MEDIA RELEASE
25 January 2011	Embargoed: 11.30 am (Canberra time)	8/2011

South Australians have dropped their daily water use by a third over the last ten years, according to the latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

Between 2000-01 and 2009-10, the average daily water use by South Australian households fell from 756 litres to 501 litres.

In 2003, the introduction of Permanent Water Conservation Measures saw average daily water use fall from 762 litres ( 2002-03) to 644 litres (2003-04) - a 15% decrease.

Another decline happened in 2007 - Level 3 Water Enhancement Restrictions came into effect with a further reduction of around 100 litres per day. These restrictions pulled daily water use down to just over 500 litres per household, where it has remained for the last three years.

Actions taken to save water by South Australian households include installing water saving devices and appliances, and using rainwater from tanks for both indoor and outdoor use.

Outdoor watering with rainwater from a tank has nearly doubled from 8% in 2007 to 15% in 2010. Relying on rain to water the garden also became more common, increasing from 9% in 2007 to 12% in 2010.

The full article and South Australian specific updates on Labour Force, Demography and Consumption can be found in the January edition of SA Stats (cat. no. 1345.4).


Media notes:

Permanent Water Conservation Measures were put in place by the state government in 2003, with Level 3 Enhanced Water Restrictions introduced in 2007. The Level 3 Enhanced Water Restrictions ceased for most of the state on 1 December 2010, when Water Wise Measures came into effect. The Eyre Peninsula continues to be subject to Level 3 Enhanced Water Restrictions (post 1 December 2010).

When reporting ABS data the Australian Bureau of Statistics (or ABS) must be attributed as the source.