The average inflow of water in to Melbourne’s catchments from 1913 to 1996 was 625 GL/year.

The average from 1907 to 2007 is only 385 GL/year.

That’s a drop of over 800 litres per year.

Over the winter period, Melbourne’s water capacity was raised by 3.5% raising it to 33.6% by the end of August 2008.

In comparison to the storage level last year of 38.6%, we are down by 90 billion litres. Melbourne’s water storage is currently 34.5%.

Heading into what promises to be a very hot summer, it’s now crucial to conserve as much water as possible. Our catchments are already very low, and with a hot summer on the horizon now is the time to put your water conserving hat on. Check out some articles and tips on how to save and harvest water.

Posted: October 1st, 2008 under saving water.
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Yesterday, we visited the Royal Botanical Gardens in Melbourne.

The weather and gardens were beautiful, but we really noticed how lush and green the lawns were. It was inviting and refreshing to see all that green - and the number of people picnicking there proved the appeal.

What was interesting was to see various notices around the gardens referring to their water usage. They have reduced their water consumption in the last 10 years by about 50% through a system of testing, training staff and improved horticultural practices.

It is an interesting thought that checking your irrigation systems can make a difference to your water consumption. of course, the Botanical Gardens have major irrigation systems to check - they manually check the pressure level of all sprinklers for instance.

However, at home you can check the following things:

• do fittings fit your tap so that there are no drips and leaks when you use a hose or system?
• is your hose in good condition without leaks?
• if you have a watering system, is every sprinkler head clean and clear to allow water flow?
• does your tap timer turn the tap completely off when it finishes?
• does your tap drip?
• do all sprinkler heads point towards plants as appropriate - as plants grow and gardens change, the heads may need to be adjusted

When you consider that a leaking tap can waste up to 20,000 litres of water a year, these regular checks can save a significant amount of water.

Posted: March 30th, 2008 under gardening, saving water.
Comments: 2

The cost of a litre of water is actually very low in Australia - which means that saving water by harvesting rain probably won’t save you a huge amount of water. That is, you won’t save a lot on your water usage charges.

However, collecting water in a tank can save you money in other ways:

• the amount of water you use form the mains is used to determine the amount of sewerage disposal you are charged. The assumption is that if you use more water, you will put more into the waste system, so reducing water usage will save you in sewerage costs
• a healthy garden can provide shading for your house which reduces your need for (and therefore the expense associated with ) air conditioning
• having water for growing your own fruit and vegetables will save you money from buying food at the shops - especially if you prefer organic options. It also is better for the environment as there is less transportation and farming machine costs.
• you can wash your car at home instead of at a commercial car wash - a much cheaper option!
• keeping soil around your home moist (by watering gardens) may prevent cracks in your house resulting from dried out soil and foundations. Fixing cracks in brickwork and plaster can be expensive and time consuming, and that doesn’t count re-stumping or potential dangers from instability either.

Posted: March 14th, 2008 under general, saving water.
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Did you know that to grow $1 worth of rice in Australia needs over 1700 litres of water?

That is a lot of water for a small amount of food. I’m not sure how much water it takes in other countries but it is less than Australia because they grow rice in wet areas - we grow it closer to the desert than the coast. 

Maybe some scientists could find a way to grow rice with less water? Or maybe we need to find better places to grow it?

I wonder if brown rice is better because it uses less water in processing?

Posted: February 22nd, 2008 under general, junior water, saving water.
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Water used in your home is classed into two broad categories – grey and black water. Black water must be sent into the sewerage system, but grey water can potentially be reused in your home.

Black water includes:

•   Everything flushed through a toilet
•  Water from your dishwasher (it contains a lot of grease, harsh detergents and other solids) 

Grey water includes:

• Water from the laundry, especially the rinse cycles 
• Bath and shower water 

 If anyone in your house has gastro or another tummy bug, the flu or measles, it is best to not use even grey water to ensure the disease is not spread.

Posted: January 28th, 2008 under general, saving water.
Comments: 1

Stage 3a water restrictions obviously affect pool and spa owners, too. 

If you have a new pool or spa, you can’t use tap water to fill it. Of course, you can use tank water or even ground water if available.

If your existing pool or spa takes 2,000 litres or less of water, you can use a bucket or watering can to fill it, but never with a hose connected to tap water.A larger existing pool or spa can only be filled with tap water if you have a water conversation plan from your local water company.You can top up your existing pool or spa with a bucket or watering can, but never with a hose connected to tap water.Under stage 4, topping up existing pools/spas by bucket will be allowed but no filling of pools/spas will be allowed without specific permission from your local water authority.

Posted: January 19th, 2008 under general, saving water.
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As long as it is grey (and not black) water, you can reuse some of your water for non-consumption purposes – that means, you can’t use it for drinking, cooking, showering or watering edible plants (fruit tress are ok).

When using grey water, use it over the largest area possible to reduce the impact and build up of any contaminants in your soil. The use of slotted pipes is effective for spreading the water across a larger area, too.If piping grey water onto your garden, it is best to have the pipes underground. This has a number of benefits:

• No pipes for anyone to trip over or move away from where you want themKids and pets can’t access the pipe and drink the waterWater reaches the roots of your plants instead of possibly running off the soil
• Any spray won’t land on the leaves of edible plants 
• There is less spread of any chemicals and bacteria in the water

Remember that grey water can’t be stored for more than 24 hours unless it is being treated before use.Note that you can only use grey water on your property – do not allow if to run off into the street on your neighbour’s property.

Posted: January 16th, 2008 under gardening, general, saving water.
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If you have tank water, you can wash your car at home whenever you like. Of course, to save water you may prefer to use a commercial car wash or ensure you only use buckets of water and wash your car on the lawn.

Without your own tank water, you can use a bucket of water to clean windows, lights and mirrors, or spot clean any corrosive substances. Under stage 3a restrictions, for a full car wash, you must use a commercial car wash facility that uses less than 70 litres per car and recycles water.Note that if we move to stage 4 restrictions, even commercial car washes will have to use buckets for washing.

Posted: January 15th, 2008 under general, saving water.
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If you are setting up a veggie/herb garden and want some tough (as in can survive in little water) plants, try any of the following:

• bronze fennel (will grow wild if not monitored)
• cherry tomatoes
• artichokes
• garlic
• garlic chives
• lemon balm
• warrigal spinach
• Japanese parsley
• marjoram
• apple mint (less so if you use the variegated specis)
• rosemary
• cucumber
• eggplant
• zucchini
• pumpkin
• burdock
• perennial beans
• zebra beans
• spring onion
• established silver beet

If you choose a mix of these veggies and others than use more water, try separating your garden bed into two parts so you only need to water one part frequently.

Plants grown from seed will be much hardier than ones you have transplanted.

Posted: January 6th, 2008 under gardening, saving water.
Comments: 1

Overall, the water coming out of your laundry is perfectly usable on most of your garden or even for flushing toilets.

You can use this water by collecting it in buckets you then carry out to your garden, connecting a length of flexible pipe to the outlet and hand-watering your garden or by connecting pipes from the laundry to the garden permanently.

If you have the water piped form your laundry, remember to have a diverter added in as well. A diverter means you can control when the water goes onto your garden and when it goes into the sewer system.It is best to not use laundry water on your garden when:

•  It is raining heavily (there is no point overloading the soil and causing more runoff)
• The washing includes dirty nappies or other particularly dirty items
•  You have used bleach
• You are cleaning something greasy or toxic in the laundry trough

Posted: January 2nd, 2008 under general, saving water.
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