Page 3748 - Week 12 - Thursday, 22 November 2007
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water by approximately 13 per cent, which is already in excess of the strategy’s target of 12 per cent by 2013. Indeed, estimates indicate that the continuation of the existing and recently funded programs should meet the target of 25 per cent by 2023. The ACT program of incentives is evaluated over time and new measures are put in place to ensure that the most effective measures are implemented.
In April this year, the Chief Minister appointed a water security task force in order to investigate and report on water security measures, including Actew’s proposal to build a water purification plant. The task force delivered its report to government in October. The Chief Minister released this report and announced that the task force’s recommendations were to be fully adopted by government. These recommendations included substantial long-term investment in water security infrastructure and effectively laid out a plan to secure Canberra’s water supply into the future, as well as addressing demand management.
In relation to demand management, the task force recommended that demand management incentive programs be continued to achieve the think water, act water targets of a reduction in per person consumption of mains water by 12 per cent by 2013, as I have said, and 25 per cent by 2023, and an increase in the use of reclaimed water from five per cent to 20 per cent by 2013. It also recommended that the relevant government departments and Actew investigate and report to the government on the most effective mechanism for delivering demand management programs with a focus on achieving the targets efficiently, and accelerating and expanding existing programs, particularly for the commercial sector and those activities that re-use water. It also recommended that the extension of permanent water conservation measures be investigated by the relevant government departments and Actew and that there be a trial of the revised arrangements.
Importantly, this plan included increasing the funding for demand reduction measures by $2 million. On 13 November, the ACT government announced the breakdown of the additional $2 million, with schools, businesses and tenants set to directly benefit. The announcement of the additional funding will see half a million dollars spent on retro-fitting ACT Housing properties with a range of water-saving features. Work on these initiatives will begin next month. Almost a million dollars will be spent on installing water-saving Comtrol irrigation system controllers in another 15 schools and upgrading and repairing another 30 existing school irrigation systems. The measures will assist tenants, businesses and our schools to conserve water and will help the government to achieve its daily water-saving targets.
The additional $2 million will take the government’s investment in demand measures this financial year to $3.68 million, with close to another $3 million already earmarked for the next financial year. Specifically, those funds will be spent as follows. Half a million dollars will be spent over the next two years to retro-fit ACT Housing properties with dual-flush toilets, water-saving shower heads and flow regulators in taps. About 800 houses will be retro-fitted, at a cost of about $600 per house. This duplicates some of the money we have spent before.
Some $300,000 will be invested in a commercial building retro-fit program. Fifteen buildings will be retro-fitted with fixtures such as low-flow urinals and dual-flush
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