Saving Water is a Way of Life

The story so far…

Saving water and using it more efficiently is vital to keeping our rivers healthy and free-flowing. It is vital to maintaining our underground aquifers and protecting wetlands. Water conservation and efficiency must be the norm for our society - in the home, at the office, on the farm and in commerce and industry.

South East Queensland’s ongoing water crisis has been caused by reduced water availability due to climate change and historically high water consumption.

In most other urban regions the water supply crisis is simply waiting to happen. Most centres have historically high water consumption levels, comparable to SEQ’s previous levels and more. As rainfall patterns change, as consumption levels remain high and as population increases, water supply will become a problem. The challenge is to resolve the issue now in these centres

 The Queensland Government is tackling the water crisis in SEQ with a range of measures from water restrictions to ‘big fix’ infrastructure solutions.

Since 2006 when major water restrictions were introduced, average water consumption in SEQ has dropped from around 300 litres per person per day to less than 130 litres per person per day-a reduction of over 170 litres per person.

A fantastic community achievement which goes to show that restrictions, coupled with education, incentives and a receptive and willing community can make change.

SEQ residents are amongst most efficient water users in urban Australia. But let’s not pat ourselves on the back too much - we were big water wasters. The fact is that our current consumption is now broadly equivalent to most countries in Western Europe - who have a similar quality of life. So we are by no means world record holders. The big difference between us and the Europeans is how much drinking water we traditionally use to water the garden and for general outside uses. The Europeans don’t water their gardens that much because they have gardens more suited to their climate - unlike Australia.

In Australia, we love our gardens but have essentially built inappropriate gardens, completely out of keeping with the climate we live in. In SEQ we tend to have wet summers and dry winters, but have gardens that need water regularly throughout the year. 

Our water for the future vision should not be about finding ways to increase water use on the garden but to transform gardens to native or drought-resistant gardens, that don’t need much water in the first place.

The problem is that the Queensland Water Commission doesn’t see it that way. It wants us all to relax about watering the gardens. It wants to turn the clock back and abandon the 140 per person target.  

It says when the dams are fuller we can use more water on the garden and in the future we will build more desalination plants (green powered, of course) to increase supplies.

We live in a climate where rainfall is likely to significantly decrease and a climate with a seasonal rainfall. That means that dam levels will fluctuate. So having water restrictions based upon dam levels is confusing to the public and non-sensical.

The notion of green powered desalination has similar issues. Leaving aside the potential marine issues, desalination needs a great deal of energy so running these facilities and pumping water around costs a lot of money. Under this scenario we can continue to water our gardens but the water will simply be at a greater cost to ourselves and our community.

This brings us back to the notion of native and drought-resistant gardens, which don’t need as much water in the first place. Why is it that governments can see this simple solution? 

The Big Fix

Under the government scheme, we will have a fluctuating water consumption target and a water grid. This includes:

• A large water recycling scheme;
• Several large new dams;
• Increased extraction from coastal aquifers and Moreton Bay islands;
• Seawater desalination;
• Pipelines that will transfer vast quantities of water throughout SEQ. 

There are serious problems associated with this proposed large scale infrastructure. Land disturbances, adverse environmental impacts, massive social dislocation, exorbitant development and operational costs and extremely high greenhouse gas emissions-due to high energy requirements.

The government’s SEQ water infrastructure building agenda is in part being driven by the region’s projected population growth, with an estimated 6 million or more people expected to be ‘shoehorned’ into SEQ by 2056.

A Sustainable Urban Water Supply Strategy

Understanding the problem… 

As a first step, the Government must convene a Commission of Inquiry that independently determines the carrying capacity of Queensland’s regions. Once this carrying capacity is established a Regional Urban Water Supply Strategy can be developed-based upon sustainable principles.

The Regional Urban Water Supply Strategy would then establish a total regional water allocation that sets a cap on the volume of water that can be consumed. The cap would be based upon ecologically sustainable levels of water extraction from regional surface and groundwater systems. The Strategy would also set a hierarchy of actions to be implemented in order of importance and necessity.

