Verifying the end use of potable water savings from contemporary residential water supply schemes
Waterlines report No 61 - October 2011
This research compared actual cost and water consumption data from four water supply schemes in south-east Queensland. The objective was to use an evidence-based approach to establish alternative water source demand, water savings and life cycle unit costs and thus assist with water supply investment decisions in the future.
The four schemes consisted of traditional water supply infrastructure supplemented by desalination, or rainwater tanks, or recycled water supply (dual supply), or a hybrid of dual supply and rainwater tanks.
Key recommendations include a call for future decisions to be based on more conservative, as opposed to optimistic, alternative supply demand scenarios; more rigorous economic viability assessments; investigating broader uses of Class A+ recycled water; and wider applications of smart metering and end use studies.
This report has been prepared for the National Water Commission by Associate Professor Rodney Stewart, as part of the Commission's Fellowship program. The Fellowship Program was established to support implementation of the National Water Initiative by developing future leaders for Australia's water sector who can advance water-related knowledge and build industry capacity.
