Your Business Can Achieve Water Savings

Rous Water’s Blue and Green Business program is an ongoing program designed to support business to make the change to more water efficient infrastructure and practices. The program has been used across a whole range of business types including food processing, laundries, motels, caravan parks, as well as office and retail businesses.

In some cases the savings are achieved through simple measures such as converting single flush toilets to dual flush toilets. Other simple and cost effective measures have included installation of water efficient tapware and showerheads as well as installation of rainwater tanks for uses such as pool top-up, toilet flushing and in washing machines, or the change over to new water efficient washing machines.

Some of the biggest water savings have been achieved in the tourist and accommodation business sector. Under the Blue and Green Program Ballina Headlands Leisure Park has made some outstanding water savings over the last 3 years.

Ballina Headlands Leisure Park – A Water Efficiency Success Story
Ballina Headlands Leisure Park operates as a caravan park, with 125 long-term sites (approximately 200 residents) & 75 short term sites, including cabins, caravans and camp sites. Park owner and manager, Graeme Gray, says “We were using a lot of water. Our business was regularly in the top ten highest water users for Rous Water. With the cost of water ever increasing and our aim to improve the sustainability and the environmental friendliness of our business, we had to look at water saving projects”.

Working closely with Rous Water over recent years, the Park has undertaken a staged approach to implementing several water saving projects, resulting in a dramatic 50% decrease in water consumption. The projects have included:

• Installation of rainwater tanks, gathering water from shed roofline to refill resort pool & spa.
• Installation and introduction of water meters to 125 long term sites, whereby residents’ are now on a user pays system.
• Purchase of 4 front load washing machines to replace 4 top load washing machines in the park laundry.
• The upgrade of toilets in amenities building to dual-flush toilets.
• Installation of 2 waterless urinals to replace old urinal.

Graeme said that the incentive of some funding from Rous Water helped push the projects forward and that the long-term benefits, both financially and environmentally are enormous. “Personally it has been very rewarding to see that our hard work to introduce these water saving measures has been so successful” he said.

For more information on how your business can save water and money go to www.rouswater.nsw.gov.au.

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