WaterWise toolbox
WaterWise at home, at work and on holiday
We all need fresh water to live. We need large amounts to produce food, manufacture goods and sustain our health. We also need suitable supplies of water to drink. Water is a scarce and essential natural resource that must be used carefully.Available water
Australia is the driest inhabited continent with less than one per cent of the world’s available fresh water resources. Because of natural rainfall scarcity and high evaporation rates, Australia has the lowest percentage of rainfall which actually reaches rivers or storages.
Throughout Australia, water is becoming increasingly valuable and competition for use of the resource is increasing.
Getting the water to you
Queensland, as Australia’s fastest growing state, has additional challenges supplying its growing population with water.
Large and costly infrastructure – dams, water treatment plants and pipelines – are required to deliver quality drinking water to households and workplaces. Wastewater treatment plants are required to clean used water before it re-enters the environment.
Building more infrastructure is only part of the answer. Dams change the natural environment. Treatment plants use energy, chemicals and resources. Extracting high levels of water from our rivers degrades them.
If we can reduce our use of water at home, at work and on holiday, we can help delay the need for additional – and costly – water infrastructure.
Be WaterWise
We need to be WaterWise to protect our standard of living, and that of future generations. If we do not change our habits now, our way of life will dramatically change. Being WaterWise is easy.
We need to have WaterWise habits:
Take a shorter shower- Turn off the tap when you don’t need the water – brushing your teeth, shaving, rinsing vegetables or cleaning the sinks
- Water your garden only when necessary – if the soil below the surface is still damp the plant is unlikely to need water
- Fewer, deeper waterings for your garden encourage deeper root systems and more robust plants
- Wash your car with a bucket and trigger nozzle over a grassed area
- Fix dripping taps and leaking pipes
- Plant a water-efficient garden – select plants carefully, group them according to their water needs and mulch well
- Use a broom rather than a hose to clean the driveway or paths
And use WaterWise equipment:
Install a dual flush toilet- Fit water-efficient shower heads and taps
- Look for a label with at least three stars
- Buy water-efficient whitegoods with a label of at least three stars
- Install flow restriction devices on your taps and shower
Last updated: 05 June 2006
