It’s an odd thing that while many people are vocal in their demands that councils reduce spending and angrily object to each rates hike, most use water as if it was an endlessly abundant resource and just arrived free of charge each time they turn on a tap.
Most people – unless they are charged for water separately – do not see the point of reducing the amount of water they use.
Our HomeSmart Renovation project was a case in point. Water efficiency improvements were recommended as part of the Renovation Plan provided to participating households. However, few households saw them as a priority, and even fewer took measures to reduce water use in the home, even though they are often very easy to implement and cheap to install. Interestingly, their perception of water use was very inaccurate. 71% of households thought they weren’t high water users, yet only 45% of monitored households actually met Beacon’s HSS High Standard of Sustainability® benchmark for water use. Unsurprisingly, the most water-efficient households were in areas that were metered and directly charged for water use, rather than paying an annual charge in their rates bill. Read more …
