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- 16 September 2003
Rainwater Tank Installation
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Mr YEADON: My question without notice is directed to the Minister for Energy and Utilities. What is the latest information on measures to encourage families to install rainwater tanks?
Mr SPEAKER: Order! I call the Leader of the Opposition to order.
Mr SARTOR: I take this opportunity to acknowledge the innovative and effective initiatives that were commenced in energy and water conservation during the time the honourable member for Granville was Minister for Energy.
Mr SPEAKER: Order! I call the Leader of the Opposition to order for the second time.
Mr SARTOR: Conserving our precious water supplies is a responsibility shared by the entire community. Our population is growing, and yet our rainfall is not. On the contrary, the record-breaking drought has ensured that water consciousness is at an all-time high throughout the community. Much has been said recently about what we should do to conserve water. The debate must now enter a new phase. Many initiatives are necessary to make Sydney a sustainable city, and we must address it at all levels, including consumers' contribution to the conservation of water, or alternatively, the harvesting of rainwater.
One of the ways in which residents can take the pressure off Sydney's water supplies is to install a rainwater tank. Every litre of water captured in a rainwater tank and used on a garden or in a laundry is a litre less taken from our dams. The New South Wales Government has taken a number of steps to encourage people to install rainwater tanks. In May 2002 the Government slashed red tape so that anyone who wanted to install a rainwater tank of up to 10,000-litre capacity was no longer required to obtain development consent, and some people took advantage of that. So far five metropolitan councils in Sydney and six in the country have taken up that initiative. That effort was reinforced with the introduction in October 2002 of Sydney's rainwater tank rebate scheme. That program provided financial incentives for Sydney Water customers to install rainwater tanks to reduce household water consumption.
[Interruption]
If we talk about duds, we ought to look at the other side of the Chamber—what a bunch of duds! So far 1,148 rebates have been paid at a cost of about $400,000. I have said previously that the response to the rebate offer had been somewhat disappointing. The search for the reasons for this has turned up a familiar enemy. Once again, we find the strangling hand of administrative inertia. To date, New South Wales plumbing regulations have prevented people from cross-connecting their rainwater tanks to the mains water supply within their own houses.
Mr SPEAKER: Order! I call the honourable member for Wakehurst to order.
Mr SARTOR: The effect of this rule has meant that a second set of pipes would be required, even if a resident only wanted to use the rainwater for the garden, or toilet flushing. We have taken steps to remove this expense and remove this disincentive to maximise the reuse of water.
Mr SPEAKER: Order! I call the honourable member for Lane Cove to order.
Mr SARTOR: Members will be interested to know that yesterday the committee that sets the rules for plumbing in New South Wales met and reached an in-principle agreement to allow important changes to the regulations that govern rainwater tanks. These changes will allow residents in urban areas to cross-connect rainwater with their mains water supply. This brings New South Wales closer to the incoming Australian Standard and gives consumers the choice to cross-connect their rainwater tanks to their home systems, provided there are adequate safeguards to prevent backflow into the water mains.
Mr SPEAKER: Order! I call the honourable member for Coffs Harbour to order.
Mr SARTOR: Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia already apply the provisions of the incoming Australian Standard. So whenever they install a rainwater tank, New South Wales residents will now have a new choice: if residents do not want to drink rainwater it can be connected just for outdoor use, for flushing toilets or for washing clothes; if they do want to drink rainwater then rainwater can be connected for all purposes within their home. All that will be required will be an approved backflow device to prevent rainwater from entering the mains. Connecting a tank just for outdoor use and toilet flushing can lead to savings of 38 per cent in household use. Connecting rainwater just to the washing machine alone can lead to savings of 17 per cent in household water consumption.
These rules will empower consumers to make choices about their use of rainwater. Rainwater tanks have been a part of the Australian landscape for generations. The corrugated iron tank is an icon of the bush. As a young child growing up in Yenda, I remember that there were two tanks on our farm. I remember living off rainwater. Across rural and regional New South Wales, 127 councils provide water to residents in towns and cities the length and breadth of the State.
Mr SPEAKER: Order! I call the honourable member for Upper Hunter to order.
Mr SARTOR: I would like to encourage these country water suppliers to follow Sydney Water's lead and to provide their customers with rebates for rainwater tanks. Having made it simpler for people to install rainwater tanks, I am now pleased to inform the House that Sydney Water has agreed to an extension to its rainwater tank rebate scheme.
Mr SPEAKER: Order! I call the honourable member for Upper Hunter to order for the second time.
Mr SARTOR: Previously the rebate scheme was due to expire on 30 September this year; now it will continue until at least June 2005. The rebate will be reviewed in the context of the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal [IPART] 2005 pricing determination for Sydney Water, when all of its programs will be re-examined. Every resident has a role in saving water. Decisions that appear small have a big impact when spread across a population of four million people. Previously Sydney has relied on water from a few large catchments around Sydney; this is all about turning people's homes into hundreds and thousands of micro-catchments. If we can better capture the rain that falls on our roofs and in our backyards we will reduce the amount of water that we need to take from our dams. This is indeed a sound investment in our future.
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