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Who is the funding for?
WaterSmart is targeting high water using organisations that provide important and essential services to the community and in industries that have the potential to make significant water savings.
Targeted industries and sites include hospitals, councils, aged care facilities and some industrial sites.
What is being funded?
The program provides eligible organisations with water use monitoring for 3 years or a one-off water efficiency audit of their site.
Digital monitoring, either through data loggers or digital water meters, allows organisations to understand better how they are using water and to identify leaks or other forms of water waste at their sites.
Water efficiency audits help organisations identify where they are using the most water and make recommendations on how to use water more efficiently.
Audits can identify things like equipment and fixture upgrades or changes in water use behaviours that can save a lot of water.
Benefits of water monitoring and water audits
Water use monitoring and audits help organisations to understand their water use, identify options and make informed decisions around efficient water use.
Those who reduce their water use are not only more sustainable but have lower water bills. If hot water use is also reduced, they also use less energy leading to lower energy bills and reduced greenhouse gas emissions.
Water use monitoring success stories
Greater Shepparton City Council
Water monitoring quickly identifies leaks
Prompted by large water bills and unable to identify the source, Greater Shepparton City Council, with the help of Goulburn Valley Water, installed digital water monitoring devices across 11 of its council sites, including its office buildings, showground, sports grounds and neighbourhood parks.
In the last 12 months, the data provided through water use monitoring enabled GSCC to identify the source and fix leaks across 5 of its monitored sites, leading to significant water and bill savings.
Water losses at Shepparton showgrounds, Deakin Reserve and Rumbalara sports ground were rectified quickly after they were identified, also resulting in less disruption to community and sporting events.
Many of these leaks would not have been found without water use monitoring. Monitoring has allowed GSCC to take quick action to save water resources and money that would otherwise have been wasted.
Reservoir High School
Water monitoring identified faulty toilet cisterns, estimated to save over 6.3 million litres of water and $24,000 in avoided bills.
To find out more about this and other monitoring success stories across Victorian schools, visit the Schools Water Efficiency Program.
Program delivery and further information
The program is funded until June 2024.
WaterSmart is funded by the Victorian Government and delivered by water corporations.
For further information and to see if your non-residential business or organisation is eligible, please get in touch with your water corporation.
Please note that further eligibility criteria will apply.
Page last updated: 24/01/24