5 December 2008

Water use targets missed, targets reset.

5 December 2008 | johnboy

ACTEW have sent word that with Canberra ignoring the existing water use targets they’re aiming up and lowering the bar.

““As a city, we need to aim for an average consumption of 139 megalitres (ML) per day between December and February,’ said ACTEW Managing Director Mark Sullivan.

“This is up from the spring target of 112ML, which we were close to achieving over the last three months, despite some predominantly dry and warm weather. In fact the city used on average 120 ML per day this spring, slightly down from spring last year when we used 121 ML per day.”

With expectations set sufficiently low there’s no limit to how often the targets can be achieved!

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monomania11:29 am 06 Dec 08

Anyway, how realistic were the targets in the first place. For years we have been beaten over the head with newspaper reports and now freeway signs about meeting them. The Government and ACTEW seem to be placing responsibility for their failure on us. I agree with restriction during water scarcity. Permanent reduction should come from education, not permanent restrictions. ACTEW is not beyond manipulating information to suit its purposes. 107GL is a lot of water to have in hand. Over 2 years consumption is more than Melbourne or Sydney. It doesn’t seem that Actew has been trying too hard over the second half of spring to get those storage figures up.

dexi9:13 pm 05 Dec 08

Sure Jim you can run naked, we wont tell.

imarty4:05 pm 05 Dec 08

Cool graph but.

Jim Jones2:50 pm 05 Dec 08

Still not allowed to run naked through the sprinkler in the front yard then?

blueberry2:24 pm 05 Dec 08

>Pretty standard I would have thought. Summer usage is bound to be higher than in spring…fair enough to re-think the targets.

Ditto, Thats just what i was thinking. Setting realistic targets for summer beacuse water use is always higher.

housebound12:39 pm 05 Dec 08

See here for a complete list:

http://www.environmentcommissioner.act.gov.au/soe/2007actreport/indicators07/wateruse07#table4

AG Canberra11:55 am 05 Dec 08

OK Canberra has 115 000 dwellings according to the ABS in 2006 – and if each of them are allocated 548 litres per day then that equals 63 million litres usage per day. (This “allocation” is based on domestic pricing – $1.85 per kl for the first 548 litres per day per three months – then $3.70 per kl…)

So this means that the “rest” of the city is currently using 76 million litres per day?

Where is the stick for non household users? We are constantly being told to cut down on household water use but clearly the major proportion of water use in Canberra is from non-household use….

housebound11:51 am 05 Dec 08

You might be assuming a greater level of rational thought than actually exists at the planning level.

VYBerlinaV8_the_one_they_all_copy11:36 am 05 Dec 08

do they take into consideration the 3 new suburbs that sprung up over the last year or so?

This is a very good point. The difficulty with the targets is also in working out what they really mean. Who’s use of water contributes – just ACT? What if the targets are missed? What about new humans and businesses in the area and their use?

Perhaps it would be better to set a per person target.

DawnDrifter11:23 am 05 Dec 08

do they take into consideration the 3 new suburbs that sprung up over the last year or so?

if they have our water consumption is actually doing fairly well.. nearly the same consumption but with more households

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