MEDIA RELEASE 16 March 2007

Go grey to keep your garden green

Wide Bay Water Corporation is urging residents to get "Waterwise" to help conserve this precious resource.

WBWC Senior Environmental Officer Jeanette McAuliffe said two key areas for reducing water consumption were showering and garden-watering.

"These are time-based activities," she said. "We're urging everyone to reduce the time they spend under the shower. Lots of people don't realise how long they actually take so investing in a three-minute shower-timer is a great idea. They're a bit like a waterproof egg-timer which you can stick to the tiles."

And she said gardeners could become Waterwise without sacrificing their plants.

"Many of us want to preserve our gardens but they can account for up to 50 percent of household water use which is a really significant amount," she said. "We can offset this by planting drought-hardy natives, spreading plenty of mulch and using greywater instead of drinking water on our plants."

Greywater is waste water from non-toilet and non-kitchen plumbing systems such as handbasins, washing machines, showers and baths.

"The simplest way is via a bucket but you can also install do-it-yourself kits from hardware stores or contact a plumber for a more advanced system."

Ms McAuliffe said residents could also perform a simple check to ensure their home-plumbing system was not wasting water through leaks.

"Just write down the reading on your water meter before you go to bed," she said. "Make sure everyone in the house knows not to use water if they get up during the night then check the meter again first thing in the morning and compare the reading. If it's higher than the night before you've probably got a leak and will need to call a plumber."

WAYS TO USE GREYWATER IN THE GARDEN

• Put a bucket in the shower or bath and collect the 'warm up' water for your garden.
• Place a container in the sink when washing fruit or vegetables and empty it on your plants.
• Get a do-it-yourself greywater kit from a hardware store and divert greywater from the laundry on to your garden. (Check that detergents are garden-friendly and low in sodium.)
• For a permanent greywater system get in touch with a licensed plumber.

For more details phone Denis Heron, Wide Bay Water Corporation, on 1300 808 888.