Household water consumption - Perth
2338. Hon Alison Xamon to the Parliamentary Secretary representing the Minister for Water
I refer to the recent publication by the National Water Commission, ‘National Performance Report 2008-2009: urban water utilities’. In 2003 — 04 the average consumption per household in Perth was 285 kilolitres. In 2008- 09 the average was 277 kilolitres. Over the same period other major cities have reduced their consumption by on average, 23 percent. Brisbane reduced household consumption by 48.4 percent, and I ask —
(1) Why has consumption for Perth’s households merely reduced by 2.8 percent, while the Government is proceeding with expensive and polluting desalination plants to increase Perth’s water supply?
(2) What is the Government doing to strongly drive down per capita water consumption?
Hon HELEN MORTON replied:
(1) Perth's per capita water consumption is coming from a significantly higher base than that of the other capital cities, due to the region's outside watering requirements. This is the result of the nature of Perth's climate and soils, in that we generally only receive rainfall over four to five months of the year and our sandy soils do not easily retain moisture. Accordingly, Perth's gardens need significantly greater volumes of applied water in order to survive. That being said, the Water Corporation is actively working closely with the garden industry to improve Perth's gardens in order to make them more waterwise.
Another key consideration is that the other capital cities have all been subject to total sprinkler bans during this period, and in some cases, complete outside watering bans, which will artificially lower consumption on a temporary basis. These restrictions have now been relaxed in some cities and consumption is expected to increase. The Water Corporation has been able to manage Perth's water supply without the need for such harsh restrictions, and the two day per week sprinkler roster is now part of WA's permanent Water Efficiency Measures, rather than a temporary restriction. These permanent measures are the strongest across Australia and receive greater than 90 per cent support from the WA community.
Perth's per capita water usage has decreased by 21 per cent since 2000-01, which is when the Water Corporation significantly increased its efforts in water efficiency. This reduction translates to a saving of 60 gigalitres per year.
(2) In light of climate change, the Government has now introduced the permanent winter sprinkler ban, which was successfully trialled from July to August 2009. The Water Corporation is set to implement their newly developed Metro and Regional Water Efficiency Strategies, which have drawn on the lessons of a number of residential and non-residential behavioural changes and retrofit trials and pilots over the last few years. As a result, the State is in the enviable position of implementing a wellconsidered, long-term approach to water efficiency.