Water savings projects
Water Saving Projects
In response to the recent drought and water restrictions, the City of Sydney is continually developing and implementing water saving practices, programs and policies.
Water Savings Action Plan
In 2008, the City finalised a Water Savings Action Plan for its ten largest water using sites as a requirement of State Government.
The sites include:
Queen Victoria Building (QVB)
Cook & Phillip Park/ Pool
Sydney Park/ Depot
Victoria Park/ Pool
Hyde Park
Town Hall House
Prince Alfred Park/ Pool
82-106 Oxford St
Customs House
Capitol Theatre
These properties account for around 60% of Council's total water usage. The plan also covers most of the City's asset classes including commercial office space, retail space, public venues, parks, depots, pools and water features.
The plan identified savings opportunities of 72 megalitres per year which have mostly been implemented at a cost of $179,000.
For example, in Town Hall House, works have commenced into the repair and replacement of the cooling towers and upgrading staff amenities to feature waterless urinals.
A PDF copy of the plan can be downloaded here (PDF 236Kb)
Parks and Open Spaces
The City maintains 40 irrigated landscapes including iconic, neighbourhood and pocket parks, sporting ovals and civil places. The remaining 380 parks and open spaces are rain fed.
The company URS has received funding from the NSW Government to investigate 40 of the City’s parks for improvements in irrigation frequencies and site management. This is determined by matching watering requirements with key site characteristics such as the soil type, climate and the site’s frequency of use.
Other mains water saving initiatives in parks include:
Bore water used to irrigate some parks and street trees
Deferred new turfing and major plantings
Regular mulching program
Selection of drought tolerant grass species
Installation of water efficient drip irrigation
Street Cleansing
Water is required for essential street cleansing operations. The City has implemented various initiatives to reduce the amount of mains water required. These include:
Using sweepers instead of water where possible
Using efficient high pressure cleaning equipment
Modification of street sweeping vehicles to use water more efficiently
Weekly washing of plant and equipment rather than daily
Use of bore water, rainwater and recycled truck wash water
Aquatic Facilities
The City has been implementing various water savings initiatives within its aquatic facilities. These include:
Cook and Phillip Park Pool: Amenities have been upgraded to include dual flush toilet systems with 4-star WELS rating. Push button timer showers and taps. Waterless urinals. Sub metering and data loggers. Water features switched off to reduce evaporation. Investigations into using pool backwash for toilet flushing.
Ian Thorpe Aquatic Centre: Water efficient taps, showers and toilets will be used. Water reuse is also being provided at the site.
Prince Alfred Park Pool: Water savings initiatives are included in the current facility upgrade. These include: A new filtration system estimated to save 90% of backwash consumption; pool lining to reduce water leakage; a new pool cover to reduce contamination and prevent the need to empty the pool each year; 4-star WELS rated showerheads, taps and flushing toilets; moisture sensors to reduce irrigation water demand; stormwater detention to reduce peak flows; water meters to be installed to monitor potable and non-potable water consumption to identify leaks; and public educative signage.
Victoria Park Pool: Leakages have been repaired saving 11,000 kilolitres per year and the pool filter was replaced with a more water efficient type.
Water Features
In conjunction with Water Features Australia Pty Ltd, the City has focused on reducing mains water usage in the City’s 32 fountains since February 2004. The strategy included:
Installing water meters on all fountains
Reporting water usage from meter readings
Assessing and predicting evaporation rates of fountains to determine if a leak or structural problem was causing water loss
Repairs and maintenance to reduce further water loss.
Using this data, the City has partnered with Sydney Water Corporation to develop a fountain water usage benchmark that will be publicly released later this year.
