Water Saving Rebates Up for Grabs

16 July 2010

Increased water saving rebates available for households...

City West Water is encouraging households to take advantage of increased water saving rebates being offered for rainwater tanks and dual flush toilets to help slash water use in and around the home.

Under the latest rebates on offer, an additional 5000 households can receive a rebate of up to $1000 for installing a large rainwater tank, and rebates for installing a dual flush toilet will double to $100 and be available to another 12,000 households.

City West Water Managing Director Anne Barker said water saving rebates had proven popular with households over recent years, and helped tens of thousands of households slash water use in their homes.

“The rebates that are on offer are a great way to encourage households to install water saving devices in their homes, and add to the almost 3 billion litres of water they’ve saved each year.”

“Rainwater tanks are not subject to water restrictions, (as long as there is no drinking water connection to fill the tank) and can be used to wash cars and water lawns which are not allowed under current Stage 3 restrictions.”

Ms Barker said that the doubling of the rebate on toilet upgrades represents great value and can cut water use inside by up to 35,000 litres per year.

“There are thousands of households who took advantage of the toilet upgrade program and are enjoying the benefits of their new dual-flush toilet, using less than half the water of old single-flush models."

“Households can get a new dual flush toilet fully installed for less than $250 with the new rebate, which is a reasonable investment for such great water savings."

Since the Water Smart Gardens and Homes Rebates Scheme was introduced, almost 280,000 Victorian households have received rebates for purchasing water saving products.

The most popular rebate appeared to be the basket of water saving products. A $30 rebate is available to households who spend $100 on water saving products for the home and garden.

Ms Barker said that rebates had helped encourage households to achieve great water savings, contributing the improved levels of our water storage levels.

“While our current our storage level of 34.5 per cent is much higher than 12 months ago when it was at 25.6 per cent, it means that the dams are still only one-third full, so we need to keep saving water wherever we can.”

“Installing water efficient products like rainwater tanks and dual flush toilets are great examples of how households can achieve ongoing water savings, regardless of our water storage levels.”

For more information and conditions about the Water Smart Gardens and Homes Rebates Scheme visit www.ourwater.vic.gov.au/rebates.