Living Water Smart in Alice

The challenges we face

Entrenched water hungry customers

• High proportion renters and others not paying water bills directly

• No millennium drought• Relatively high pressure and TDS

Hard place to have a garden

Alice Springs • 28,000 serviced population – top 3 in Australia

• Avg annual water and sewerage bill $1950 ($800 sewerage, $300 Connection, $850 water)

• Last 5 yrs AS avg total water supplied 7.6GL (previous 5yrs 8.2GL)

0

100

200

300

400

500

kL/y

r

Avg Residential Water Supplied 2016-17 (kL/property)

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

kL/y

r

Avg Annual Residential Water Supplied (kL/property)

Water Efficiency – Every one knows…

• Native plants good• Front loader washing machines good• Drippers good• Irrigating in day time bad• Reducing lawn is good• Water tanks good• Mulch is good• Short showers good• Pools bad• Teenagers bad• Dual-flush toilets good

• Native plants good

• Front loader washing machines good

• Drippers good

• Irrigating in day time bad

• Reducing lawn is good

• Water tanks good

• Mulch is good

• Short showers good

• Pools bad

• Teenagers bad

• Dual-flush toilets good

Demand Management in Alice

11%

7%

4%

3%

4%

4%

11%

56%

Shower (11%)

Air conditioner (7%)

Toilet (4%)

Washing machine (3%)

Indoor other (4%)

Pool (4%)

Leaks (11%)

Garden (56%)

Gardens, 56% Leaks, 25% Bathrooms, 12% Evap. AC, 4% Pools, 2% Laundries, 1% Kitchens, <1%

Alice Water Smart survey data (2013)• 6% knew the current price of water in Alice Springs• 2% knew that there was approximately 300-400

years of water supply left in Alice Springs’ current water supply aquifer

Commercial21%

Govt23%

Residential56%

Alice Springs Sector Use(Total - 8,300ML)

Irrigation

Seasonally adjust :Lawns = 25 to 40mm/wk, water 10 to 20mm twice as week in summer but only 10 to 20mm twice a month in winter

Holds true for most other plant types

Irrigation pt. 2

• Water longer less often

• Handle the pressure

• Walk the lines

• Pick the right plants, mulch, water after dark

Leaks

• In Alice Water Smart 1 in 3 houses found to have a leak of approx. 240kL/annum or 80kL/house

Looking forward and looking back

• Water efficient standards for new dwellings, schools, parks

• Policy to make water efficiency BAU

• Water Sensitive Urban Design

• Irrigator certification

• Rebates and retrofits

• Audits of high users

• Behaviour change program

What we’re doing in Darwin

Confidence in achieving targets:

• Strong government savings component in program

• Monthly reporting, annual review, climate corrected production monitoring

Does it work?…

Summary

• DM in Alice doesn’t have to be hard work

• Technology has come a long way and is very promising

• Regional and sector specific

• 40 water meters use almost 25% of all water supplied

• Irrigation and leaks low hanging fruit

08 8995 5861

livingwatersmart.com.au

info@livingwatersmart.com.au

livingwatersmart

livewatersmart

livingwatersmartdarwin

Questions