Page 1438 - Week 04 - Thursday, 26 March 2009
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The implementation of the Googong transfer and the purchase of water from Tantangara will add an extra 35 gigalitres a year into our system. This is important for the community to recognise. Thirty-five gigalitres does not return us to the good old days of 200 gigalitre inflows. Thirty-five gigalitres perhaps only takes the pressure off us in regard to the most severe water restrictions and, even then, only for a period of time. What this says to me is that the efforts to reduce our water consumption and to insulate our city against drought must not cease. We are not out of the woods. This is a new reality that the whole community must continue to integrate into their thinking, that town planners must integrate into their planning and that businesses must consider as they develop and grow.
Canberrans have done a fantastic job on reducing their water consumption so far. We are much more mindful of our water consumption. We are building water efficient gardens and installing efficiency devices in our homes. We have dropped our net annual water consumption to around 30 gigalitres a year, and under strict water restrictions we have reduced it even further. While the government is aspiring for the community not to be subject to water restrictions on an ongoing basis, the Greens believe that we must continue to be vigilant with our water use in the urban environment and implement a permanent strategy to achieve water conservation targets. There is no room for complacency for Canberrans regarding conscientious water use. We must continue to think about how we can improve water efficiency both in residential and commercial buildings.
If we are to invest in these large-scale projects that will add significant cost to water consumers’ bills then we must first and foremost also ensure that we are doing absolutely everything we can to improve urban water efficiency right across Canberra. It is, after all, cheaper to save water that we already have access to than it is to build large infrastructure projects to get more water. And that point is particularly prevalent if we go back to those earlier figures of inflow, because it is all good and well to build new infrastructure but if the water is not falling out of the sky that infrastructure will not do us a sod of good.
The Greens believe there is more to be done on urban water efficiency and replacing the current stage system of water restrictions with a permanent strategy to achieve water conservation targets. We must strengthen and extend the coverage of water efficiency standards and the use of water sensitive design. With both the proposed new developments at Molonglo and also at East Lake we have the perfect opportunity to integrate best practice water efficiency measures right at the start of the development process. The Greens are pleased that as part of the ALP-Greens agreement we have secured the inclusion of a third pipeline for non-potable water into the Molonglo development. I think this will be an innovative way to proceed and will set the standard for future urban design both in Canberra and, ideally, across the rest of Australia.
We are also looking forward to seeing the government meet its commitment on urban waterways projects, initially the completion of the Sullivans Creek projects and then other projects such as the Yarralumla Creek in Woden and also Weston and Ginninderra creeks. Not only do projects like these improve the urban water
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