AWA chief executive believes water efficiency must remain on national agenda

Many harsh water use restrictions have been lifted as drought conditions start to ease across most of Australia, but the Australian Water Association's chief executive Tom Mollenkopf says that the water industry believes that "efficiency must remain on the national agenda".

Mr Mollenkopf says that maintaining a water saving ethos in Australia is "vital" if we are to protect ourselves against shortages when dry times return.

"We have built a community that is conservative with its water use, and this shouldn’t be lost just because our dams are currently full," he said in a February press release.

"Householders and businesses may reduce their costs if they continue to be water efficient – whether this is through direct savings in reduced consumption, saving of energy resulting in cost saving, or the delay of the construction of major water supply and treatment infrastructure in the future from increased use."

There are a number of water-saving initiatives that you can employ in your home, including installing water-efficient shower heads and taps when renovating the bathroom, saving water used to rinse fruits and vegetables for watering the garden and giving fish tank water to plants.