Water conservation plans for local government
The Department of Water issues local governments with a licence to take a net volume of groundwater. A water conservation plan encourages councils to manage their water allocation effectively and to implement strategies to conserve water, while still retaining amenity, sport and recreation and biodiversity outcomes.
The Department of Water has worked with the metropolitan and some country councils to develop water conservation plans. The conservation planning process requires councils to measure current water use for irrigation, review their irrigated park areas, audit irrigation systems and determine the capacity for hydro-zoning and explore alternative sources, such as treated wastewater or stormwater.
New residential developments generally include a public open space component. Landscaping concepts, such as active and passive spaces, plant species, irrigation areas and irrigation rates should be consistent with the local government's water conservation plans, where applicable.
Local governments can conserve water and improve efficiency through:
- improved irrigation systems and scheduling practices
- improved turf maintenance practices
- reducing irrigated areas
- accurately measuring and recording water use
- using low water-use plants
- minimising evaporation loss by adhering to the 9am – 6pm daytime ban on the use of sprinklers.
For more information on water conservation plans or for a template contact the Department of Water by emailing: efficiency@water.wa.gov.au
A link to relevant water efficiency programs for local governments is provided in the Efficient use of water section of the toolkit.