Central west trials new water loss hub

The NSW Government and Central West Joint Organisation (JO) are trialling the state’s first regional water loss management centre to bolster water security, save millions of litres of water and help drought proof supplies.

Jethro Laidlaw, Manager of Water Efficiency at the Department of Planning and Environment, said the government has invested $900,000 to help the JO reduce water loss across 10 Local Water Utilities ahead of the next dry spell.

“We learnt a lot of valuable lessons during the last drought, which is why we are taking a new approach by co- designing a Regional Water Loss Management Centre with the JO that combines local expertise and know-how,” Mr Laidlaw said.

“The hub will ensure local communities can share technology, equipment, and skills to reduce costs and improve water efficiency.

“It has a big focus on training staff and helping operators improve the way they manage their networks so they can stay on top of leaks and ensure the water they’re taking from the environment makes it all the way to people’s taps and showers.

“We’re hoping the success of this trial will allow us to implement a similar approach in other corners of the state.

“As part of this work, we have been rolling out a suite of water saving pilot projects over the past 18 months including water loss audits, leak detection, bulk meters, addressing water pressure issues and creating online training resources.

“So far, we have unearthed 235 network leaks that have now been repaired saving more than 250 million litres of water in the Central West which is an incredible result, and the good news is that we still have six months of work to go.”

The Central West water utilities include:

• Bathurst Regional Council
• Cabonne Council
• Cowra Council
• Forbes Shire Council
• Lachlan Shire Council
• Oberon Council
• Orange City Council
• Parkes Shire Council
• Lithgow City Council
• Central Tablelands Water

For more information, visit Regional leakage reduction program.