Published on Wednesday, 22 March 2023 at 8:36:36 AM
World Water Day is about celebrating water and accelerating change to solve water the crisis by changing the way you use, consume, and manage water in your lives. Between 2020/21 and 2021/22 the potable community scheme water use has increased by approx. 23% from 377,432 kilolitres to 467,782 KL – a difference of a whopping 90, 350kL (kilolitres are in units of 1=1000L)! While population growth is a likely reason for some of this increase, however it does highlight our reliance and heavy use on local groundwater and catchment area dams within just one local government area. Here at the Shire, we have committed to taking action by tracking our yearly water use and are working to change our behaviours. We are focusing on improving our infrastructure/equipment by upgrading our plumbing to be waterwise approved and efficient and reducing water loss in gardens through mulching and planting beginning to plant more native plants. Check out the northern entry garden bed of Memorial Park for an example of a healthy native garden, growing well in the full sun! We are also happy to work with our community in educating and supporting water conservation efforts.
These are 6 key ways you can play a part in minimising your water use at home:
- Reduce your shower time to the length of a 4 min song – pick up a free hourglass timer from the Admin Office or link up to the Spotify Playlist (https://open.spotify.com/playlist/36kfQBEQ74EZdAz0FYOIx8)
- Change your shower head to be more water efficient – if you are a scheme water user check out the showerhead swap program run by Water Corp – the Shire admin office and Greenbushes Community Centre are local swap points. Water saved from waterwise showerhead swaps in WA last year was 19,400L per household in a year!
- Plant more local native plants in your garden – once established they need very little water
- Capture sink and shower water in a container while you wait for the hot water to come through and use to fill pets water bowls up or in the garden. You can capture up to 10L a minute in the shower!
- Water tank rebates to purchase, replace or plumb in an existing water tank to your toilet or washing machine – scheme users are eligible for a rebate to reduce reliance on groundwater and water catchments, check out https://www.watercorporation.com.au/Waterwise/Waterwise-offers/Rainwater-tank-rebate
- Don’t leave the tap running down the sink while brushing your teeth or doing the dishes.
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