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WATER CONSERVATION DEVICES USED Source: Environmental Issues: People's Views and Practices, 2004 (4602.0). WATER CONSERVATION MEASURES IN THE GARDEN Water restrictions since 2002 have affected households primarily by limiting their use of water in the garden. Outdoor water use (gardens and swimming pools) is the single largest component of domestic water consumption (44% in 2000–01). In 2004, more than 90% of Australian households with gardens reported conserving water in the garden. Households reported an increase in the use of recycled water on the garden in 2004 (18%, up from 11% in 2001), planting native shrubs or trees (17%, up from 10%) and not watering the garden at all (10%, up from 6%). The states and territories that substantially increased their use of recycled water on the garden since 2001 included New South Wales (9% to 19%); Victoria (13% to 23%); and the Australian Capital Territory (7% to 26%). One-quarter of households reported watering either early in the morning or late in the evening to conserve water in the garden. Also, the use of hand watering instead of a sprinkler system increased from 66% to 71% from 2001 to 2004. There was a corresponding decrease in the use of fixed and movable sprinklers (from 28% in 2001 down to 15% in 2004 for movable sprinklers, and 31% down to 22% for fixed sprinkler systems). This is likely to be attributable mainly to water restrictions on use of sprinklers and restricted watering times. Five per cent of Australian households relied on rainwater tanks as their main source of water for gardening. In comparison, 85% used mains or town water as their main source of garden water. This figure was 90% for households in capital cities and 78% for all other households. In Western Australia, the use of mains or town water was lowest where nearly a quarter of all households (24%) relied on bore/well water for garden use. WATER CONSERVATION MEASURES IN THE GARDEN (a) Not collected in 1998. Source: Environmental Issues: People's Views and Practices, 2004 (cat. no. 4602.0). ENDNOTES 1. WELS web site http://search.waterrating.com.au, last viewed 28 September 2006.
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