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The Water Campaign™ is an international freshwater management program, which aims to build the capacity of local government to reduce water consumption and improve local water quality. The Water Campaign™ is an ICLEI Oceania program delivered in collaboration with our partners, including the Government of Western Australia, Australian Government, City West Water, South East Water, Yarra Valley Water, the Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges Natural Resources Management Board, Northern and Yorke Natural Resources Management Board and the South Australian Murray-Darling Basin Natural Resources Management Board.
There are currently 118 councils taking part in the Water Campaign™. We welcome Blue Mountains City Council, New South Wales, to the program.
Congratulations on program achievements: - Banyule City Council, Victoria – Milestone 1 (corporate)
- Cardinia Shire Council and Moonee Valley City Council, Victoria – Milestones 2 and 3 (corporate and community)
We are also very pleased to announce that the shires of Serpentine Jarrahdale, Waroona and Murray, the Town of Kwinana and the City of Mandurah have completed Milestone 1 of the new catchment module. Congratulations!
On Wednesday 21 May, ICLEI Oceania held a Western Australian groundwater networking event, Restoring the Balance – Managing Local Groundwater Resources.
The City of Melville hosted the event at the Piney Lakes Environmental Education centre and over 40 people from a wide range of local governments and stakeholder groups attended.
The event provided local government officers with the latest groundwater science, policy and best management practices as well as provide an opportunity to network. Attendees heard presentations from local government, state government and industry professionals.
Positive feedback indicated that attendees benefited from hearing about what other local government authorities were doing in their area, and valued the opportunity to network with other attendees.
For event highlights and to download presentations visit the Water Campaign™ website.
ICLEI Oceania presented the second Greater Melbourne Networking Forum on Water Management in a Carbon Neutral World on Thursday 5 June with support from City West Water, South East Water and Yarra Valley Water. Nillumbik Shire Council kindly provided the venue for the event.
 Speakers included: - Cr Warwick Leeson, Mayor, Nillumbik Shire Council (left)
- Sandra Maganas, Cleaner Production Business Manager, City West Water
- Donna Stoddart, Environmental Projects Officer, Nillumbik Shire Council: St Andrew’s Hall Wastewater Reuse System
- Graham Setchell, Communication and Consultant Officer, Maribyrnong City Council: Cogeneration at Aquatic Centres
- Jason Summers, Manager Sustainable Environment, Hume City Council: Hume City Council’s 5 Star (by design) Municipal Building
- Julia Campbell, Stormwater and Urban Recycling Fund, Department of Sustainability and Environment.
Information was also presented about the Department of Sustainability and Environment’s Stormwater and Urban Recycling Fund.
The forum was an excellent opportunity for council staff to network and hear about leading examples of water management projects that are aligned with carbon neutral agendas.
 - The audience at the event
 - Solar panels on the roof of the venue
ICLEI Oceania, in partnership with the South Australian Murray-Darling Basin Natural Resources Management Board (SAMDB NRM) and the Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges Natural Resources Management Board (AMLR NRM Board), held a Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD) Forum for local government and industry on 11 June.
Nearly 100 delegates attended the full-day forum, hearing from a variety of industry experts and participating in workshops. Speakers included:
- Professor Simon Beecham, University of South Australia, who spoke about opportunities for local government in WSUD and the current research being undertaken on WSUD in South Australia
- Geoff Fisher, Australian Water Environments, who discussed the Institutionalising Water Sensitive Urban Design in the Greater Adelaide Region project. This project is being developed with Planning SA and includes a framework, technical guidelines, capacity building module and a Better Development Plan (BDP) module.
- Peter Scott, EPA, who outlined the legislative requirements associated with WSUD including stormwater and aquifer storage and recovery legislations
- Dr David Cunliffe, Department of Health, who addressed the health implications associated with WSUD
- David Altmann, who spoke about the role of the Stormwater Management Authority.
The day concluded with concurrent workshops and case studies from ICLEI Oceania Water Campaign™ participant councils, Campbelltown City Council and the City of Melbourne, and the Land Management Corporation.
A podcast of the forum and speaker presentations will be available shortly on the ICLEI Oceania Water Campaign™ website and the SAMDB NRM Board website.
ICLEI Oceania held the second of two workshops for the pilot of the Water Campaign™ Catchment Module on 30 April.
The new Catchment Module is module currently being developed and piloted with councils in the Peel-Harvey region of Western Australia.
It aims to “facilitate the development and implementation of an approach focused on Catchment level issue/s between multiple local governments participating in the Water Campaign™.”
