Water in our Homes
Most of the water used in residential and commercial buildings in the study area is of drinking water quality supplied through the IWSS water grid. This water is moved from various sources (including dams, groundwater, and desalination) to homes and businesses. There is an opportunity to make greater use of the rain that falls on these buildings to supply the water for non-drinking uses.
Most homes in Perth direct the water that drains off their roof into soak wells to replenish groundwater. About 150,000 homes access this source through garden bores to water their gardens. The sustainable use of garden bores is a good fit for purpose use of water collected at source. The permanent Water Efficiency Measures will help to ensure that these groundwater resources are used responsibly and not unnecessarily depleted.
Some homeowners have installed rainwater tanks to collect water from the roof for various uses including garden watering, car washing, toilet flushing and clothes washing. Whilst other homeowners are using greywater from bathrooms and laundries for garden irrigation.
The State Government supports the use of alternative water supplies, such as rainwater tanks and greywater systems through the introduction of changes to building codes known as Five Star Plus. In the second stage of this program, proposed for introduction later in 2008, new residential and commercial buildings will require separate plumbing to be installed that allow for ease of connection to an alternative water supply for non-drinking water uses like toilet flushing.
To find out more about the options, refer to alternative water supplies for homes.