Complimentary
Watersaver Materials
Encourage your staff and visitors to be water conscious at your place of business.
To place your order for your FREE supply of stickers and tent cards simply email watersaver@ goldcoastwater.com.au.
June 2009
- Water excellence gets world-wide acclaim
- Class A+ recycled water update
- Do you need a Water Efficiency
Management Plan? - Save money by identifying and repairing leaks
- REUSE09 exhibition
- 2009 Gold Coast Business Excellence Awards
- Healthy Waterways awards 2009 winners
- Complimentary Watersaver materials
- Subscribe/unsubscribe
Water excellence gets world-wide acclaim
Gold Coast Water has been recognised internationally for its excellence in the water industry by winning the 2009 Global Water Intelligence Public Water Agency of the Year award in Zurich, Switzerland.
Council’s Water Management Committee Chair, Councillor Daphne McDonald said the annual awards recognised the people, technologies, projects and organisations that made a positive and true difference in the water industry.
“This award reiterates that we are leading the way in the water industry, and have done so for many years,” said Cr McDonald. “The awards were voted for by public members of the Global Water Intelligence from 1 to 31 March. This latest award adds to the long list of acknowledgements Gold Coast City Council has received over the years, for the management of our most precious resource – water.”
Councillor McDonald said significant outcomes included:
Gold Coast Waterfuture Strategy 2006 – 2056 which was developed to address drought and rapid population growth. Many initiatives were brought forward and include:
- raising Hinze Dam
- desalination
- pressure and leakage management
- rainwater tanks
- recycled water
- water conservation.
Pimpama Coomera Waterfuture Master Plan which aims to significantly reduce the demand for drinking water by establishing a sustainable urban water cycle that includes:
- class A+ recycled water delivered to dual reticulated homes and businesses
- rainwater tanks to supply cold water to the washing machine tap and an outdoor tap
- smart sewers to reduce stormwater intrusion, resulting in less energy used to treat the region’s wastewater
For further information click here.
Class A+ recycled water update
Landholders and Developers site tour
Over 70 landholders and developers in the Pimpama Coomera region were given an exclusive site tour of the Pimpama Recycled Water Treatment Plant last month. The special event gave the group an insight into the Class A+ recycled water treatment process.
Council’s Water Management Committee Chair and Deputy Mayor, Councillor Daphne McDonald said as the countdown to the introduction of Class A+ Recycled Water draws closer, it is vital that key members of the community are well informed about the product.
“Gold Coast Water was delighted to see so many developers and landholders on site. We hope that they can now share their knowledge about the Class A+ recycled water treatment process,” Cr McDonald said.
“It is important that the community is well informed about the correct use of Class A+ recycled water – for outdoor purposes and toilet flushing. By using this product, homeowners and businesses will receive a significant saving on their water bills.”
Community Displays
Class A+ recycled water will be introduced into dual reticulated homes and businesses in the Pimpama Coomera region later this year. Community displays will be held at various locations in the Coomera area throughout July in the lead up to the launch of Class A+ recycled water.
This is your chance to learn more about Class A+ recycled water and its uses and we want your feedback!
Technical experts will also be in attendance to answer questions about this exciting new product.
Community Displays will be held at Woolworths - Coomera City Centre, Upper Coomera Coles Shopping Centre, Master Builders Display Village, Coomera Retreat. For more information on times and dates go to: www.goldcoastwater.com.au/pimpamacoomera
Do you need a Water Efficiency Management Plan?
As part of the Queensland Water Commission’s (QWC) long-term demand management strategy,all non-residential customers using greater than 10 million litres (ML) per year are required to prepare and submit a Water Efficiency Management Plan (WEMP).
Water Efficiency Management Plans (WEMPs) are a key element of the Queensland Water Commission’s (QWC) regional water restrictions and a long-term demand management strategy requiring businesses to achieve water use efficiency. While the development and implementation of a WEMP enables businesses to assess their activities and identify and implement water savings, the overall aim is for businesses to make the efficient use of water a part of normal day to day business operations.
WEMPs assist businesses to:
- Account for water use in a business or non-residential premises;
- Identify water saving measures that can be readily applied to a business or other non-residential premises; and
- Prepare a plan for implementing the identified measures, including the identified savings, program priority and implementation timelines.
All WEMPs must:
- Be prepared in accordance with the QWC Guidelines;
- Be submitted for approval to the relevant water service provider (WSP) (Gold Coast Water);
- Be capable of third party certification; and
- Contain details (including dates) of how the business is achieving or plans to achieve a 25% reduction of water use or best practice. Best practice can be demonstrated by documenting the types of measures the business has implemented to achieve best practice and verifying why such measures are considered to be best practice.
Ensure your WEMPs are in place. For further information click here or contact Gold Coast Water’s Customer Contact Centre on 1300 366 692.
Save money by identifying and repairing leaks
Did you know that by reducing water consumption in your business you will also reduce water, energy and wastewater charges?
Checking for leaks regularly and repairing them quickly is one simple yet often overlooked way of saving water.
Here are 3 simple steps for checking leaks in your workplace.
1. Employees
Appoint a staff member to manage water conservation including leak management, then encourage staff to report leaks to this person.