This second workshop focused on further developing three regional project briefs initiated by participants at the first workshop: - Wastewater reuse
- Stormwater Harvesting
- Community Education.
By attending this workshop, the Shires of Serpentine-Jarrahdale, Murray and Waroona, the City of Mandurah and the Town of Kwinana have completed Milestone 1 of the Catchment Module. The next steps are for these councils to work as a region to implement one or more of the three projects listed above.
For further information contact Susannah Raffe, WA Water Campaign™ State Manager, Ph: +61 (0)8 9364 0635.
 - Tourists at the popular Bondi to Bronte coastal walk. Photograph: Jessica Kerstjens
Water Campaign™ participant, Waverley Council, NSW, is featured in the new Actions Profile 2008 for its two projects to reduce water usage and educate the community.
In addition to water conservation, protecting the unique coastal environment was a high priority and Council’s projects included the installation of art-based interpretive signage and an amenities retrofit.
Two amenities blocks were retrofitted to reduce mains water consumption, while an interpretive signage project used art to promote socially and environmentally responsible behaviour among users of the coastal walk.
Benefits include significant water savings, reduced pollutants entering the sensitive marine environment, and communicating an important message to the community.
For more snapshots of Water Campaign™ council actions, see the Water Campaign™ website to download a copy of the Actions Profile 2008.
 - A water efficient showerhead
The Local Government Association of South Australia (LGASA) and SA Water have joined forces to lead the new Waterwise Communities Program, and all South Australian Water Campaign™ participants are encouraged to take part.
The first project to be delivered through the Waterwise Communities Program will be a showerhead exchange program, to be rolled out across local governments in South Australia.
The free exchange program will see householders trade in their old showerheads in exchange for a new water efficient model. The program will initially be trialled by at least five Councils – likely to include Water Campaign™ participants – prior to being rolled out across all South Australian councils by the end of 2008.
The Waterwise Communities Program also includes targeted water saving plans, water education programs, community events and shower-timer giveaways.
Councils will need to register their interest to participate in the Waterwise Communities Program by contacting Adam Gray at the LGASA on +61 (0)8 8224 2055.
The Western Australian Department of Water hosted the Inaugural Water Innovation Conference on 29 May, drawing together over 250 scientists, industry representatives, consultants, water providers, land developers and local and state government representatives to hear about the latest technology, research and water management approaches.
Keynote addresses were delivered by Premier Alan Carpenter, the Minister for Water Resources, John Kobelke, and Director General Department of Water, Kim Taylor.
Topics that may interest local government included the state government water science and innovation plan, decentralised wastewater treatment, understanding the community’s attitude towards recycled water, e-irrigation technology and managed aquifer recharge.
For conference highlights and to download presentations from the day visit the Department of Water website.
 - Gulf of St Vincent, South Australia. Photograph: Edward J Foley
The Government of South Australia has approved construction of a $10 million pilot desalination plant at Port Stanvac, due to be operational by the end of July.
“The pilot plant is a crucial step in the testing of water quality, filtration and pre-treatment technology required for the full-scale plant,” said Premier Mike Rann.
The full scale, 50 giga-litre plant, is expected to be functional by the summer of 2011/12 and will provide Adelaide with one quarter of its annual water use.
The plant will be subjected to an Independent Environmental Technical Review Panel, involving experts from around Australia who will review all environmental impacts of the project.
A $3 million baseline environmental assessment of the Gulf of St Vincent will be complete by the end of 2008.
Nominations are open for the 2008 WA Water Awards, which recognise Western Australian organisations and professionals who have designed projects or incorporated efficiency and innovation in water use into their trade, industry and community.
ICLEI Oceania encourages all WA Water Campaign Participants to enter their innovative projects for these prestigious awards.
The awards, organised by the Department of Water and the Water Corporation, cover 11 categories – from landscaping to water recycling and water innovation.
Local government can enter their projects into a number of the award categories including management of water resources, water conservation and, efficiency and water recycling.
An additional category has been added this year to award the best Water Conservation Plan (groundwater) developed by a local government authority, which all metropolitan councils are currently in the process of developing.
Previous WA Water Award finalists include Water Campaign™ participants the Town of Cottesloe, the City of Melville, the Town of Vincent and the Western Suburbs Regional Organisation of Councils.
Nominations close 1 August 2008.
Grants available to help Victorian councils undertake water saving projects
Victorian councils can now apply for state government grants of up to $500,000 to assist in the development of innovative water saving projects.
Visit ICLEI Oceania's funding opportunities webpages for all the latest news on grants and funding.
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