Water efficiency projects
Project summaries
Aged Care Association Australia (NSW)
Residential Aged Care Facility Leak Detection and Water Savings Program
Funding: $498,196 Rainwater tanks, dual-flush toilets and water efficient showerheads have been installed in 50 participating facilities under this Aged Care Association Australia (NSW) project in partnership with the Water Conservation Group. The results of the project have been shared across the industry in an effort to maximise the water savings potential across the residential aged care sector. The project is saving 51.9 million litres of drinking water a year.
EP&T Pty Ltd
Water Efficiency Upgrades in Colonial First State Property's Portfolio
Funding: $950,000
Twenty two commercial buildings with a combined water use of two million litres a day have been targeted for savings in this project from EP & T. The project took a holistic approach to saving water in Colonial First State Property's commercial building portfolio by integrating water efficiency upgrades with metering, monitoring and reporting systems. The funding paid for the capital works and contributed to a water savings target of 25%. These measures are saving 201.8 million litres of water a year in the 22 buildings, located in Sydney CBD, North Sydney and Parramatta.
EP&T Pty Ltd
Water Reuse Projects and Efficiency Upgrades for Investa Property Group's Commercial Portfolio
Funding: $258,134
Six Investa Property Group office buildings in Sydney, North Sydney and Parramatta have become water efficient under a savings blitz delivered by EP&T. The project upgraded equipment and controls, installed water efficient fixtures and fixed leaks. These measures are saving 27.3 million litres of water a year.
EP&T Pty Ltd
Water Reuse and Efficiency Upgrades for Stockland C&I Buildings
Funding: $132,900
A water efficiency upgrade at two Stockland buildings in Sydney's CBD is saving 39.6 million litres of drinking water a year. This project has replaced single flush toilets with water efficient dual flush models, captured water used in weekly fire sprinkler testing for reuse and installed sub-meters to improve understanding of the buildings' water use.
Ethnic Communities' Council of NSW Inc.
Saving Water in Asian Style Cooking Restaurants
Funding: $391,000
Restaurant owners have been encouraged to become more water efficient by replacing one of the biggest water guzzling appliances in the commercial kitchen - the wok stove. Traditional wok stoves in Asian-style restaurants account for more than four billion litres of water a year in Sydney alone. Water jets clean and cool the woks and for speed and ease of operations are often left running all day. The Ethnic Communities Council has developed a multi-lingual education program to promote the economic and environmental benefits of water efficiency in business and encourage restaurateurs to switch to new 'waterless' wok stoves. The waterless wok is an innovative new fixture which can save up to 5,500 litres of water per stove per day and this project is saving 65.8 million litres of water a year.
Ethnic Communities' Council of NSW Inc.
Saving Water in Asian Restaurants Project Stage 2
Funding: $743,780
The Ethnic Communities Council 'waterless wok' program has been so successful in Chinese restaurants that it has been expanded to Vietnamese and Thai restaurants. In Sydney, traditional wok stoves account for more than four billion litres of water a year. Water jets clean and cool the woks and for speed and ease of operations are often left running all day. The 'waterless wok' stove was developed with support from Sydney Water and can save up to 5,500 litres of water per stove per day. Stage 2 expanded the project into the Vietnamese and Thai restaurant community and provided the opportunity for additional Chinese restaurants to join the program. The project is saving 96.7 million litres of drinking water a year.
Investa Property Group
Water Savings for Fire Protection Systems
Funding:$107,000
Every day in Australia, millions of litres of water go down the drain as the fire protection industry meets its obligations under the Australian Standards to maintain and test the fire protection systems. The Investa Property Group owns and manages 16 commercial buildings and has drastically reduced the water used in fire protection tests. The company used performance engineering solutions, permissible under the Australian Standards although rarely used, to reduce the testing frequency of the fire protection systems. The Fire Sprinkler System control equipment at each of the 16 buildings was also upgraded for improved efficiency. This project is saving 10.4 million litres of water a year.
ISPT Pty Ltd
Installation of Dual Flush Cisterns at 477 Pitt Street, Sydney
Funding: $52,191
All the cisterns have been replaced in the 216 toilets at 477 Pitt Street in a project which is saving 13.8 million litres of drinking water a year. Dual flush versions now give the office workers in the building the option to improve efficiency.
Master Plumbers & Mechanical Services Association of Australia
GreenPlumbers Water & Energy Saving Training & Accreditation
Funding: $263,600
Plumbers have become trained and accredited as industry experts in household water and energy efficiency with the expansion of the GreenPlumbers® program. Developed by the Master Plumbers and Mechanical Services Association of Australia, the GreenPlumbers® program offered plumbers free training to learn about the new rules for water and energy efficient housing in NSW and become accredited under a nationally recognised scheme. The training provided plumbers with up-to-date information on the latest water and energy savings appliances for the home, practical installation skills for new technologies and linked them to a national referral centre for customers wishing to choose an environmentally-friendly plumbing service. This project is saving 160.9 million litres of water a year.
Merck Sharp & Dohme (Australia) Pty Ltd
Water Conservation Projects
Funding: $25,900
This project implemented water conservation measures identified in Merck Sharp and Dohme's Water Savings Action Plan for its Granville site. Measures included replacing liquid ring vacuum pumps with dry-running versions, reusing water from purification plants, efficiency improvements for cooling tower water and installing permanent water monitoring equipment. These measures are saving the pharmaceutical research company 10.3 million litres of water a year.
