1367.5 - Western Australian Statistical Indicators, Jun 2004  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 07/07/2004   
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MEDIA RELEASE

July 7, 2004
Embargoed: 11:30 AM (AEST)
125/2004
New analysis of water conservation by Western Australian households

A new analysis of water conservation by Western Australian (WA) households was released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, bringing together the latest information from a range of sources.

The article revealed that:
  • The average amount of water flowing into WA's main public water supply dams has halved from 338 Gigalitre (GL)/year on average between 1911 and 1974, to an average of 167 GL/year between 1975 and 2001.
  • Households were the second largest user of water in 2000-01 in WA after the Agriculture industry, accounting for 17% of total water consumption.
  • WA households rely heavily on mains water to meet their needs. In March 2001, it was the main source of household water for bath, shower and washing water (95% of households), drinking water (84%) and garden water (77%).
  • In October 2003, more than one-fifth (21%) of households reported using bore water and 8% used water from a rainwater tank, potentially reducing the demand on high quality mains water supplies.
  • Less than two in five (38%) households had only water efficient shower heads installed in their dwelling in October 2003. An estimated 6 kilolitres (kL) of water per household per year can be conserved by using a water efficient, rather than normal flow, shower head.

Further information is in the June 2004 issue of Western Australian Statistical Indicators (cat. no. 1367.5).

Media note:

    The estimates of water flowing into dams and potential water savings are based on Water Corporation data and are not based on ABS data.

    1 kilolitre (kL) = One thousand litres, or a volume of approximately five 44-gallon drums, or one typical box trailer.

    1 Gigalitre (GL) = One thousand million litres, or a volume of approximately 444 Olympic swimming pools.