Free waterwise offers to help get your garden summer-ready
Water Minister Simone McGurk and Water Corporation's Demand Delivery Manager Damien Postma with a weather-based irrigation controller
- Free sprinkler checks and irrigation controller rebate now available in Perth and Peel
- Annual offers support households to reduce water use and lower bills
- Last year's offers helped save 33 million litres of valuable water – equivalent to nearly 15 Olympic-sized swimming pools
- Part of wider plan to transform Perth and Peel into leading waterwise cities by 2030
Households across Perth and Peel are being encouraged to take advantage of free waterwise irrigation offers this spring to help save valuable water and reduce bills.
Available to Water Corporation customers in the metropolitan area, offers include a free garden irrigation check by an endorsed waterwise irrigator and a rebate towards the installation of a weather-based irrigation controller.
With up to 40 per cent of domestic scheme water use being outdoors, installing a weather-based irrigation controller is an easy way for households to save water and adapt to the impacts of climate change.
The controllers detect rain and automatically adjust sprinklers to prevent over-watering. A trial at 60 Perth homes found average water use reduced by around 15 per cent annually – equivalent to about two backyard swimming pools of water.
Through the Weather-based Irrigation Controller Rebate, Water Corporation will provide up to $300 towards a new weather-based irrigation controller, including set up and installation by a waterwise service provider.
In addition, 2000 free visits from waterwise-certified irrigators are available to help ensure scheme and bore reticulation systems are operating efficiently in the lead up to summer.
The offers come at a perfect time for bore users, with penalties now in effect for anyone breaching the revised two-day-a-week watering rosters. This change was introduced by the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation last year to help rebalance Perth's groundwater supply in response to the impact of climate change on water-dependent ecosystems.
More than 3,500 households claimed a waterwise offer last year, with over 4,000 sprinklers replaced and 326 leaks repaired. It helped save 33 million litres of valuable drinking water – equivalent to nearly 15 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
Offers are available until 31 May 2024 or until allocation is exhausted. Offers for regional Water Corporation customers will be announced next month as part of the Waterwise Towns program.
Both offers support the WA Government's Kep Katitjin-Gabi Kaadadjan (Waterwise Perth Action Plan 2) to establish leading waterwise communities for Boorloo (Perth) and Bindjareb (Peel) by 2030.
To find out more about the Weather-based Irrigation Controller Rebate and the Spring Irrigation Check visit watercorporation.com.au/waterwiseoffers.
Comments attributed to Water Minister Simone McGurk:
"All the signs point to it being a very hot summer, so now really is the time to ensure our homes and backyards are as waterwise as possible.
"These annual offers from Water Corporation are a great opportunity for households to not only reduce their bills, but also help conserve water which we know is one of WA's most valuable resources.
"It's no secret that climate change has had a dramatic impact on rainfall across southern WA, but by making smarter choices around the home we can still enjoy healthy, waterwise gardens.
"Small changes to water-use behaviours make a huge collective difference, so I encourage households to get on board with these free offers and get their gardens ready for summer."