Community Action

The ongoing drought has created a number of issues for tennis clubs across Australia that have en tout cas courts, as they require regular watering to ensure surface moisture is maintained for playing.

Melbourne’s Croydon Tennis Club, faced with local water restrictions, found that their tennis courts were beginning to deteriorate (especially in the warmer months) as a result of not being able to water as much as required, which increased the amount of dust and danger of slippery dry surfaces for players. Joseph Gauci, president of the Croydon Tennis Club, decided to approach a previous work colleague, John Ball from the RMIT University’s Department of Chemical Engineering, to assist in overcoming this issue.

The result was an innovative solution to maintaining the tennis court surfaces whilst significantly reducing the amount of potable water used. The club, with financial support from Tennis Victoria, began applying a mixture of water and magnesium chloride (a dust suppressant used in mining) to the court surfaces. Magnesium chloride is a naturally occurring substance that is extremely effective at absorbing and retaining water, and as such keeps the court surface moist. The substance is safe to both humans and the environment.

The Croydon Tennis Club, with the assistance of a grant from Maroondah City Council, was also able to install a 100,000 litre tank, which collects water from the pavilion roof and four of the tennis courts. Additionally, the club has employed a holistic approach to water saving, including weekly monitoring and management of water use at the club, fixing of all leaks on and off the courts, education of the club’s members about water efficiency and education of other tennis clubs about the benefits of using magnesium chloride. Approximately 80% of the metropolitan clubs in Victoria with en tout cas courts have now adopted this treatment. The successful education of other clubs was made possible by the support of local water provider, Yarra Valley Water, and Tennis Victoria.

The collective approach of the Croydon Tennis Club has resulted in an impressive reduction of 44% in annual potable water use.

“Water is plentiful if we learn to manage the water we have,” says Joseph Gauci.

Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula is home to the Mount Eliza Bowling Club. The combination of imposed water restrictions and the continuing drought had adversely effected their bowling greens and were at risk of having to close down. The Club, however, made a number of remarkable changes that have not only ensured their survival but also significantly reduced potable water use by 51%.

After successfully being rewarded a community water grant, the Mount Eliza Bowling Club decided to add to their existing rainwater harvesting capacity of 45,000 litres by installing an 187,000 litre underground tank and a 212,000 litre aboveground tank. Water not only is collected from the clubhouse roof, but after gaining approval, is harvested from the roof of a community centre across the road. To allow this collection from the community centre to occur, a pipeline had to be constructed under the road and directed into the underground tank at the bowling club.

Following extensive research the Club also decided to replace one of their two grass greens with a new turf surface that was built with the capacity to trap water after irrigation, which could then be recycled for reuse. In contrast to traditional sprinkler systems, irrigation of the new green occurs from underneath, which reduces the occurrence of evaporation, thus reducing the amount of water required to maintain the grass. Additionally, the new grass includes a computer system with sensors that monitor moisture content and the temperature of the turf, in turn indicating the amount of water required for optimum growth.

The Mount Eliza Bowling Club has also installed waterless urinals and reduced flow cisterns to all toilets, as well as using drought tolerant plants in their gardens to further reduce reliance on water. Furthermore, the Club has provided information to several bowling clubs to assist in their reduction of potable water.

Neville Lane from the Mount Eliza Bowling Club says that the Water Harvesting Project has been both an exciting and rewarding experience.

“On considering the future challenges with water availability the Mount Eliza Bowling Club must now plan for the next phase of self-sufficiency,” he said

Mercy Mission Dawah is a community development organisation that works around the world to educate and energise Muslims into proactively helping their communities and fellow citizens.

Mercy Mission implemented a number of water saving measures in six mosques across Melbourne, after recognising that considerable amounts of water were being used on a daily basis through the ablution (act of cleansing with water before prayer) and in the toilets at each of the sites. With assistance from City West Water and Yarra Valley Water, Mercy Mission conducted audits at the mosques to determine opportunities to save water. Following the audits, WELS-rated flow control valves, water efficient toilets, and rainwater tanks were installed.

Additionally, water saving messages have been promoted through awareness campaigns, educational sessions, newspaper articles, and on the mosques’ websites, with the aim of influencing behaviour change in the wider community.

The changes that have been made in the six mosques have resulted in a significant amount of water being saved, with forecasted annual savings expected to be over 1.5 ML.

Mercy Mission’s activities have now ensured that the six mosques reflect the value that Islam places on preserving the natural resources critical to preserving our life and our environment for the good of all humankind.