13/03/2006 - A massive
10000 community groups will share in $61
million in funding to undertake water saving
projects across Australia, under the Australian
Government’s Community Water Grants programme.
Successful applicants were announced today
by Australian Government Ministers for the
Environment and Heritage, Senator Ian Campbell
and Fisheries, Forestry and Conservation,
Senator Eric Abetz, as part of the $2 billion
Australian Government Water Fund.
“Thousands of Australians are set to save
around 18 billion litres of water a year
- the equivalent of 18,000 Olympic swimming
pools,” Senator Campbell said.
“This shows how vital Australian communities
are to achieving a sustainable and water-wise
future – everybody can play a part.”
Senator Abetz said community groups funded
include schools, environmental groups, rural
organisations, sporting associations, natural
resource management regional bodies, local
governments and non-government organisations.
“Communities will donate about 350,000 volunteer
hours to implement a huge range of projects
— an incredible commitment by everyday Australians
to conserve water,” Senator Abetz said.
“This programme highlights the Australian
Government’s commitment to working with
local communities to deliver real, on-ground
environmental outcomes.”
As well as saving water, Community Water
Grant projects promote wise water use and
community engagement and awareness about
water efficiency and conservation, water
re-use and recycling and water health.
Examples of successful projects include:
• A weather station installed in Bunbury,
WA will communicate with the irrigation
system at five local parks and ovals. The
station will adjust irrigation times and
settings according to the weather saving
over 50,000,000 litres of water each year
by watering more efficiently.
• Glamorgan Spring Bay Council will install
a Gross Pollutant Trap to reduce the amount
of pollution entering Waub's Bay. This will
be a demonstration trial for the many coastal
towns within the Municipality, addressing
the increasing amount of rubbish washing
into coastal areas and effective solutions
to maintain water quality.
• The Hepburn Springs Golf Club in Victoria
will save over 4,800,000 litres of water
each year by simply replacing their cool
season turf with drought tolerant turf which
requires 50% less watering over summer.
The Ministers said projects showed just
how much water all communities can save
by using inexpensive but clever and practical
solutions.
More information on the Community Water
Grants programme, including a list of successful
proponents and the next Community Water
Grants funding round, is available at www.communitywatergrants.gov.au
