 Increased recognition of urban stream syndrome in the 1960s resulted in some movement towards holistic stormwater management in Australia.Awareness increased greatly during the 1990s with the Federal government and scientists cooperating through the Cooperative Research Centre program.Increasingly city planners have recognised the need for an integrated management approach to potable, waste and stormwater management, to enable cities to adapt and become resilient to the pressure which population growth, urban densification and climate change places on ageing and increasingly expensive water infrastructure.