Some industries are very thirsty and use much more water than others. Estimates suggest that it takes:
- well over 100,000 litres of water to make a tonne of steel;
- about a litre of water to make a small 100 gram bar of chocolate;
- nine litres of water to make paper for a magazine; and
- even the milk you drink takes a lot of water - a cow can drink up to 90 litres a day!
There are some heavy water users in the City West Water region, ranging from high-rise office blocks in the CBD to large industrial complexes on the western edges. Many small industries and other businesses like swimming centres and laundromats are also inbetween.
Among the biggest users of water are beverage makers like soft-drink and beer manufacturers who need it as a raw ingredient. Grain wholesalers cleaning soil from their product, or textile companies cleaning or dyeing fabrics all need plenty of water. In some companies, expensive magnetic flow water meters are installed to measure the millions of litres being used every day.
In order to meet our state government target of a 15 per cent reduction in potable water use by 2010, City West Water has a dedicated team working with our customers to reduce their water consumption.