
  
   
• 2007    UDIA (SA Division) Award for Excellence Best Master Planned Development, commercial, retail, industrial or mixed use – Mawson Central, Mawson Lakes Development
   
• 2007    UDIA (SA Division) Award for Excellence Affordable Development - Studio 51 Homes, Delfin Lend Lease, Mawson Lakes Development
   
• 2008    UDIA National Award for Best Master Planned Development – Mawson Central mixed use precinct, Mawson Lakes Development
   
• 2008    UDIA National Award for Affordable Housing – Studio51 Homes, Delfin     Lend Lease, Mawson Lakes Development
   
• 2008    Property Council National Award for Sustainability – Mawson Lakes

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Overview

Delfin Lend Lease (DLL) is committed to the development of communities on the basis of sound, long term sustainability principles while achieving a balance between the economic, environmental and social well-being of all stakeholders.
The planning, development and marketing activities at Delfin Lend Lease’s projects are guided by a set of principles referred to as ‘The Delfin Advantages’.  These advantages drive the creation of special places and also address the various aspects of sustainability.

• A sense of belonging
  DLL is committed to creating friendly, safe places where people can get the most out of life; places that surprise and delight; places that present every resident with the opportunity to succeed and to fulfil their own aspirations; addresses that people can be proud of.
• Greener open spaces
  DLL is committed to delivering a quality living environment with leafy streetscapes, beautifully landscaped parks and gardens together with plenty of useable green and natural spaces for walking, cycling and outdoor activities.
• Fully planned community
  DLL is committed to the timely provision of key community, recreational and learning facilities involving comprehensive planning and the innovative delivery of a range of lifestyle activities.
• Quality housing options
  DLL is committed to the delivery of a wide range of housing choices to meet the diverse aspirations and needs of people and families of all ages and backgrounds.  What’s more, quality-housing standards are maintained through fully managed covenants providing residents with confidence and integrity of lifestyle.
• Learning communities
  DLL is committed to the delivery of education services in innovative ways - education that provides the platform for the continued learning and development of people of all ages.
• Business prosperity
  DLL is committed to the development of employment and investment opportunities by encouraging vibrant business addresses where business can grow and prosper.
• Attention to detail
  DLL is committed to maintaining the highest quality standards of presentation and detail that aim to set the benchmark for best practice throughout Australia and the world.

In seeking to encapsulate all of these factors into our communities, DLL also recognise that the demands of modern society for commodities and services are placing an ever increasing and unsustainable burden on current large scale methods of energy production and water supply.

The Mawson Lakes project has provided the opportunity to pioneer initiatives to reduce the use of potable water and reduce reliance on existing forms of non-renewable energy supply.

The initiatives in both of these areas have been adopted well before such measures were being considered as high priorities by most of the development industry, and many levels of government.
 

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Water

Delfin Lend Lease is committed to fostering environmental sustainability in our activities and developments. Our objective is to ensure a balance between economics, environment and social goods to provide greater benefits to all. In today’s environment, there is a strong and growing understanding about the need to protect our fragile natural resources. An increasing recognition about the scarcity of fresh water reserves has led to a desire to reduce our impact on the environment and adopt sensible water uses. This is evidenced by water restrictions now being commonplace in many Australian cities. However, tempered with this commitment to reduce water usage, consumers still enjoy green open spaces and waterside living.

Delfin Lend Lease recognises the essential and desirable nature of continued water use, balanced with the need to encourage ongoing water conservation across the community. This thinking, which Delfin Lend Lease first adopted over a decade ago, has since evolved to become an everyday part of our business. In recent years, Delfin Lend Lease has undertaken a number of initiatives relating to the treatment of stormwater and waste water, water conservation, use of recycled water, smart landscaping practices and education programs.

Delfin Lend Lease’s commitment to sustainable water management has led to an undertaking that the company will not assume any projects in the future without first considering water conservation, reuse and similar smart water practices.

Recycled water system
Mawson Lakes is home to a recycled water system which is an Australian first in terms of size and scope and establishes a benchmark for future sustainable urban developments.

All homes, businesses and organisations at Mawson Lakes will be connected to a recycled water system in addition to normal drinking water supply. Treated stormwater and treated wastewater is recycled for watering gardens and parks, washing cars and toilet flushing.

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Key Issues:

Benefits:

The Mawson Lakes Recycled Water System was commissioned on the 1st April 2005.  The recycled water system demonstrates Delfin Lend Lease’s commitment to sustainable development.  The system aims to reduce usage of drinking water in Mawson Lakes by 50% as compared to the Adelaide average.  Additional environmental benefits include a significant reduction in the amount of wastewater entering the Gulf St Vincent and stormwater entering the environmentally sensitive Barker Inlet.

