2.1 billion litres saved through Home WaterWise retrofits

More than 100,000 home owners have now taken advantage of the Queensland Government’s Home WaterWise retrofit scheme and have collectively slashed more than 2.1 billion litres a year from South-East Queensland’s water use.

Premier Peter Beattie said the Home WaterWise initiative had become a highly valued service for families across the 21 council regions in South-East Queensland.

“The scheme has saved enough water to-date to supply water to15,000 average homes for one full year and demonstrates the commitment of residents to reduce their water use,” Mr Beattie said.

“Despite recent rain, level five restrictions are still in place and it is crucial we all examine our water use to ensure we meet the 140 litres a day per person targets.”

Through the Home WaterWise Service home owners pay just $20 for a housecall from a licensed plumber to install water efficient showerheads and aerators, fix leaks and conduct a water audit.

Mr Beattie said the service was completing 3000 retrofits every week and received 700 calls a day.

The Government is spending $38.1 million this financial year and next financial year on the water saving initiative including an additional $10.3 million allocated in the recent State Budget.

“We have employed 135 plumbers to work on this project and another 50 staff in the call centre to keep up with demand.

“Our next target is to complete 150, 000 retrofits by December and by June next year we hope that more than 200,000 houses will have been retrofitted.

“That would result in saving about 4.3 billion litres of water, or enough to supply around 30,000 average households for one year.”

An Ashgrove mother with three children under four, Marni Shaw, said she was keen to become part of the program given her family’s high water usage.

“We recently received a letter in the mail about our excess water use, so we are certainly looking for ways we can reduce our consumption,” Mrs Shaw said.

“It’s never easy with three children under the age of five, so regular tasks like bathing and washing use a lot of water.

“We recently put in two tanks, but we will certainly look at other measures like water saving shower heads and a front loading washing machine.”

Local Government and Planning Minister Andrew Fraser said that as well as the estimated 2.1 billion litres a year reduction in home water consumption, there were also ongoing savings on energy bills.

“This service also reduces greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 755kg per home annually because of reduced hot water consumption and therefore electricity use,” Mr Fraser said.

To take part in the Home WaterWise Service, visit the website at www.homewaterwise.com or call 1300 YOU SAVE (1300 968 728).

Media Contact: Premier’s office 3224 4500

Minister’s office: Chris Ward 0418 424 654