Government

Hume City Council is set to save more than 70ML of potable water per year through initiatives that maintain existing assets and plan for a sustainable future. This saving equates to around 28 Olympic sized swimming pools.* Funding from the Department of Sustainability enabled Council, in conjunction with Western Water, to extend Western Water’s Sunbury Melton Recycled Water Scheme. The scheme now pumps recycled water to five major sporting complexes, irrigating seven sporting ovals and one athletics track. An array of Council assets are also now water wise. Refurbishment of the Sunbury Aquatic Centre included water saving devices and six water tanks to flush the toilets with rainwater. Rainwater tanks have also been installed at Council’s Sunbury depot, with harvested water used in the wash down bay and to refill water tankers and road sweepers. Numerous childcare and community centres have similarly been retrofitted with water saving devices. At Council parks, ‘smart’ irrigation and automatic sprinkler systems are being installed, turf is being replaced with drought tolerant species, ovals are being regularly aerated and an irrigation officer appointed to implement these measures. Across the entire City and within the new Hume City Council offices in Broadmeadows—a five star rated sustainable building—staff are implementing a Local Water Action Plan; designed to ensure a water-wise City for current and future generations.

The City of Kingston’s Waves Leisure Centre is the first in Victoria to install a new, state-of-the-art pool filtration system - saving up to 12ML of water per year, or 4.8 Olympic sized swimming pools.*

Initiated by Centre staff and funded by Council, the system reduces the need to backwash water into the pool. It also saves energy required to heat cold water used to refill the pool.

In the change rooms, toilets are being flushed using water harvested in four rainwater tanks, purchased through Australian Community Water Grants and saving 200kL of potable water per year, or 1,481 bathtubs**.

With half a million visitors to the Centre each year, staff are planning an interpretive display to encourage residents to transfer these water-wise practices into their own homes.

The City of Kingston has also upgraded the men’s bathroom at the Kingston Town Hall to waterless urinals, creating the potential to save a further 1.2ML annually.

Monash City Council has undertaken two major projects designed to use water innovatively while maintaining community services.

Collaboration with Yarra Valley Water led Council to install two 45,000L rainwater tanks at the Works Administration Centre wash bay which is now saving 982,000L of potable water a year. That’s equivalent to almost 7,300 bathtubs.*

To closely monitor the amount of rainwater used, the tanks are installed with a comprehensive metering system and data is collected weekly to determine effectiveness. The rainwater is also used for the municipality’s trees.

To support local sporting clubs, Council also introduced a variety of warm season grass species across 11 sporting reserves to trial their effectiveness in water saving. Results over four ovals for 2005/06, show combined water savings of 4,386KL compared to the previous year.

Other benefits include reduced greenhouse gas emissions from a reduction in fuel-powered mowing and need for less fertiliser, minimising chemical waste.

* Calculation based on FINA-approved Olympic sized swimming pool of 2.5ML. ** Calculation based on average bathtub size of 135L.