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Water Campaign™ case study

WILLOUGHBY CITY COUNCIL, NEW SOUTH WALES

Water savings in Council’s administration buildings

: Corporate action

: Water conservation

A print version of this case study is available to download. [PDF document, 255KB]

Willoughby City Council, New South Wales, is located approximately 8.5 kilometres north of the Sydney CBD, and has a population of 68,387. Council has been a participant in the Water Campaign™ since 2003 and an ICLEI member since 2007.

Synopsis

Willoughby City Council has combined a simple water saving measure in their Energy Performance Contract (EPC) and a staff education program and competition in partnership with Sydney Water to achieve outstanding water saving results.

Council’s administration offices are located in a mixed commercial/residential high-rise building and Council owns and operates four floors. These floors house approximately 300 council staff, three bathrooms, four disabled toilets with shower facilities, and have a café operating on the ground floor.

The introduction of flow controls throughout Council’s floors combined with an education campaign for staff, conducted in partnership with Sydney Water, has achieved a 75% reduction in potable water use.

Motivation

: Willoughby City Council Administration Building

Council’s administration offices were found to be an ideal site for obtaining significant water conservation outcomes, with a very quick payback period. The location was identified in Council’s ICLEI Water Campaign™ Milestone 1 Inventory and Council’s Water Savings Action Plan, June 2006, as being one of Council’s highest water using sites.

The implementation of this project, which has significantly improved water conservation, was an effective way for Council to demonstrate to the community its commitment to sustainable development.

It will also contribute to the achievement of Council’s Water Campaign™ goals.

The implementation of the EPC is a method adopted by Council under their Resource Conservation project to achieve energy and water savings. The Resource Conservation Project is funded by e.restore, a program set up to improve the environment, which is supported through an environment levy.

The initiative’s financial benefits were also a big motivator for Council. The installation of flow controls, a cost effective measure on its own, was made more economically worthwhile by being incorporated as one of the initiatives undertaken in the EPC.

The staff education program and competition were also cost effective for council, as the partnership with Sydney Water provided resources for the program.

Process

Water efficiency and Energy Performance Contracts

An Energy Performance Contract (EPC) is a way of using a using a qualified contractor to upgrade the energy and, if desired, water efficiency of facilities. The contractor identifies, assesses and implements cost effective upgrades, guaranteeing ongoing energy savings.

To reduce energy and water consumption, Council undertook an EPC, employing an energy service company to improve energy and water efficiencies that pay for themselves over time.

Council chose to complete their EPC in an integrated way by including water conservation as well as energy efficiency, recognising that water and energy conservation have strong links. Investments were made in proven and cost effective energy and water saving technologies, systems and procedures.

Installation of flow controls

The direct water saving actions implemented as part of the EPC involved the following installations and maintenance procedures:

removal, cleaning and lubrication of tap spindles
installation of aerators (2L/min) to all internal basins and sinks
installation of flow control valves (8 L/min) in all toilet cisterns and urinals
inspection of inlet and outlet cistern rubbers and replacement if required
replacement of “o” rings and fibre washers.

Staff education competition

: Willoughby City Council Water Savings Action Plan. Adopted in June 2006

Water savings awareness was promoted through a staff competition to identify water wise ideas in the workplace.

The education program aimed to raise awareness of water conservation across all Council departments and was undertaken in partnership with Sydney Water.

Council staff were invited to contribute ideas that had potential to reduce water consumption, were cost effective and could be replicated throughout Council.

Sydney Water was invited to judge the entries and chose the following winning initiatives:

Convert urinals to flush button, convert taps to spring loaded, install tanks in reserves or parks and install tanks on the level four balcony.
Reduce the use of dishwashers, especially where they are used consistently with only a few cups.
Install flow controls on hand basins.
Install water systems under ovals to collect and reuse water, including greywater from amenities buildings. Install stormwater tanks under roads for household garden use. Blackwater treatment to be used on gardens.
Artarmon Oval, use drip irrigation in garden areas and ovals. Rainwater tank on club-house, modify OSD tank to reuse stormwater.

The competition winners received gift vouchers and promotional materials donated by Sydney Water.

Savings and benefits

Water conservation benefits

These actions reduced water consumption from 8316 kilolitres in 2004/05 to 2079 kilolitres in 2005/20, a 75% reduction in water use for the administration building.

Financial benefits

To date, the 75% reduction in water use has resulted in savings of $13,525 from Council’s water bill. The action has a great payback period, being just over one year, meaning that Council will be financially better off after that period as a direct result of the action.

Educational benefits

The education program and competition generated ongoing benefits for Council to continue its water conservation actions.

The competition generated some great ideas that Council may wish to implement in the future as well as building staff ownership of the project and water conservation more broadly.

Costs

: A flow control valve

The capital cost of the project, including labour, was $14,186 with a payback period of just over one year.

The staff education program and competition cost $250 in Westfield vouchers to provide prizes of $50 each. Sydney Water provided promotional materials, such as water bottles, mugs and caps, in addition to donating time in judging the competition winners.

Lessons learnt

After the installation of the flow control valves Council faced some initial resistance to the technology due to slight inconveniences caused.

Some initial complaints were received from staff regarding the low flows from the kitchen sinks as installing flow controls means that it takes a little bit longer for the hot water to come through to fill up bottles or jugs.

Most staff were positive however, and over time all have come to accept and view the changes positively.

Council learnt a significant, positive financial lesson from the implementation of this initiative, discovering that greater economies of scale can be achieved by taking an integrated approach to water and energy management.

Incorporating water initiatives into the EPC was a financial success for Council, which will help build ongoing support from management and councillors to implement similar actions in the future.

Council has also learnt that the economies of scale could be improved even further if actions were to be implemented at more than one site.

Further information

Willoughby City Council website

See the Community Water Grants website for lists of previous grant recipients.

Contact details

For further information about the ICLEI Water Campaign™ in Australia please contact:

ICLEI Oceania
4/267 Collins St
Melbourne Vic 3000
Ph: +61 3 9639 8688
Fax: +61 3 9639 8677
Email: oceania@iclei.org
Website: www.iclei.org/oceania/water

Acknowledgements

Thanks to David Roberts, Sustainability Project Coordinator, Willoughby City Council, for his assistance. Photographs supplied by Council.

This case study was produced with the support of funding from the Australian Government Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts.

Photographs supplied by Council.

Quoted population figures are taken from the Australian Bureau of Statistics Report 3218.0, Regional Population Growth, Australia 2006-07, March 2008.

Call for future case studies

Does your council have an initiative that could be promoted by the Water Campaign™ as a future case study?We’d like to hear if your council has implemented an innovative water saving initiative or project to improve water quality. Contact your Water Campaign State Manager with details.

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