Albany schools audit systems to conserve 2.6 million litres per year in light of declining rainfall

Students from seven Albany schools have embarked on a mission to save 62 swimming pools worth of drinking water a year via conservation initiatives as rainfall continues to decline across the Great Southern.

The schools — Albany Senior High School, North Albany SHS, Albany, Spencer Park, Yakamia, Flinders Park, and Mt Lockyer primary schools — all participated in an audit to identify areas where water could be conserved.

Their goal is to save an additional 2.6 million litres of water per year.

Completed as part of the Water Corporation’s Waterwise Towns Program, the students examined bathroom plumbing, garden reticulation and other watery places around their communities to investigate areas for improvement and brainstorm methods to conserve the precious resource.

As part of the initiative, water-efficient fixtures such as dual-flush toilets and time flow taps were installed to help prevent accidental water wastage.

Water Minister Don Punch said such initiatives were crucial to the Great Southern region, where rainfall has dropped 16 per cent since 1968, with a further 21 per cent annual decline predicted by 2050.

“Despite a wet winter, rainfall across the Great Southern has, and will continue to, decline over the long term,” he said.

“By 2050, we’ll need an extra 1.8 billion litres of drinking water each year to support community growth and unlock new economic opportunities.

“Desalination will need to form part of the region’s longer-term water supply, however, it doesn’t mean we can get complacent when it comes to saving water.

“We all need to play our part in securing our water future.”

The decline in rainfall has resulted in reduced availability of groundwater — the source of about 90 per cent of the drinking water supplied throughout the lower Great Southern.

Offers for regional towns to install free waterwise showerheads, and collect rebates for installing rainwater tanks, replacing single-flush toilets, and using an approved garden irrigator to fix leaking reticulation are available until May 31, 2026.