Water Action Plan

Many people believe water is the number one issue facing South Australia; in my opinion is it the most significant climate change adaption challenge Adelaide faces and I know many of you share this belief.

Currently Adelaide City Councils target is to reduce Council’s mains water use by 60% by 2012; the good news is we are nearly there. This has been due to the use of recycled water from the Glenelg-Adelaide Pipeline, commonly called the GAP. I have blogged about this before here.

To the end of April, use of mains water for irrigation of the park lands and streetscapes in 2009/10 was 65 megalitres, compared to 341 megalitres in 2008/09 – that’s a spectacular result. The extension of the GAP infrastructure to Victoria Square (south) and Hurtle Square in 2010/11 will further decrease mains water use.

What I proposed on Monday night was to go one step further. To actively engage the community in the development of a Water Action Plan. This is about Council providing leadership and supporting the community so they can be a part of the solution.

The reality is 45% of urban water use is for residential purposes and both our key sources of water (the River Murray and Hills catchments) are under stress. As such alternative sources must be found to secure Adelaide’s water supply.

The sad fact is 160 gigalitres of water flows out to sea in the form of storm water every year and capturing storm water will not only provide for a more secure future, but also has an additional benefit of stopping polluted storm water flowing into the Gulf.

There exist grants programs for businesses and residents to access for water sensitive gardens and rainwater tanks and I urge you to take advantage of these opportunities. More information can be found here.

Watch this space as I am hopeful we can further develop initiatives in conjunction with the community to ramp up the much needed response required one of the most pressing issues Adelaide faces.