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Saving water

With the climate warming, the water resources across the globe are at risk. Council’s Environmental Action Plan aims to cap community water use at 2005/06 levels by 2030. This can be achieved by residents taking two crucial steps:

1. Reducing use of tap water by following Sydney Water’s helpful list of tips, including installing water efficient taps.
2. Fixing any leak in the fresh water (drinking water) system. Sydney Water provides easy to follow advice on finding and fixing a leak.

Additionally, residents may consider:

• Installing a rainwater tank. The installation of residential tanks under 10,000L in size are typically considered ‘Exempt Development’ and do not require a Development Application unless part of a heritage property or precinct. Water tanks are typically compulsory for new builds and for development in some flood areas (refer 7.1 in the Water Management Technical Guidelines).
• Utilising greywater, which can be as simple as a bucket in the shower to installing diversion and treatment systems.

Sydney Water WaterFix program

WaterFix gives residents access to water saving advice and subsidised plumbing services to help get water leaks fixed and switch to water efficient devices. Residents can enjoy considerable cost savings through the program, for instance a single apartment building that went through the program saved $64,000 a year in water costs.

WaterFix is available for:

• Residential
• Strata
• Commercial
• Schools