2. Water meter
Before leaving for the day, check your water meter reading and write it down somewhere safe. Select a day where you are sure no additional water will be used overnight, then the following morning check your meter again. Compare this figure to the one you wrote down the night before - if the morning figure is higher, you have a water leak that needs to be traced and fixed.
3. Toilets
To check if your toilet has a slow leak, add a few drops of food colouring to the toilet cistern. Don't flush the toilet for at least one hour. If colouring shows up in the toilet bowl after an hour, there is a leak. After fixing the leak, repeat the food colouring test to check it has been fully repaired.
REUSE09 exhibition
REUSE09 and the Australian Water Association are seeking exhibitors for the 7th International Water Association World Congress on Water Reclamation and Reuse.
The exhibition, to be held in Brisbane this September, will enable organisations to showcase programs and services, exhibit products and brochures and network with delegates within the water industry.
Over 400 delegates are expected to attend the conference, including scientists, engineers and practicing professionals from government departments, international aid agencies, private institutions, consulting establishments, research institutes and tertiary institutions.
When: 21-24 September 2009
Where: Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre
2009 Gold Coast Business Excellence Awards
The Gold Coast Business Excellence Awards are the region's most comprehensive and prestigious business awards.
Primarily beginning as a vehicle to recognise family business, the Gold Coast Business Excellence Awards have developed to now encompass a category for every type of business enterprise.
2009 categories include:
- 2009 Business of the Year
- Mayor's Innovation GC Award
- Manufacturing and Construction Award
- Tourism, Hospitality and Recreation Award
- Information Technology and Multimedia Award
- Trades, Professions and Services Award
- Family Business Award
- Emerging Business Award
- Environmental Management Award
- Bob Scott Encouragement Award
- Mayor's Corporate Social Responsibility Award
- Gold Coast Business Person Hall of Fame
Entries for the monthly awards close on the 1st of each month until October 2009.
Further information can be found at www.goldcoastbusinessawards.com.au
Healthy Waterways awards 2009 winners
The winners of the Healthy Waterways Awards 2009 were announced at a gala dinner on 20 May, with a total of $22,000 in prize money awarded.
This year’s Healthy Waterways Awards category winners included:
- Brisbane Airport Community Award: Caloundra Road Duplication Project - Mooloolah River Waterwatch and Landcare Inc.
- Arup Industry Award: Western Corridor Recycled Water Project - WaterSecure
- Cement Concrete & Aggregates Australia Research Award: Noosa River Estuary - Department of Environment and Resource Management
- Veolia Water Australia School Award: Bunya to the Bay - Stanley River Environmental Education Centre
- BMT WBM Pty Ltd Government Award: Sunshine Coast Erosion and Sediment Control Program -Sunshine Coast Regional Council
- Southern Pacific Sands Water Sensitive Urban Design Award: Willawong Bus Depot Integrated Water Cycle Plan - Brisbane City Council
- Seqwater Rural Award: Mid Brisbane River Irrigators - Mid Brisbane River Irrigators Inc
- CSIRO National Research Flagships Waterways Champion Award: Mrs Jennifer Singfield
- Minister’s Grand Prize: Sunshine Coast Regional Council’s Erosion and Sediment Control Program
Climate Change and Sustainability Minister Kate Jones paid tribute to the organisations and individuals who were doing their part towards protecting, conserving and improving our waterways.
“The work showcased through the Healthy Waterways Awards helps to confirm what the South East Queensland Healthy Waterways Partnership is all about – industry, community, schools, individuals, researchers and planners working together to safeguard our waterways for future generations,” Ms Jones said.
The Healthy Waterways Awards are hosted by the SEQ Healthy Waterways Partnership, a special collaboration between government, industry, researchers and the community working to improve catchment management and waterway health in South East Queensland. For further information visit www.healthywaterways.org.
Complimentary Watersaver materials
Encourage your staff and visitors to be water conscious at your place of business. Gold Coast Water has complimentary bathroom stickers that have been tested in a number of marinas, shopping centres and hotels on the Gold Coast, proving to be beneficial in reminding staff & visitors to be water efficient in the bathroom.
These stickers also subconsciously reinforce water conservation messages, leading to water efficient behaviour in other areas.
For maximum exposure we recommend you position a sticker above the basin area and on the cistern of each toilet. The stickers are non-marking stickers and suitable to be placed on mirrors.
To place your order simply email watersaver@goldcoastwater.com.au and include your business name, postal address and the number of stickers you require.
Subscribe / Unsubscribe
Case studies
Find out how Gold Coast businesses are reducing their water use and in turn saving money.
You have been sent a copy of this Water Biz eNewsletter as a key business on the Gold Coast. To be removed from this mailing list or update your details, please email your request to either unsubscribe or update.
If a business associate would like to subscribe to this eNewsletter, they should email their request to watersaver@goldcoastwater.com.au.
To subscribe to other Gold Coast Water eNewsletters visit our eNewsletter subscriptions webpage.
Contact us
We value your feedback for comment and enquiries.
Email: watersaver@goldcoastwater.com.au
Website: www.goldcoastwater.com.au/watersaver
Phone: Gold Coast Water Customer Contact Centre 1300 366 692
Post: Gold Coast City Council, PO Box 5042, Gold Coast MC Queensland 9729
