Western Australian Water Minister praises top Waterwise aquatic centres and councils

The water-saving successes of Western Australia’s council-owned aquatic centres have today been acknowledged at a special Waterwise program awards ceremony.

Presented by Western Australian Water Minister Dave Kelly, the Waterwise Program, introduced by Water Corporation and the Western Australian Department of Water and Environmental Regulation (DWER) more than 13 years ago, is one of several targeted programs that promote efficiency among high water users and ensure all segments of the community are helping conserve precious water supplies.

The Water Corporation's Waterwise Aquatic Centre Program, created in partnership with the Leisure Institute of Western Australia (LIWA) Aquatics, saw eight aquatic centres achieve gold recognition for best practice water management, while Bayswater Waves in the City of Bayswater was crowned the inaugural Platinum Waterwise Aquatic Centre.

The eight aquatic centres achieving gold recognition are: Cockburn ARC; the City of Kalgoorlie Boulder's Goldfields Oasis Recreation Centre; Gosnells Leisure World; the City of Stirling's Leisurepark Balga and Terry Tyzack Aquatic Centre, the Shire of Plantagenet's Mount Barker Swimming Pool, the Manjimup Regional AquaCentre and the Shire of Ashburton's Onslow Aquatic Centre.

Among the Council Awards, the City of Joondalup was named Western Australia’s Platinum Waterwise Council of the Year - one of a record 48 councils state-wide now endorsed through the Waterwise Council Program - recognised for implementing its Yellagonga Integrated Catchment Management Plan and upgrading irrigation infrastructure to reduce groundwater consumption.

The Shires of Exmouth and Harvey also earned special recognition as the state's newest waterwise councils, while the City of South Perth was acknowledged for becoming one of only 26 local governments to achieve gold recognition.

The Town of Cottesloe and Shire of Mundaring marked 10 years' participation in the program.

Minister Kelly also congratulated the Town of Bassendean for claiming Water Corporation's Community Choice Award for transforming a stormwater basin in Eden Hill into a micro-wetland. Chosen by public vote, the project was one of four shortlisted for demonstrating innovative water-efficient design.

In the Waterwise Business Program, Venueswest’s HBF Arena received a Gold Award for using benchmark performance to identify and assess any issues at their site that sees the facility management team, aquatic supervisors and environmental officer involved in regular discussions about water management.

The Award citation noted “recently, a large leak in the pool shell was repaired by divers, removing the need to empty the pool, saving hundreds of litres of water in the process.”

Commenting on the state's Waterwise achievements, Minister Kelly stated "water efficiency is a shared responsibility across the community - in our homes, workplaces, and across all levels of government. In the face of climate change and declining rainfall, never has this responsibility been more important.

"Through the Waterwise Council and Aquatic Centre programs, we're supporting high water users to be as water-efficient as possible across their operations.

"This is an essential part of meeting our future water needs because reducing the amount of water we collectively use defers the need for expensive new sources."

To find out more about the Waterwise Council and Aquatic Centre Programs, visit watercorporation.com.au

Images: Mount Barker Memorial Swimming Pool (top) and Leisurepark Balga (below).