SUMMARY OF FINDINGS


INTRODUCTION

This publication presents the results of the Water Use and Conservation Household Survey conducted in March 2010. The household information collected included:

• sources of water
• water use and water conservation practices inside and outside the dwelling
• use of rainwater tanks
• prevalence of water saving products
• uptake of government rebates or incentives.

SOURCES OF WATER

The location of a dwelling is a factor that influences the sources of water used by Australian households. Aside from major water related infrastructure, the use of water sources inherently reflects additional factors associated with location such as climate, amount of rainfall, efficacy and sustainability of river systems, and government programs relevant to water use and collection.

Mains or town water continued to be the most common source of water for Australian households in 2010, with 93% of households being connected to either mains or town water. Nearly all households in capital cities (99%) were connected to mains or town water compared with 84% of households outside the capital cities. (Table 1)

Rainwater tanks were the most popular source of water for South Australian households residing outside of Adelaide (83%). Victorian households residing outside of Melbourne also had a high prevalence of rainwater tanks (47%). Bores/wells were a common source of water for households in Perth (26%). (Table 1)

The prevalence of rainwater tanks as a source of water for Australian households continues to increase. Twenty six per cent of households used a rainwater tank as a source of water in 2010 compared with 19% of households in 2007 and 17% in 2004. South Australia continues to have the highest proportion of households with a rainwater tank (49%) but there was a marked increase in the proportion of households with a rainwater tank in Queensland and Victoria. Households that use a rainwater tank as a source of water in Queensland increased from 22% in 2007 to 36% in 2010. Similarly, rainwater tank use in Victoria increased from 17% in 2007 to 30% in 2010. (Table 2)

Grey water was a popular source of water for households in Victoria (43%), South Australia (38%) and the Australian Capital Territory (31%). Compared with 2007, the use of grey water has fallen across all states and territories. The difference in the estimates may be explained by a combination of real world changes and the change in question methodology. See paragraph 11 of the Explanatory notes for further details. (Table 2)


WATER FOR DRINKING

Over 90% of households in capital cities reported mains or town water as their main source of water for drinking compared with 69% of households living outside capital cities. For households living outside capital cities, water from rainwater tanks was the second most popular main source of water for drinking (22%). (Table 3)

Only 25% of South Australian households outside of Adelaide used mains or town water as their main source of water for drinking. The main source of water for South Australian households outside of Adelaide was rainwater tanks (66%). (Table 3)


WATER FILTERS

Over 32% of Australian households used a water filter for their drinking water. This proportion has continued to increase over time with 29% in 2007, 26% in 2004 and 21% in 2001. (Table 4)

The highest proportion of households that used a water filter was in South Australia (45%). The Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory reported the lowest use of water filters for drinking water (19% and 16% respectively). (Table 4)


RAINWATER TANKS

In March 2010, 32% of households with a dwelling suitable for a rainwater tank had a rainwater tank installed compared with 24% in 2007. During this period, households in capital cities experienced the greatest increase in the proportion of rainwater tanks installed at their dwelling (15% in 2007 and 26% in 2010). Brisbane experienced the largest increase with 43% of households reporting a rainwater tank at their dwelling in 2010 compared with 18% in 2007. This was followed by Melbourne, with 28% of households reporting a rainwater tank in 2010 compared with 12% in 2007. (Table 5)

Of the households who have installed a rainwater tank, 20% of households in Queensland reported a government rebate or incentive as a reason why a rainwater tank was installed. This was the highest proportion of all states and territories. (Table 6)

Households living in newly built dwellings were more likely to have a rainwater tank installed. In March 2010, the highest proportion of households with a rainwater tank were residing in dwellings less than one year old (57%). This has increased from 2007 where 26% of households residing in dwellings less than one year old had a rainwater tank installed. (Table 7)

Of the 1.6 million households who installed their own rainwater tank, 47% reported saving water as a reason why the rainwater tank was installed and 24% reported water restrictions on mains water as a reason. (Table 6)

Thirty three per cent of households in capital cities reported water restrictions on mains water as a reason why a rainwater tank was installed compared to 15% of households in regional areas. Of the capital cities, Melbourne had the highest proportion of households to report water restrictions on mains water as a reason why a rainwater tank was installed at their dwelling (47%). (Table 6)


SAVING WATER

Family households had the highest proportion of all household types to take at least one water saving step inside or outside the dwelling (87%). The most common areas for households to save water were in the garden (62%) and in the bathroom (59%). (Table 8)

The proportion of households with dual-flush toilets and water-efficient shower heads has increased in the last 12 years. In 1998, 55% of households had a dual flush toilet compared with 86% in 2010. Similarly the prevalence of water-efficient shower heads has increased from 32% of households in 1998 to 66% in 2010. (Table 9)

Of the 6.9 million households with a garden, using mulch was the most common step taken to save water in the garden (27%). This was followed by only watering when necessary (20%). (Table 11).


MAIN SOURCE OF WATER FOR GARDENING

Almost half of Australian households (45%) used mains or town water as their main source of water for gardening. The Northern Territory had the highest proportion of households (76%) to use mains or town water for gardening and both Queensland and Victoria had the lowest (32%). Queensland and Victoria had the highest proportion of households that used water from a rainwater tank as their main source of water for gardening (20% and 19% respectively). (Table 10)

Queensland and Victoria also had the highest proportion of households that relied on rainfall for gardening or did not water the garden (31% and 29% respectively). (Table 10)


GOVERNMENT REBATES AND INCENTIVES

In March 2010, more than 600,000 Australian households received a government rebate or incentive in the last 12 months for at least one water saving product. Of those households, 41% received a rebate or incentive for a washing machine or dishwasher and 37% received a rebate or incentive for a water efficient tap or shower head. (Table 12)

Of the households that received a rebate or incentive in Queensland, 30% reported a rebate or incentive for a rainwater tank. (Table 12) Queensland also had a large increase in the proportion of households with a rainwater tank between 2007 and 2010 (an increase of 16.5 percentage points). (Table 5)

Western Australia had the highest proportion of households who received a rebate or incentive for a washing machine or dishwasher (76%). Victoria had the highest proportion of households who received a rebate or incentive for a water efficient tap or shower head (70%). The Australian Capital Territory had the highest proportion of households who received a rebate or incentive for a dual flush toilet (53%). (Table 12)