Executive Officer Environmental and Natural Resources Committee Parliament House Spring Street East Melbourne VIC 3002

To Whom It May Concern:

Daisy Pool Covers is Australia's largest supplier of pool blankets and rollers. We have been involved in a tremendous amount of research into evaporation and consulted by councils and governments for evaporation figures on swimming pools and the retention of the evaporation, and the implementation of rebate systems and standards.

All Daisy Pool Covers are SmartApproved WaterMarked as they are independently tested and proven to stop evaporation by over 99%

Due to the loss of domestic swimming pool water, water authorities, councils and governments around Australia have taken a number of steps to preserve the evaporation.

The Western Australian Water Commission has a $200.00 rebate (or 50% whichever is less) on a 8 year warranty pool blanket The Westem Australian Department of Housing and Works new 5 Star Plus Water and Energy Codes state that "all outdoor swimming pools and spas in new homes approved for construction from 1 September 2007 must include a SmartApproved WaterMark Pool Cover." NSW - BASlX regulations state, "If the swimming pool is not located inside, and does not include adequate shading as defined in the Basix definitions, then an ideal way of reducing water evaporation is to include a swimming pool cover. By including a cover in your commitments, Basix will allow a reduction in the size of the rainwater tank." See: http:llwww.basixcertificatecentre.com.aulBasix-swimming-pools-spas. htm The Home WaterWise Rebate Scheme applies throughout Queensland. The Queensland Government offers up to $200 rebate for a swimming pool cover. The rebate is available for swimming pool covers with a minimum 25 square meter surface and a minimum material thickness of 400 microns. The cover must be endorsed under the SmartApproved WaterMark Scheme with a minimum warranty of 5 years. Queensland - SEQ Water requires residential pool owners that are toping up their swimming pools with town water to have three out of four water saving measures

o 1) A four star rated washing machine o 2) Dual flush toilets thought the home o 3) A pool cover or o 4) Ensure all indoor water appliances (showers and tap heads) are water

efficient. There are other councils thought Australia such as Tamworth and Alice Springs that run their own local rebate schemes.

Daisy Pool Covers has recorded Victoria having a large increase in the uptake of pool blankets since the impact of the drought in December 2006.

Through discussion with our distributors, we have come to the opinion that many Victorians are acting socially responsible and actively look at ways of reducing their water usages.

Daisy Pool Covers would suggest an encouragement approach of implementing rebates to ensure maximum cooperation from the public.

Compelling arguments for swimming pool covers can be made for Victoria:

v wf=&p ZfW Pelt13 Sydney r Brisbane Melbourne International gministrat~n ~entre: 3uu t i real t'kstm W, Kerrarrie, WA UI 04 me: 1300 551 811 Int: +618 9477 3311 FW 1300 885 242 nail: sales@dais~oolcoversers~m,au Web; www.daisy~mlcover~.~~m~au Mt Cotton Pty Ltd ABN 45 055 980 704

There are (from limited public record) approximately 200,000 domestic swimming pools in Victoria. Average size domestic swimming pool - 9.2 x 4.5 meters Average monthly water loss due to evaporation during October to March (including maximum top up rainfall) - 6045 litres per month (without rainfall 8002 litres per month evaporation) Total monthly evaporation of 200,000 domestic swimming pools during October to March (including maximum top up rainfall) - 1,209,000,000 litres Total monthly evaporation of 200,000 domestic swimming pools during October to March without rainfall - 1,600,400,000 litres!

All data and figures quoted are printed in the attached document - Fact Sheet 1 - Evaporation. This is a referenced fact sheet, all data can be checked and verified.

Swimming pools while not being the largest water usagelwastage area of the home, is a physical visual body that people relate to water loss. By introducing measures to stop water evaporation in the swimming pool, even tied to other areas of the home (like QLD) will see a reduction of water evaporation from the swimming pool and a reduction within the house, giving a substantial overall water reduction.

The humble backyard swimming pool is a part of Australian culture, bringing fitness and enjoyment to families and bringing people together.

A pool cover would negate the water loss from a back yard swimming pool.

A rebate scheme of $100.00 to $200.00 per swimming pool cover installation would see (in our experience) a tremendous public response, not only to the water commission but also to the uptake of swimming pool covers.

Regards

Derek Prince Managing Director Daisv Pool Covers der&@daisvpoolcovers.com.au Phone (08) 9477 331 1

Further information www.daisv~oolcovers.com.au

Attached: Fact Sheet 1 - Evaporation

Fact Sheet 1 7 P'

P O O L C O E R S sY A Daisy Pool Blanket provides a physical barrier to evaporation.

tt covers the pool surface like putting a lid on a jar.

