Page 3749 - Week 12 - Thursday, 22 November 2007
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toilets, on a fifty-fifty funding basis with the building owners. The average cost per building is expected to be in the order of $20,000. Some $375,000 will be spent in installing Comtrol irrigation system controllers in another 15 government schools; 17 schools already have the system. The cost will be about $25,000 per school and will result in up to a 40 per cent reduction in outdoor water use.
Some $600,000 will be spent in upgrading and repairing another 30 school irrigation systems, to fix leaks and improve the uniformity of water distribution. The program will cost $20,000 per school. Some $225,000 will be invested in extra education and awareness initiatives aimed at schools, households and government agencies, to promote existing programs and develop best-practice guides for water use.
New demand efficiency initiatives will be announced for implementation for 2008. The measures being implemented will be beneficial to all sectors and users. They are likely to include a grey water system rebate and a revamped irrigation program for households. These new initiatives will be in addition to the highly successful programs and initiatives that the government has already provided to the ACT community. They will be designed to complement the $2 million worth of initiatives which I have just spoken about.
Already the commercial sector, our schools and residents have been benefiting from the demand management program. For example, data logging of water consumption and walk-through through water audits have been conducted for the commercial sector. By helping consumers to use water more wisely through better demand management, we have the potential to slow the draw down of water from our dams. These measures have an advantage in that they can be implemented quickly.
Recycled water from some of our water treatment plants is being made available for irrigation purposes. These include the Fyshwick plant and the lower Molonglo water quality control centre. In January this year, the government announced that it is working on an intensive program to encourage the use of this water and lake water for dust suppression and irrigation. These measures will also ensure that ACT government-owned buildings and property use water more efficiently.
Without doubt, the continuing drought has had a significant impact on nearly every aspect of our lives. There is no better example of this than the impact that the drought and subsequent water restrictions have had on our outdoor sports and community facilities. The minister for sport, Andrew Barr, recently announced that the ACT government will invest an additional $2 million in initiatives aimed at providing more sustainable sports fields and recreation facilities, a first step towards meeting the government’s aim to have no ovals solely reliant on potable water by 2013. The funding would be used by government to fund a master plan for all ovals and for diagnostic studies for major sportsgrounds to assess their maintenance needs; the rest would be distributed as capital grants to sporting organisations to assist them to become more water wise. I am sure that Mr Stefaniak will support that.
I recognise that ACT Sport and Recreation has played a vital role in consulting and engaging with our local sporting community in dealing with the challenges presented by the drought conditions. I am sure that Mr Barr will be pleased to thoroughly
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