Priority One

Demand  Management

• Require mandatory installation of rainwater tanks, water efficient appliances and fixtures in all residential, commercial and industrial buildings.
• Introduce uniform and consistent state-wide per capita water use reduction targets. In SEQ 140 litres has been the standard and this should be replicated across all centres.
• Implement statewide water infrastructure pressure and leakage reduction programs.
• Introduce water pricing structures and subsidies to encourage behaviour change and uptake of water conservation measures and penalise excessive consumption 

Priority Two

Alternative water supplies - recycling and harvesting

• Recycle and reuse all waste water from high density urban areas across the state
• Increase accessibility of recycled water to a wider range of urban, industrial and rural water users
• Apply Water Sensitive Urban Design principles to all new urban developments 

Priority Three

Alternative water supplies - desalination 

Seawater desalination is increasingly being viewed as viable option to securing urban water supplies. Queensland Conservation believes that desalination is an emergency water supply option only, due to its high operational costs and environmental risks.

Seawater desalination should only be considered after the following criteria have been applied and met:

• A Regional Urban Water Supply Strategy has been implemented that sets a cap on regional water consumption.
• Water conservation, demand management and recycling measures have been fully applied.
• Greenhouse gas emissions from the operational requirements of desalination plants have been use 100% renewable power
• Rigorous monitoring programs are implemented to ensure that the marine environment is not degraded by hyper saline waste discharges.
• World's Best Management Practice is followed to ensure that high operational performance standards are met.
• An Environmental Impact Statement has been conducted, with full public consultation, as part of the approval process.
• Desalination plants should never be located in or near sensitive marine ecosystems. 

Rural water use

Much of Queensland’s surface and groundwater water resources are under enormous stress from over allocation. This has resulted in ecologically unsustainable levels of water extraction that threatens terrestrial, aquatic and groundwater dependent ecosystems.

As agriculture uses over 70% of available water, Queensland Conservation advocates that a 40% state-wide agricultural water reduction target be implemented by 2020. The water saved as would be returned to the environment to supplement flows in stressed river systems.

Also as water is a finite resource, sustainable management and efficient use of water used for agricultural purposes needs to be a key priority. For this reason, Queensland Conservation advocates that compulsory, accredited Land and Water Management Plans be implemented by all agricultural water users by 2015.

Industrial water use

All of Queensland’s business and industrial water users must play their part in conserving water. For this reason compulsory Water Efficiency Management Plans must be implemented by all businesses and industries to achieve a 25% water use reduction by 2015.

How you can make a difference right now!

Households are the second largest user of water after agriculture. So conserving water at home is vital step in avoiding the building of dams and other environmentally damaging water infrastructure.

To save water inside 

• Install AAA-rated showerheads - saves approximately 10 litres of water a minute
• Install devices such as dual-flush toilets, tap aerators and other flow regulators.
• Only purchase white-goods with a high water saving rating
• Turn off the tap when cleaning your teeth - saves approximately 5 litres of water
• Fix plumbing leaks, such as dripping taps, promptly
• Insulate hot water pipes to shorten the time you have the tap running before you get hot water
• Only operate your washing machine and dishwasher when you have a full load
• Reuse grey-water from your bathroom and laundry to water your garden
• Wash food and rinse dishes in a plugged sink or bowl instead of with the tap running
• Install a rainwater tank and plumb it in to your toilet and laundry 

Historically, SEQ residents have used over half of all household water outside of their homes, of which much is used inefficiently and wasted

To save water outside

• Hand Wash vehicles and other outdoor items on grassed areas to save water by reducing the need to water your lawn. This will also help the environment by stopping pollutants, such as detergents entering waterways*
• Install rainwater tanks and use only tank water for gardening and pool purposes*
• Only water your garden and lawn when required and its better to water deeply and infrequently rather than little and often. Only water your garden during the cooler parts of the day*
• Mulching your garden reduces evaporation, which reduces the need to water
• Install a pool cover to reduce evaporation*
• Always use a trigger nozzle on your garden hose – it takes about 20mins to use 1000 litres from an open garden hose*
• Install timers on irrigation systems - check regularly for leaks and faults*
• Install grey-water recycling devices*
• Use drought tolerant plant species in your garden. Local native plants usually require less water than exotic species but it’s not always the case so ask at your local accredited garden centre.

* - subject to local water restrictions and local government regulations

Authorised by Toby Hutcheon, 166 Ann St, Brisbane