It can't be totally watertight like a jar lid, but a properly fitted pool blanket is so effective that it stops 97% of evaporation.

All across Australia, water is a precious, scarce and costly commodity.

A Daisy Pool Blanket can almost completely stop water loss through evaporation - but just how much water are we really talking about?

This Fact Sheet explains all that. PLEASE NOTE: All figures quoted refer to typical UNHEATED pools. If your pool is heated, and depending when and to what temperature, the evaporation rates could well be significantly higfwr.

How much water does your pool hold? Most people are surprised by what seem like enormous quatities of water fli& an average pool can lose through evaporation,

The main reas01-1 they are so surprised - and sometimes qu&im the quantity evapaatii - is that they don't usually have much idea how mnudi water tlioir pool holds in Uie first place,

To put things into perspective, here are some of the skes and capacities of pools tfiat you would typically find it1 kkyafds right across Australia.

What Is evaporation? As we how tom boiling water ad eeelng it turn into &am, a simpde definition of empotation is the proce~s v&ereby liquid Wer tx3m-n~ a gas and clissi~tes as the water ten- Is increasecl.

Eventually, a saucepan of water will 'boil dry' as all the liquid lmcomes a gas and disappears 11ito the atnlosphweB

Cal~ulating evaporation rates is a very complicated process, with many variiles such as water surface area, water temperature, air temperature, air prmsuFe, air density, wind speed, and humidlty - among others - all affecting evap~atiw.

Evaporation from swimming pools The main factore; that affect evapwatbn rates from domestic O U ~ ~ O D ~ ' @51 are;

fi#@M"#W ;*- .- -

6 r 4, rn 1. Ttie bigger the pool, the more surfam area, ttierefore, a greater

evaparaticm vdurne.

2. The highest wapwation rates occur when the differences between water and air temperakms are the greatest. This may nat be in the middle of a Iwt day when the pool is in use. At this point the water at'lcl air temperatures may be quite close. Later at night the pool water may remain warm, but the air temperature has fallen suWarMally - that lneans a greater temperature dlffe~xx) behe11 the alr and water - and greater evaporation.

TI 3, The drier flie air is, the greater the m p o r a t i ~ ~ ~ rate. In very

humid conditins less ewapMation occurs. 8.0 metres 4.0 metres 1 3 metres 41 .KEI l m a ~

4. The final and very significant factor for home pools is wind. 9.2 metres 4.6 metres 1.3metres 5B.620 lares A breeze of just a gentle 1 1 kilometres pw liour can more than 10~0 mem = n -*- f d m s M4,W Ym. double the evaporation rate by removing t l ~ insulating layer of

warn], maist air directly above the pool surface.

i p l o ~ a ~ f i r r g to tke ~ ~ m m h g , mr and spa: an ~ s w , Wpical evaporatSon nates mwdi;fin domac ~Mmnirrg pools g e m 1 1 ~ far the sake of simplielty, we have used official Bureau of

Z,W and W,CXlO Ijtm of ~ t w , the bdhg Meteomlw long term histoxical evaporation rates for Sydney,

f2&wem @,&XI and M],D3l like% hnelbume, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, ti?easured at their respectm airports.

"OW are real'y topping up *Our Also for s~mpliiky, we ham used only the six hotlest months, Here's some that me as a amsen October to March - generally the swimming seam when pools Doywlawwtwwmuahwaterflwfrwnyolrbec~hosepermlrn8e? mebmmtugje,

Of ccvse it dl vary with lwal water pressure, but amrding tatlie NEW G m w 7 t W f o ~ e M , ~ a n t s a a n d 1 7 I ~ a m ~ ~ [ SO, hwv often do you top up your p w ~ l in summer?

As an example, 10 minutes a day, every second day would use: 17 litres x 10 minutes x 15 days = 2,550 litres a month.

This is a very conservative estimate. In the middle of summer it is quib common that it would be more like:

17 lares x 30 minutes x 30 days = 15,300 l i is a month.

-= -

Mean Daily Evaporation Rate (mm)

0~4 Nw Dec Jm Feb Mar

- sw $5 7.4 7.2 s.s 5,s aa m 4 ti,? 7 4 7.6\ 7.3 5 8 6.4 mm

6,4 6.7 7,$ 7.9 Qr7 5.B 1.8 mm

m as 2 a.r 8.p a4 6.4 7.4 rnrn B.3 T,4 EZ.1 198 && T;Q 6.3 fnim I

I - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

fvlalaes yau think, doesn't it. - - -

The f~ures above are DAILY rates. -1

O 2005, ?k Infommfiw, w n t ~ i t ~ d in this Bci Skeet ts owned by b y Pool Cmerd afid u~%ivthoned repmducharn B p d & -