15 October 2009
City West Water customers used a record low 93.0 billion litres of water in the 2008-09 financial year despite a three percent growth in customer numbers and one of the driest 12-month periods on record.
The bulk water purchases, detailed in the City West Water Annual Report tabled in parliament today, shows bulk water purchases from Melbourne Water have edged lower, reflecting further water conservation efforts across its customer base.
Anne Barker, City West Water Managing Director, said the slight reduction in water use is a remarkable achievement and was just one highlight of a successful year for the company.
“Water conservation across the state reached new heights of importance over the last 12 months, and it’s pleasing to know that despite the challenges of drought, the community has been able to further reduce its water consumption,” Ms Barker said.
“We dedicate substantial resources to helping households and businesses reduce their water consumption, and our customers have responded magnificently.
“With a high proportion of non-residential customers in our service area, we worked closely with hundreds of customers to reduce their water use, which has saved hundreds of millions of litres in the past year alone.”
Ms Barker said 2008/08 saw a number of key targets exceeded in the year, particularly in relation to water conservation and service interruptions.
“Despite the bone-dry start to the year that dried out soils resulting in hundreds of bursts and leaks during the peak summer period, we were able to record improved supply interruptions figures.
“And the percentage of unaccounted water – which is made up mostly of system leaks and bursts – was below target at 8.8 % of total water consumption.”
“From a residential water conservation perspective, we provided resources to help the community achieve Target 155 in the home, and we swapped over more than 27,000 showerheads which saved up to 488 million litres of water alone.”
The 2008/009 financial year also saw the company deliver a challenging capital expenditure program, and retain all of its ISO accreditations.
“The investment in upgrading our network, which included $21.6 million to replace 43.5km of water mains, represents one our largest ever capital works expenditures,” Ms Barker said.
“Importantly, we retained all current accreditations and certifications including ISO 9001:2000 (Quality) ISO14001 (Environmental Management), ISO 4801:2001 (OH&S) and HACCP (Water Quality).”