Living Water Smart in Alice
The challenges we face Hard place to have a garden Entrenched water hungry customers • High proportion renters and others not paying water bills directly • No millennium drought • Relatively high pressure and TDS
Alice Springs • 28,000 serviced population – top 3 in Australia • Avg annual water and sewerage bill $1950 ($800 sewerage, $300 Connection, $850 water) • Last 5 yrs AS avg total water supplied 7.6GL (previous 5yrs 8.2GL) Avg Residential Water Supplied 2016-17 Avg Annual Residential Water Supplied (kL/property) (kL/property) 600 500 500 400 400 kL/yr 300 300 kL/yr 200 200 100 100 0 0
Water Efficiency – Every one knows… • Native plants good • Front loader washing machines good • Native plants good • • Drippers good Front loader washing machines good • Drippers good • Irrigating in day time bad • Irrigating in day time bad • Reducing lawn is good • Reducing lawn is good • Water tanks good • Water tanks good • Mulch is good • Mulch is good • • Short showers good Short showers good • Pools bad • Pools bad • Teenagers bad • Teenagers bad • Dual-flush toilets good • Dual-flush toilets good
Demand Management in Alice 11% Shower (11%) Air conditioner (7%) 7% Toilet (4%) 4% Washing machine (3%) 3% Indoor other (4%) 4% 56% Pool (4%) 4% Leaks (11%) Gardens, 56% Leaks, 25% Bathrooms, 12% Evap. AC, 4% Pools, 2% Laundries, 1% Kitchens, <1% 11% Garden (56%) Alice Springs Sector Use Alice Water Smart survey data (2013) (Total - 8,300ML) • 6% knew the current price of water in Alice Springs • 2% knew that there was approximately 300-400 Commercial years of water supply left in Alice Springs’ current 21% water supply aquifer Residential Govt 56% 23%
Irrigation Seasonally adjust : Lawns = 25 to 40mm/wk, water 10 to 20mm twice as week in summer but only 10 to 20mm twice a month in winter Holds true for most other plant types
Irrigation pt. 2 • Walk the lines • Water longer less often • Handle the pressure • Pick the right plants, mulch, water after dark
Leaks • In Alice Water Smart 1 in 3 houses found to have a leak of approx. 240kL/annum or 80kL/house
Looking forward and looking back • Rebates and retrofits • Water efficient standards for new dwellings, schools, parks • Audits of high users • Policy to make water efficiency • Behaviour change program BAU • Water Sensitive Urban Design • Irrigator certification
What we’re doing in Darwin Confidence in achieving targets: • Strong government savings component in program • Monthly reporting, annual review, climate corrected production monitoring
Does it work?…
Summary • DM in Alice doesn’t have to be hard work • Technology has come a long way and is very promising • Regional and sector specific • 40 water meters use almost 25% of all water supplied • Irrigation and leaks low hanging fruit
Questions 08 8995 5861 livingwatersmart livingwatersmart.com.au livewatersmart info@livingwatersmart.com.au livingwatersmartdarwin
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