Albany Leisure and Aquatic Centre welcomes Platinum waterwise status

Efforts to preserve water at the Albany Leisure and Aquatic Centre (ALAC) have resulted in the City of Albany being named the joint winner of the Western Australian Government’s Platinum Waterwise Aquatic Centre of the Year award.

Announced in May, the award recognises the ALAC, alongside Kwinana Requatic, as a leader in efficient and sustainable water use for going “over and above” best practices in its water management, and follows on from the Centre achieving gold waterwise status in 2021.

The ALAC’s water-saving initiatives include installing water-saving drink fountains, conducting regular leak inspections, the formation of an internal Water Management Team at the City of Albany, and the installation of two 250-kilolitre capacity water tanks to capture rainwater run-off from the roof.

The water tanks have provided an alternative water supply, harvesting an estimated 520 kilolitres of rainwater and reducing the precinct’s reliance on Albany’s town water supply.

The Centre also hosted the LIWA Aquatics Regional Conference in 2022, providing a networking opportunity for regional centres.

Greeting the recognition, City of Albany Manager of Recreation Services, Mitchell Green advised “the City of Albany is committed to striving to improve the sustainability and environmental impact of city managed buildings and facilities such as ALAC.

“ALAC being named one of two Platinum Waterwise Aquatic Centre for 2023 proves the City’s dedication to preserving and prioritising our local water resource.

“We are incredibly proud of this award and thank the Water Corporation for their acknowledgement of ALAC and the City of Albany’s efforts to preserve water wherever possible.”

A total of 64 Western Australian councils are participating in the Waterwise program, including all 32  metropolitan councils and 32 regional councils.

In 2020/21 the Waterwise greening scheme funded 13 councils to create 216 waterwise verges, plant 621 waterwise trees and more than 35,000 waterwise plants.

The Waterwise Councils program was established by the Western Australian Water Corporation and the Western Australian Department of Water and Environmental Regulation to encourage waterwise practices among local government.

Image: Albany Leisure and Aquatic Centre. Credit: City of Albany.