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Shower with a friend: minister
By Kelly Ryan
01 November 2002
SHOWER with a friend to save precious water. That's the advice from Environment Minister Sherryl Garbutt, who said people who showered together would conserve thousands of litres of water over summer.
And they need not be a couple. "I would urge Victorians to share their shower," the minister said yesterday.
"It is a very popular idea around my office for people to be showering with a friend.
"It is a great way to add to the overall water savings."
Ms Garbutt said shared showers did not have to be restricted to couples in a relationship. "Find a sympathetic friend," she suggested.
Ms Garbutt also urged home-owners to shorten their showers to reduce the impact of drought across the state.
Water restrictions take effect at midnight tonight.
Home-owners could save water inside their home as well as out, Ms Garbutt said.
Simply by replacing inefficient shower heads, Victorians would save hundreds of litres of water a week.
An inefficient shower head passes up to 22 litres a minute; an efficient one, just eight litres a minute. A three-person household using 294 litres a day could cut their daily water consumption to just 168 litres.
And if everyone in the house showered together, they would use just 56 litres of water a day.
Councils will join home-owners in moving to cut water consumption. At Hobsons Bay, established garden beds in parks and along road reserves are being replanted with drought-resistant plants.
Palms, red-hot pokers and flax are replacing annuals in garden beds at roundabouts. They require watering as little as once a month.
All the plants are indigenous and chosen because of their adaptability to the local climate and low water needs.
Councillor Peter Hemphill, co-chair of the council's landscape advisory group, urged other municipalities to follow suit.
"This isn't just about planning for the next 12 months ahead but for the decade after that," Cr Hemphill said.
Hobsons Bay is one of several councils considering automatic systems that will turn sprinklers off in the event of rain. At Darebin, the council has halted its tree replacement program until after the restrictions are lifted.
Some fountains have also been turned off.
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