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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 119 councils taking part in the Water Campaign™.
Congratulations on program achievements: - District Council of the Copper Coast, SA – Milestone 1 (corporate and community)
- City of Wanneroo, WA – Milestone 2 (corporate and community)
- Mornington Peninsula Shire Council, Vic, and City of Perth, WA – Milestone 3 (corporate)
- Wyndham City Council, Vic – Milestone 4 (community)
 - Mandurah Mayor Paddi Creevey accepts Council's Milestone 5 award at the recent WALGA recognition breakfast.
The City of Mandurah, WA, and Campbelltown City Council, SA, are the first councils in their states to complete Milestone 5 of the Water Campaign™.
Milestone 5 involves a re-inventory of water consumption and water quality management practices to see how far council has travelled towards its goals.
This final step in the milestone framework also includes an assessment of the re-inventory and a review of water quality priorities.
The City of Mandurah joined the Water Campaign™ in July 2002 and has built a reputation as a leader in Water Sensitive Urban Design. Council will continue to be involved in the Water Campaign™ through participation in the Catchment Module pilot program.
Through participating in the Water Campaign™ milestone framework, Campbelltown City Council has reduced its mains water usage by 104,561 kilolitres since 1999/2000. This 40% reduction exceeds Council’s original goal to reduce mains water use by 25% based on 1999/2000 levels by the year 2015.
Campbelltown City Council joined the Water Campaign™ in March 2003 and has worked hard to complete the milestone framework over the past five years. Council will continue its partnership with ICLEI Oceania by hosting the South Australian Water Campaign™ staff.
Congratulations to both councils!
The Hon. Karlene Maywald MP, Minister for Water Security, launched the Berri Barmera Council recycled wastewater project on 25 July 2008 at the Berri Golf Course.
The project is the result of a very successful partnership between Water Campaign™ participant Berri Barmera Council, South Australian and Australian Governments, private sector and local community groups.
The recycled water will be used to irrigate the Berri Golf Course as well as Allan Glassey Park and a number of other council-owned sites, significantly reducing the amount of water drawn from the River Murray for irrigation.
This project is the first to be completed as part of the Local Government Association of South Australia’s state-wide Community Wastewater Management Scheme (CWMS), which is funded by a $20 million grant from the Australian Government’s Water Smart Australia program, and yearly funding from the South Australian Government of $3.5 million until 2017.
The Local Government Association of South Australia (LGASA), SA Water and 10 councils are currently participating in a two-month trial of the ‘Swap and Save Showerhead Exchange Program’.
Six Water Campaign™ councils are taking part: the City of Marion, City of Mitcham, City of Charles Sturt, Campbelltown City Council, City of West Torrens and City of Victor Harbor.
Under the program, residents in the 10 council areas can exchange their old inefficient showerheads for new 3 star WELS showerheads.
If the trial proves to be successful LGASA hopes to open the program to all South Australian councils by the end of the year.
For further information contact Adam Gray at LGASA, Ph: +61 (0)8 8224 2055.
In June, the Government of Western Australian launched the State Water Recycling Strategy, which identifies the need to utilise alternative sources of water in a changing climate.
As well as outlining the history of water recycling in Western Australia, the strategy highlights opportunities for reuse. A key opportunity identified is the use of recycled water on public open space.
This strategy aims to pave the way for a safe and more transparent policy for reusing wastewater in public open space, to significantly reduce ground and scheme water consumption for irrigation.
Other opportunities identified include recycled water for industry, agriculture and households.
The State Water Recycling Strategy can be downloaded from the Department of Water website.
The Eastern Metropolitan Regional Council (EMRC) launched the Local Government Natural Resource Management Policy Manual in June 2008.
Developed in partnership with the Government of Western Australia and the Swan River Trust, the manual aims to improve the quality of water entering the Swan Canning river system, recognising the important role local government plays in protecting wetlands and waterways.
The manual provides local government with best practice management guidelines in natural resource management. The guidelines cover priority policy areas including water sensitive urban design, landscaping with local plants, stormwater best management practice, foreshore management, and erosion and sediment control.
These are addressed through a range of management areas including land use planning, landscaping and urban design, and community education.
Visit the EMRC website to view the Local Government Natural Resource Management Policy Manual.
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