Winner of the Community
Groups category |
Finalists in the Education and Community
Programs category |
Project
background
Fresh water is essential to our urban existence, and the health of the
environment. However, only 0.01% of the world’s water is fresh and
easily accessible for use.
Australia is the driest inhabited continent, but we are the greatest consumers
of water per capita, at roughly 300 litres used per person per day. The
impact on the environment from over use of our limited water supply is
now widely recognised, from dry land salinity to degraded rivers and desertification.
The result of all this is clear; we must change the way we use water.
CERES and our project partners, with the assistance of the Victorian Government’s
“Science, Technology and Innovation Initiatives”, have developed
an Urban Water Conservation Demonstration and Research Facility. This
exciting project demonstrates the latest technologies for water conservation,
recycling and reuse in a variety of settings, including the home, nursery,
café, organic farm and community centre.
Through site demonstrations and our education programs the importance
of behavioural change and the move to sustainable behaviours are communicated
to tens of thousands of people. The Myer Foundation has contributed valuable
support to website development, site signage and community education.
This new project, made possible by grants from the Smart Water Fund (Round
3) and the Stormwater and Urban Water Conservation funds (Round 3) significantly
expands the number of technologies and practices demonstrated on-site,
and involves long term research projects to monitor performance and further
develop some of the most promising initiatives.
Improvements on the CERES site will continue to inspire a new respect
for water and provide the means of ensuring supplies for future generations.
For more information, contact Eric Bottomley on
(03) 9380-1556
or by email: eric@ceres.org.au
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CERES Water Mini-Manual | Follow
the Water Trail | Water
Links
News
2006
CERES has received further funding, from the Smart Water Fund
Round-3 and the Stormwater and Urban Water Conservation Fund Round 3 to
continue water projects, further adding to the development of the Urban
Water Conservation Demonstration and Research Facility. For further information
on the developments of this current phase of CERES water go to the 2006
editions of the water newsletter below.
2005
2005 was a successful year. Major achievements included: finalisation
of research into rainwater to hot water supply systems; two storm water
treatment and harvesting systems; paper presented at the AWA National
Water Efficiency Conference; Installation at the Melbourne Museum for
Water Week.
Savewater award community group finalist
2005
Eureka Prize for Sustainability Education winner 2005
Banksia Award finalist 2005. The awards bring recognition
and publicity to the project, and have provided a fantastic boost to all
involved.
June 2004
Winner of the Community Groups category of the 2004 Savewater Awards for
site features and demonstrations ranging from water efficient appliances,
through to rainwater collection, composting toilets and wastewater treatment
and reuse This is supported by education programs for primary and secondary
students, research projects for higher education groups, community and
industry workshops and seminars, and site tours for national and international
delegations.
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