Water smart parks

Abstract

Predicted reductions in rainfall mean that water available for allocation may be reduced. This paper illustrates one organisation's efforts to meet this challenge and to contribute to sustainable water practices for the next generation. A local government authority in Perth, Western Australia currently uses 10–20% more groundwater than its licensed allocation of 7500 kilolitres/ha per year. The challenge is to bring groundwater for irrigation within the licence allocation, and also to balance that groundwater across all suburbs. The local government authority has developed the ‘water smart park’ strategy, which consists of a range of options designed to optimise water use efficiency and to match current and future use with groundwater allocations. To achieve this target each hydrozone has different watering needs; while all high use and active sporting grounds will be maintained as at present, local parks may be a little less green. To preserve the amenity and aesthetic appeal of these areas, a number of the ecozones will undergo extensive planting and landscaping. Preliminary works have commenced on this strategy to ensure that the extensive range of parks and reserves continue to be available to residents and the next generation in an environmentally responsible manner.