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The Shire of Augusta Margaret River has announced a new water wise garden competition as part of their Caring for Our Place initiative.
With the average household using almost half of their water in the garden, the Facebook competition aims to celebrate community members who have successfully created water wise gardens and to inspire others to think about the small, easy changes they can make in their own gardens.
Shire President Julia Meldrum said that it’s important that we all consider our water use during these warmer months.
“We recently launched our Caring for Our Place initiative to encourage our community to observe and adapt to changes within the seasons and implement key sustainable living practices.”
“Often in our busy lives, we can get distracted and miss natures subtle cues. However, when we take the time to observe natures changes and tread lightly on country, we can start to live in greater harmony with our land and environment,” said Julia.
“When it comes to living in harmony with the land and environment, we just need to look to the Wadandi and Pibelmen people (cultural custodians of South West WA) who have lived here since the land was soft and through generations of knowledge being passed on, have a deep connection to and understanding of what it means to care for country. This includes following an ancestral six season calendar, known as Six Seasons of Wadandi.”
“For example, when the Wanajet (peppy flowers) start to fall, this signals that the Wadandi season of Birak is here, and means the rains are easing up.”
“While we have had some rain throughout December and January, this is a perfect reminder to us all that we should be preparing for potentially a long summer and doing everything we can to reduce our water use.”
“Those living on rainwater know all too well that water is a precious resource, but for those on scheme water it’s easy to forget so we’re encouraging everyone to consciously think about ways to reduce our water use.”
“A big one is looking at our water use in the garden, so the aim of the Facebook competition is to encourage our community to share how their water wise gardens are holding up this summer. Sharing your wins, knowledge and lessons is a powerful way to inspire other community members.”
Conserving water resources, even in areas without shortages, reduces the need to build dams or extract water from rivers, decreases wastewater produced and treated at sewage plants, lowers energy requirements for treating and transporting water, and reduces greenhouse gas emissions.
In addition to the Shire’s Facebook competition, the Water Corporation currently have three waterwise initiatives available to our community, including the Regional Rainwater Tank Rebate, Regional Showerhead Swap program and Waterwise Toilet Rebate.
All Water Corporation customers connected to scheme water in the South West are eligible to apply for one of the following rainwater tank rebates:
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New rainwater tank and plumbing - up to a maximum of $1,000 for a new rainwater tank with a capacity of 2,000L or more that is plumbed
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Plumbing in an existing rainwater tank - up to a maximum of $500 for the rainwater tank with a capacity of 2,000L or more
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Replacing an existing plumbed in rainwater tank - up to a maximum of $500 for the rainwater tank with a capacity of 2,000L or more
The Regional Showerhead Swap program allows Water Corporation customers located in Augusta to swap up to two of their old showerheads for new water efficient WELS 4-star rated models, for free.
The Waterwise Toilet Rebate offers $400 towards the cost to replace a single-flush toilet with a WELS 4-star or higher water rated toilet at a property connected to Water Corporation’s scheme water in regional WA. The rebate can be claimed for up to 2 toilets per property, with a $400 allowance per toilet.
The Shire is committed to making Augusta Margaret River a great place to live and facilitating, advocating and funding action on sustainable living practices.
The Shire is also committed to reducing its water use including monitoring and reviewing the Shire’s water data, ensuring that any refurbishments include water wise fixtures, fittings and toilets (including the recent Margaret River Recreation Centre), encouraging water sensitive design in new sub-divisions, supporting the agricultural transition to regenerative farming including water retention and management, and providing residents with water testing services to assist community members who may be concerned about rainwater contamination.
To find out more and enter the Facebook competition, visit: www.amrshire.wa.gov.au/shire-and-council/news/challenge-one-showcasing-water-wise-gardens
To learn about Water Corporation’s incentives, visit: www.watercorporation.com.au/Waterwise/Waterwise-offers