Why Save Water
- 1. Why Save Water? Multicultural Community Education Project
- 2. Why learn about water? Water supply is limited in Australia We live with drought Water costs money Youth use the most water So there is enough for future generations To educate others
- 3. Australia is known as “The Dry Continent” What do you think the reason for this is? In Australia we have less than 50 days of rain a year. The low water supply is also a result of high temperatures and evaporation. Much of Australia also consists of large areas of desert. The low rainfall and not enough natural mountain barriers to catch the water when it falls means many parts of the country are often dry. Drought occurs often in Australia these are months/ years of prolonged and abnormally dry periods where there is not enough water for users normal needs. In Australia, South Australia is known as the driest state on the driest continent.
- 4. Australia is not the only place where water is a problem! Can you think of some other countries where there is not enough water for people to use or where water is difficult to access? What do people from other countries have to do to get water?
- 5. What costs more 1litre of milk or 1000 litres of water? 1000 litres of water costs around 50 cents
- 6. How important is water? What do we use water for? What of these uses could we do without? Which are essential to life? What other things need water to live?
- 7. What is a water cycle?
- 8. Planet Earth or Planet Water? Water makes up about 75% of the planet Approximately 3% of which is fresh water The remaining 97% is salt water
- 9. Where in the world is all the fresh water? Of the 3% of fresh water available 2/3 of it is locked away as ice and snow. Leaving just 1% available in the entire world for human use. *demonstration
- 10. So where is Australia’s fresh water ? Water in Australia can be found in a number of places, in Rivers, Streams, Creeks, Lakes, Reservoirs, and also from underground such as aquifers and the Great Artesian Basin. All of these require rainfall or melting snow to recharge their supply. Hume Dam, Victoria
- 11. So where does our water in South Australia come from ? In a drought year up to 90% of our water in Adelaide is sourced from the River Murray The rest comes from our reservoirs such as Mt Bold and Kangaroo Creek. The River Murray is a major source of water for many regions in Australia consider this, in 1 day of average flow of the Amazon River is equal to about 1 whole year of flow for the River Murray
- 12. The River Murray Urban Users Local Action Planning Committee Inc. The River Murray Urban Users Local Action Planning Committee Inc. (RMUUC), now operating its many projects under the MurrayCare™ banner, is one of eleven local action planning groups that are working to address River Murray natural resource management issues from a local perspective in South Australia. Local action planning is an initiative of the Murray-Darling Basin Commission and it enables the local community to determine priorities for action to address natural resource management issues in the Murray- Darling Basin. RMUUC is the only group that focuses on areas outside the Basin that use River Murray water. The River Murray Urban Users region includes metropolitan Adelaide and all urban and rural areas outside the Murray-Darling Basin that receive piped River Murray Water. This includes Yorke Peninsula, the Northern Spencer Gulf cities, the Mid-North and some towns in the upper South East, including Keith. The River Murray Urban Users Region overlaps five of the eight Natural Resource Management regions across South Australia.
- 13. Get Water Wise! How much water does it take to make 1 newspaper? 50 litres How much water does a toilet use full flush? 10 litres How many litres of water are used to make a 100g chocolate bar? 1 litre How much water would an average garden sprinkler use in 3 minutes? 50 litres How much water is used for an average bath? 150 litres How many litres of water does it take to make 1 glass of milk? 1000 litres How much water is wasted if we leave the tap running while brushing our teeth? 5 litres a minute How much water is used to make a 100 gram steak? 9000 litres How much water does it take to make 1 cup of rice? 235 litres
- 14. Water Use Who uses the most water industry (factories) or homes? Households use over ½ of our water supply Where do you think the most water is used inside a home? 40% Garden & Outdoors 20% Bathroom 11% Toilet 16% Laundry 11% Kitchen 2% Other
- 15. Saving water in your home Dual Flush Toilets These are one of the easiest ways to save water because it gives you a ½ flush or a full flush option. Old single flush toilets use up to 16 litres a flush New dual flush toilets use as little as 3 litres a flush
- 16. What you can do to save water? Turn off the tap Fix any leaks Only turn appliances on when load is full Use a shower timer Plant Australian native plants, they need less water Install a AAA rated shower head Fit a trigger nozzle To your hose Buy appliances with a Install a Rainwater high star rating, these use tank less water
- 17. Water Restrictions Many of Australia’s states now have water restrictions. Do you know what our water restrictions are in South Australia? Current water restrictions include: You must restrict the days you water your garden to once a week, for 3 hours only, using either, drippers, hand held hoses or hoses with trigger nozzles fitted. The day you can water depends on the number of your house Even numbered houses- Saturday Odd numbered houses- Sunday 11 12 1 Between 11 12 1 10 2 10 2 9 AM 3 7am- 10am PM 9 3 8 4 Or 7 5 8 4 6 4pm- 7pm 7 5 6 You can water your garden on any day if you use a watering can or bucket. Other types of watering systems such as sprinklers are not allowed.
- 18. Water Restrictions You cannot hose down concrete, paving, decking, walls or roofs except in the case of a fire. Ponds, fountains and water features that don’t recycle water must not be operated unless they support fish. You can top these up with a hose with a trigger nozzle but you cannot refill these if they are empty. You cannot refill an empty pool or spa unless you have a permit. Children's wading pools can be filled with up to 250 litres of water Washing cars and boats can only be done at a car wash or from a bucket filled directly from a tap. (You cannot use a hose) People with boats can flush out motors and rinse metal parts to prevent corrosion. For further information see the SA Water website at www.sawater.com.au
- 19. Thank- you
- 20. References Bureau of Meteorology, Living with drought. Retrieved January 23, 2008, from http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/drought/livedrought.shtml Murray Care http://www.murrayusers.sa.gov.au) On the trail of Clean Water, a resource for teachers and students. 2001, S.A. Water, Adelaide . S.A. Water, Saving Water In Your Home. Retrieved January 23, 2008, from http://www.sawater.com.au/Water/YourHome/SaveWaterInYourHome.html Chandra-Shekeran, K & Pham, T 2005, Youth Water Training Program, Western Young People’s Independent Network (WYPIN), VIC. Contact: www.vicnet.au/~wypin