Water wise rebates on the rise

By Melissa Meehan
YARRA Ranges residents have claimed nearly 7000 rebates from Yarra Valley Water for water saving products since the State Government’s Water Smart Gardens and Homes Rebate Scheme began in 2003, resulting in estimated savings of 48 million litres of water every year.
Approximately 1.5 billion litres of water are being saved each year by Melburnians through the scheme.
Glen Waverley and Wheelers Hill residents have been named Melbourne’s most water wise suburbs, claiming a total of 3952 water rebates between January 2003 and December last year.
This amounts to savings of approximately 30 million litres of water each year.
In Yarra Ranges, Mooroolbark residents topped the list, claiming over 1100 rebates for water saving products, which are estimated to have saved approximately 7 million litres of water per year.
Across Yarra Valley Water’s service area the most popular rebates were for baskets of water saving products (which can include products such as trigger nozzles, flow control valves, mulch and tap timers), high pressure cleaning devices, and rainwater tanks.
With the scheme being extended until 2011, Yarra Valley Water managing director, Tony Kelly, is encouraging even more Yarra Ranges customers to take advantage of the scheme.
It provides residential customers with a rebate off their water bill for purchasing water-saving devices and services, which will reduce their water consumption.
“The uptake of rebates from Yarra Valley Water’s Yarra Ranges customers has been outstanding and highlights an impressive water saving effort from the community,” said Mr Kelly.
“Total water consumption has reduced by 23 per cent since 2003 in Yarra Valley Water’s service area alone, and much of this can be attributed to customers making their homes more water friendly.”
According to Mr Kelly, Yarra Valley Water has granted over 66,000 rebates to its customers since the scheme began in 2003.
“You can see the mindset has changed,” Mr Kelly said.
“People realise we’re in a drought and can no longer go back to using water liberally. Investing in water saving products shows that our customers are adapting to climate change and are really in it for the long haul.”
Rebates range between $10 and $1000 for products such as rainwater tanks, greywater systems, dual flush toilets or water efficient shower heads.
Water tank rebates were increased on 1 January 2007 to help support households in their water saving efforts under water restrictions.
Tanks of 5000 litres or more are eligible for a rebate of up to $1000, while 2000 to 4999-litre tanks are eligible for a $500 rebate.