Go Greener, Australia

The Water Forever workshop yesterday was very interesting and I learned a few new things. In the morning there were short talks, followed by group discussions on the topic. In the afternoon people had their say to the whole group. The topics were: Water Use and Efficiency; Water Sources and Recycling; and Water in the Environment.

I had fun chatting with people from all sorts of different backgrounds - architects, market researchers, community service workers, retirees, irrigation specialists, a guy from Coca-Cola, and people from the Health Department and the Department of Planning and Infrastructure. Everyone had something to contribute and it was inspiring to see people caring so much about the future of water in this city.

I was also happy with the Water Corporation’s forward planning: they’ve taken the IPCC scenarios for climate change, studies on population growth, and historical data on changes in water use, and used them to extrapolate the possible outcomes for Perth. They’re focusing on finding innovative solutions to old problems, rather than on trying to maintain the status quo. And they’re trying to engage the community (that’s us!) now instead of waiting until after they’ve already made their decisions. You can see a lot of their data at the Water Forever website, and send them your comments.

I was disappointed, but not surprised, to find people still promoting the idea of taking water from the Kimberley region and piping it south to Perth. Firstly, this is stealing water from the people up north, who are using it themselves as part of their unique ecosystem. Secondly, it’s more energy-intensive than just recycling or desalinating water that’s already here. I think this idea comes from three factors: not wanting any change to what they’re used to doing with their water, not understanding the consequences for those up north, and being unaware of how quick and easy the alternatives are. I guess that educating people about the alternatives, and how water systems work, would help them get the idea that shifting water from one place to another doesn’t help as much as they’d like it to.

As for myself, I’m keen on more re-use of water. We use pristine drinking water to flush our toilets, wash our cars, water our gardens, run our businesses - it’s ridiculously wasteful. Greywater (third pipe) systems taking household water and applying it to our gardens are a great solution for Perth. They don’t rely on rainfall and after the setup it’s cheap to run. Local councils, sporting areas, and industries also use fresh drinking water for things that don’t need high-quality water either. There was a lot of support from them for re-using water when it was safe to do so. By re-using water we reduce the pressure on our groundwater and surfacewater sources, and learn to be more efficient.

Generally, what I took away from the day was that we need stronger pricing signals for both business and households, so that we are forced to consider the value of the water we use; we need to re-use water wherever possible; and I learned that there will always be arguments over something so important!

This Wednesday I’m going to the Water Forever Options workshop, held by the Water Corporation here in WA. The day will feature presentations about water use, efficiency, sources, recycling, climate change and so on, with a “Have Your Say” section as well. I don’t really have much to say myself, but I’m interested to learn what the Water Corp is doing about getting enough water for our growing population.

I got involved by visiting their Water Forever website. It’s got a survey where you can answer questions about your thoughts on the future of water use in WA, and information about the figures the Water Corp is using to project our expected water use over the next 50 years. It’s very detailed and there are lots of downloads so you can see how their plans are coming along.

I’ll report back on the workshop later this week. It’s reminded me that one of my resolutions this year was to make my home more waterwise - I haven’t done much towards this yet, but a few weeks ago I did ask the Water Corp how much water I was actually using so I’d have some numbers to compare against. They very kindly sent me a spreadsheet showing the results of their meter readings since we moved in. We’re currently using about 146kL a year, so I hope we can get this down a bit.

I make New Year’s Resolutions each year, and I even keep them more often than I forget them This year I’m making green resolutions for the first time. I thought about practical changes I could make that would have an impact on the environment, be measurable (so I can tell if I’ve succeeded or not), and achievable given my time and budget. So here they are:

Switch to reusable bags

I already own green canvas bags for grocery shopping, but frequently forget to use them. And I often end up with plastic bags from the bookshop, or newsagent, or wherever. I do try to refuse them, but sometimes you forget, or end up buying something that just can’t be carried easily.

The plan: come up with a way to remember my canvas bags for the grocery shops; and buy a reusable bag that can be kept inside my handbag for the rest of the time. I’ll know I’ve succeeded if we run out of the stash of plastic bags we use to line our bins with.

Reduce our household water use by 25%

I don’t think we’re particularly wasteful with our water-habits, especially since I cut back on my shower-time! But our house is over 15 years old and has no water-saving features at all.

The plan: install water-saving devices on all our taps; install a dual-flush, water-efficient toilet; and see what else can be done. I’ll know if I’ve succeeded by measuring this year’s water bill against last year’s.

Keep writing to politicians and businesses about green issues.

Last year I wrote over a dozen letters and emails to politicians about environmental issues, and to 3 companies about their recycling of old products or the type of products they currently stock. I’d like to equal this, at least.

How about you? Any green resolutions or goals for the future?

The other day I was at The Body Shop to return my empty moisturiser containers (yay for businesses who recycle their containers!), and they were having a cross-promotion with the Australian Conservation Foundation about climate change and the drought. I bought a shower-timer for $1.95: it’s a little sand-timer on a suction cup, and it’s got 4 minutes worth of sand in it.

I’ve always taken long showers… really long showers! But I wasn’t worried about not being able to get showered in 4 minutes, since most of my time in there is spent pondering the state of the world, what I’m going to wear to work, and why shower curtains never stay put. And it has been nicer to get out of the shower while the water is still hot, instead of waiting until it’s gradually cooled down and left me shivering.

Peter Garrett recommends singing a 4-minute song as a way to take shorter showers, but I don’t think my husband really wants to hear my off-key warbling first thing in the morning. If you too are a terrible singer who takes long showers, consider getting a timer instead.

Cost: $1.95 and the willpower to actually get out when the timer is done.

Water savings: 20L per minute shower for 10 minutes = 200L of water; 20L per minute shower for 4 minutes = 80L of water; therefore I’m using 120L less water every day, which is quite a lot really.

Next step: getting a water-saver showerhead so I’m not using 20L per minute! I’ll report on this as soon as we get one installed.