NSW Department of Primary Industries
Water Smart Farms in the Sydney Basin
Funding: $3,000,000
Sprinkler systems on farms in the Sydney basin will be retrofitted with water-efficient sprinkler heads as part of this major water savings program being developed by the NSW Department of Primary Industries. Farmers will also be offered opportunities to recycle or harvest water and financial incentives for investment in new equipment to save some of the 12 billion litres of potable water currently used for agriculture in the region each year. This project forms part of the Western Sydney Recycling Initiative which has been submitted to the Australian Government Water Fund (AGWF). It offers practical solutions to farmers to save water and includes a significant education component providing training, workshops and advice in multiple languages for farmers from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Backgrounds. The project will save 1228.2 million litres of drinking water per year.
Save-A-Drop Products Australia Pty Limited
Save-A-Drop Water Saving Devices
Funding: $120,000
Save-A-Drop car wash is a self-contained water-pumping system which connects to a 12volt supply to pump water from a bucket to spray clean your car. It uses 25 litres of water to clean a whole car compared to 99 litres for an average bucket wash or 180 litres using a hose. The product was showcased at the watts 'n' drops exhibition at the Powerhouse Museum in September 2005. Save-A-Drop Products have developed a marketing plan and introduced a radio, TV and newspaper advertising and promotion campaign to market the product to car owners across NSW, which is saving 21.5 million litres of water a year.
The Irrigation Association of Australia
Improving Urban Irrigation Practice in Sydney
Funding: $220,805
This project has developed and promoted training courses for industry, garden professionals and local government staff to increase skills in auditing and best practice irrigation in urban areas. The Irrigation Association of Australia has expanded its education and training program to include community education and working in partnership with local governments, horticultural, garden and water industry associations and Sydney Water. This project is saving an estimated 25 million litres of water a year.
University of Western Sydney
Smart Irrigation Technologies for Saving Potable Water on Vegetable Farms
Funding: $160,164
Vegetable growers in the Hawkesbury district have reduced their water use with the introduction of innovative irrigation technology on their farms. Farms in the Sydney area currently use an estimated 22,000 megalitres of potable water a year. The project installed two types of irrigation systems on eight farms. Field tests of the Kapillary Irrigation Sub-Surface System (KISS) showed it could reduce water use by 60% through underground watering of the plants' root system and reduced water loss through evaporation or run-off. Trials of the Irrigation Water Recycling System (IRWS), developed by the NSW Department of Primary Industries, showed it can reduce water use by half and reduce sediment and nutrients run-off to the Hawkesbury-Nepean River. The project was run by the University of Western Sydney in partnership with the NSW Department of Primary Industries and involved identifying eight farms to achieve the maximum savings, installing the systems and monitoring and analysing results to share with other growers. This is saving 3.7 million litres of water a year.
URS Australia Pty Ltd
Generating Potable Water Savings across 40 'City of Sydney' Irrigated Landscapes
Funding: $106,900
New studies fine-tuning the watering needs of landscaped gardens have been put into practice at 40 City of Sydney parks, saving 50.6 million litres of drinking water a year. Developed by URS and Sydney Water, the Landscape Assessment Method identified exactly how much water was needed for irrigation based on foot-traffic, microclimate and soil type. The method has been successfully trialled at parks, ovals, golf courses and gardens at Ku-ring-gai and Auburn with funding support from rounds 1 and 2 of the Water Savings Fund. It was shown at Ku-ring-gai that many facilities were being over watered by as much as 12 million litres a year. Working with City of Sydney Council parks and management staff, this project identified ideal watering frequencies for most of the City's open spaces, including Observatory Hill, Sydney Park and Victoria Park. Many are high water-use facilities identified in the City of Sydney Council's Water Savings Action Plan. The data can also be used to accurately determine the feasibility and design of alternative water schemes such as stormwater harvesting or sewer mining for these landscapes.
URS Australia
Reducing Potable Water use on Golf Courses and Parks
Funding: $40,670
New studies on the evaporation rates of water on different landscapes have been used to introduce new watering regimes at golf clubs in the Ku-ring-gai local government area. The project was led by URS Australia and involved assessing the water requirements of different parts of golf courses, based on their soil, microclimate and foot-traffic. The project built on the Sydney Water Landscape Assessment program which showed initial water savings of up 80% could be made. URS worked with the groundskeepers at the clubs and Ku-ring-gai Council to recommend changes in watering frequencies, irrigation and maintenance based on specific environments. As well as saving 13.3 million litres of water a year, this project has reduced nutrient run-off, improved overall soil moisture levels and might be expanded to other parks and sporting ovals in Ku-ring-gai.
URS Australia Pty Ltd
Water Savings at Auburn Botanic Gardens and Rosnay Golf Course
Funding: $46,000
New discoveries about the irrigation needs of public spaces have been put into practice at Auburn Botanic Gardens and the Rosnay Golf Course. The project has built on research undertaken by URS and Sydney Water through the Landscape Assessment Program which allowed for the differences in microclimate, soil and foot traffic to be taken into account to determine ideal watering needs. URS worked with grounds staff at the Botanic Gardens and the golf course to determine the microclimate conditions for each irrigation zone and recommended alterations to watering regimes to maximise efficiency. The project is saving 12.8 million litres of drinking water a year.
Wollondilly Shire Council
Water Savings at Wollondilly Pools
Funding: $30,000
The Wollondilly Shire Council's Water Savings Action Plan identified unaccounted water use at Wollondilly Community Leisure Centre and significant opportunities for savings at Warragamba Pool. Wollondilly Council carried out detailed logging and sub metering of the two sites to identify the source of the water loss and take steps to fix it. The data also helped identify other water saving opportunities at the pools. The project is saving 4.6 million litres of water a year.
Page last updated: 14 November 2012
