About Blue Factor

New developments are required to meet planning requirements including stormwater management objectives.

Blue Factor can help assess how much stormwater runoff and pollutants are created from a development and what treatment measures are needed to comply with these objectives.

It supports a range of developments including residential , apartment developments, small scale commercial and small public use developments which are required to meet planning requirements including stormwater management quality objectives in the Urban stormwater management guidance (EPA, 2021).

Blue Factor can help assess how much stormwater runoff and pollutants are created from a development and what treatment measures are needed to comply with these objectives.

This revised version provides more flexible design options and configurations.

https://www.epa.vic.gov.au/about-epa/publications/1739-1

Results of an assessment can be submitted with planning applications to local government to demonstrate compliance with stormwater management objectives as well as the stormwater volume objectives introduced in the Urban stormwater management guidance (EPA, 2021).

Blue Factor can also provide an initial estimate of potential Council stormwater offsets that may be available

Who we are

Microburst Software specialise in web services to help the community and industry plan and implement water sensitive urban design.

Our vision is to provide clear and accessible pathways for people to plan and design developments in ways that are water sensitive and achieve the greatest practical benefits for the community.

Our web services can help you:

• Plan your development to meet relevant requirements for integrated water management and water sensitive urban design using Blue Factor (the successor to STORM);
• Assess a MUSIC model to ensure it complies with Melbourne Water guidelines using the MUSIC Auditor and;
• Assess a wetland to determine whether the wetting and drying patterns are likely to support healthy plant growth using the Wetland Analysis Tool

Acknowledgements

We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land on which this web service is used. We respect their Elders, past, present and emerging whose knowledge and wisdom has been protecting and sustaining our water and lands for tens of thousands of years.

Blue Factor was developed by Microburst Software in collaboration with Rubyfish Digital and E2Designlab with support from DEECA.

This revised stormwater compliance tool builds on the legacy of the original STORM Calculator developed by Microburst Software's directors with input and support from Melbourne Water, Ecological Engineering and the Association of Bayside Municipalities (ABM).

We acknowledge the input and suggestions from numerous people that have contributed to bringing the new version to fruition.

STORM Tool status

STORM Tool Expiring Soon

The STORM tool will officially expire on 14 October 2025, no new projects can be started on STORM from this date. Users are advised to begin transitioning to BlueFactor for stormwater modelling. BlueFactor has been developed to replace STORM and better support councils and small-scale developers in meeting Victoria Planning Provision requirements. DEECA encourages practitioners to familiarise themselves with BlueFactor, explore the available FAQ and user tutorials, and direct any enquiries to [email protected].