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WATER CAMPAIGN™

OCTOBER–NOVEMBER 2008

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.

WATER CAMPAIGN™ PROGRAM NEWS

Participation and milestone achievements

There are currently 120 councils taking part in the Water Campaign™. Welcome to our newest participant, Port Pirie Regional Council, SA.

Congratulations to our participants on program achievements:

Hunter's Hill Council, NSW – Milestone 1 (Corporate)
Whittlesea City Council, Vic – Milestones 2 and 3 (Corporate and Community)
City of Melbourne, Vic – Milestone 4 (Corporate)
Frankston City Council, Vic – Milestone 4 (Corporate and Community)

Water Campaign™ Actions Report 2008

The first annual Water Campaign™ Actions Report is to be launched at the ICLEI Oceania Recognition and Briefing Breakfast during ALGA's Local Government Constitutional Summit on 9 December 2008.

All councils at Milestone 3 and above in the program were invited to contribute to the report by providing information on quantitative and qualitative actions they had undertaken in 2007/08.

Twenty-four participant councils, from New South Wales, South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia, contributed information.

The report analyses the nationwide results and highlights specific projects that are contributing to water conservation and improved water quality at the local level.

WATER CAMPAIGN™ COUNCILS IN ACTION

A win for Penrith

Penrith City Council’s Sustainability Revolving Fund (SRF) recently won the Financial Incentives Category at the 2008 New South Wales Sustainable Water Challenge Awards.

The SRF funds projects at council facilities that deliver water, energy and resource savings, with related financial savings being reinvested into the fund to support further initiatives.

To date, projects using SRF funding have resulted in a reduction of approximately 2.4 million kilowatts in energy and 11,000 kilolitres in water consumption.

Penrith Council has recently completed all five milestones in the ICLEI Water Campaign™, and currently hosts the Water Campaign State Manager for New South Wales.

Melbourne – a water sensitive city

: Photo: Scott Sanders

The City of Melbourne’s ‘Total Watermark – City as a Catchment’ strategy aims to make Melbourne a water sensitive city that seeks local solutions to water management issues.

Chair of the Environment Committee Cr Fraser Brindley said, “Council wants to reduce the vulnerability of our water supply by reducing the demand within the city and by sourcing water in other ways.

“We help achieve this aim by harvesting rainwater from roofs, stormwater from roads, footpaths, gardens and other open space, water recycling at both the household and business level and use of groundwater where available.

The city as a catchment approach minimises importing potable water and exporting of wastewater, instead optimising the use of water resources within the city.

For more information see the City of Melbourne website.

Frankston wins national sustainability title, aims to reduce water use by 45%

Water Campaign™ participant Frankston City Council was a winner at the recent Keep Australia Beautiful, Australian Sustainable Cities National Awards.

In addition to being highly commended in the Water Conservation and Community Partnership categories and winning the national Resource Recovery Award, the council won the overall title for the night to be named Australia’s most sustainable city.

Sean Rooney, Director of the CSIRO Sustainable Communities Initiative and judge at the awards, praised the council’s actions on sustainable water and waste management.

"Frankston has set targets and undertaken projects to reduce water usage by 45% over the next 10 years, whilst the diversion of waste from landfill is another key priority." Mr Rooney said.

See the Keep Australia Beautiful website for more information about the Australian Sustainable Communities Awards.

Water Campaign™ council case studies

: Yarragon PreSchool

The Water Campaign™ has produced a number of case studies detailing innovative projects and initiatives by councils involved in the program.

Each Bulletin we’ll feature a different case study so you can learn more about what councils around Australia are doing to put sustainable water management into practice.

These case studies are usually only available to participating councils and are located in the ‘Milestone Resources’ section of the Water Campaign™ website (requires a log-in).

Case Study 1: Baw Baw Shire Council, Victoria: Kids saving water for our future
Funding from the Australian Government’s Community Water Grant program enabled Council to implement water efficiency measures and install rainwater tank systems in 12 of the shire’s kindergartens.

NEW RESOURCES

New report on recycled water use

A new report aims to provide a better understanding of the issues influencing the use of recycled water. Released by the Bureau of Rural Sciences (BRS), the report will be of particular interest to farmers and those living in rural areas.

It features three case studies of successful effluent recycling schemes:

Shoalhaven Reclaimed Water Management Scheme (NSW south coast)
Grampians Wimmera Mallee Water (north western Victoria)
Coal River Recycled Water Scheme (south eastern Tasmania).

The report was compiled with information supplied from people directly engaged in negotiating recycled water schemes, including regional water authorities, local communities, farming groups and state government departments.

More information is available from the BRS website.

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