Costs:

The system has an estimated project capital cost of $16 million.

Savings:

Average use of recycled water in Mawson Lakes should result in an annual saving of approximately 110kL or 50% of mains water consumption per household.  This will result in a total annual saving of 800 megalitres (or 800 Olympic swimming pools) of water by the Mawson Lakes community (household, commercial and Council use combined) each year.  Over a generation, this equates to 24,000 megalitres of water saved.
 

Barriers:

Standard water practices at many developments have been generally unsustainable to date:  Fresh water is used for a range of domestic and industrial needs. Stormwater falls on-site and apart from some limited collection via rainwater tanks, is usually untreated and left to flow into rivers and creeks. Wastewater generally leaves the site and is not recycled. Landscaping of parks and gardens is irrigated by mains or ‘potable’ water and is generally not of a water sensitive design. Artificial lakes and ponds lack treatment or are maintained using non-replaceable potable,
bore or stormwater. 
 

Benchmarks:

Through the installation of the Recycled Water System, Mawson Lakes Development has achieved its benchmarks of 50% household potable water replacement and 100% non-household (parks/gardens) potable water use replacement.
 

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Development Phase Actions:

Design:

The system works by collecting and distributing recycled water from two sources – SA Water’s Bolivar Wastewater Treatment Plant (treated wastewater) and the City of Salisbury’s wetlands (treated stormwater).  The recycled water is mixed together and disinfected.  The recycled water is then held in a large storage tank; before being pumped to Mawson Lakes properties via a pipe network separate to the drinking or potable water system.  The recycled water system is identified by purple coloured pipes and fittings.

Construction:

Construction commenced August 2002 and the Recycled Water System was commissioned 1st April 2005.

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Energy

Delfin Lend Lease is committed to the development of communities which are able to minimise their reliance on existing forms of non-renewable energy supply in line with or exceeding current national MRETs. Our objective is to refine the energy efficiency of our development operations while achieving a balance between the economic, environmental and social well being of all our stakeholders.

The demands of modern society for commodities and services are placing an ever increasing and unsustainable burden on current large scale methods of energy production and the resources needed to fuel this production. This, in turn, has contributed to the mounting evidence that a reliance on carbon based fuel stocks are impacting dramatically on the long term viability of our environment.
To counter this situation, increasing efforts are required to both reduce our general energy requirements and source our energy needs from renewable technologies.

Delfin Lend Lease’s commitment to energy conservation and management has led to an undertaking that the company will aim to achieve a zero net carbon production from all of its activities.

In recognition of these needs, Delfin Lend Lease is continually striving to find improved methods by which our activities in the development of viable communities. Some of the initiatives put in place at Mawson Lakes to assist in driving this process include mandating solar hot water systems, installing and promoting solar and photovoltaic power and to utilise solar orientation of allotments within the urban design layout wherever possible and practicable.

Solar Hot Water Systems - The use of solar hot water systems was mandated in 2003 for all new dwellings built within Mawson Lakes.

Solar and Photovoltaic Lighting Systems –solar lighting has been adopted at Mawson Lakes, reducing electricity use by 4,000kW each year. The project located 28 solar lights around Sir Douglas Mawson Lake, the main lake within the development. These lights have been in use since 2004. The lights are automatically set to turn on at night and off before morning, and their light output is sufficient to enable safe pedestrian movement around the lake at night.

Solar Packages – Solar cities is an innovative Federal Government program which is designed to demonstrate how solar power, smart meters, energy efficiency and a new approach to electricity pricing can combine to provide a sustainable energy future in urban locations throughout Australia. Mawson Lakes is part of the Solar Cities program which encourages the inclusion of solar photovoltaic systems for residential dwellings.

Solar Orientation – Solar orientation ideally entails having a majority of allotments for residential use aligned on a north-south or east-west axis (or within 15 degrees of these axes). This orientation needs to be delivered in conjunction with design guidelines (for example, covenants) that guide and influence residential development on these sites to achieve maximum solar benefit.

Other elements of passive solar design may include aiming to have living areas oriented north to get full benefit of the sun, and designing homes to minimise large expanses of glass and living areas to the west wherever possible and practicable. Home builders can also use appropriate landscaping and shading to positively influence a reduced heat load on the home and its living areas (for example, planting deciduous trees that enable access to winter sunlight and provide shade during the summer months).

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