Shire of Harvey celebrates re-endorsement of Waterwise council status by Water Corporation

A South West council is celebrating after it was once again recognised for its green efforts.

The Shire of Harvey has been re-endorsed as a Waterwise council by the Water Corporation after originally joining the program last year.

As part of its efforts to conserve water, the council has adopted a practice known as hydrozoning at one of its major recreation facilities.

Plants which have similar watering requirements have been grouped together across three ovals at Leschenault Recreation Park, close to the Leschenault Leisure Centre, to avoid overwatering.

The council has also employed a full-time irrigation specialist and rolled out new smart irrigation controllers which can recalculate optimal run times through live weather data and are predicted to save 20 to 30 per cent on water usage per season.

More of the systems are scheduled to be installed next summer.

Shire president Paul Gillett said the council was also getting involved in community water reduction efforts through schools.

“Our environmental officer has been visiting local schools to teach students about the importance of saving water and how planting waterwise native plants can help,” he said.

“Empowering young people is an important part of our plan to reduce demand on precious water supplies and ensure we aren’t taking more than we need.”

So far Harvey Primary School and St Anne’s School in Harvey and St Michael’s Catholic Primary School in Brunswick Junction have been visited.

Water Corporation regional manager Nicky Waite congratulated the council on its re-endorsement and community progress on being waterwise.

”Water efficiency is a shared responsibility across the community — councils lead by example to promote the valuable role of water in creating liveable, vibrant and healthy communities,” Ms Waite said.

The Waterwise council program aims to build co-operate relationships between the State Government-owned utility and councils to improve water efficiency, climate resilience and liveability.