Miali Brumby community reduce water use by 25%

Miali Brumby community, a member of the Kalano Community Association in Katherine, has reduced it's water use by 25% in the last two years. They are now saving around 140,000 litres of water per day, which is a saving for the community of about $280 each day.  Congratulations Miali Brumby and Kalano!

The substantial water savings have been the result of a partnership between Kalano Community Association, Power and Water’s Living Water Smart program, and the Department of Local Government, Housing and Community Services’ Town Camp Futures program. There has also been a positive shift in water use behaviour amongst residents.

Living Water Smart first started working closely with the Kalano Community Association in 2017. 

“There were ongoing legacy issues with aging infrastructure resulting in leaks that were wasting significant volumes of water”, explains Living Water Smart’s program manager Jethro Laidlaw. 

Upon approaching Kalano, the community sprang into action. 

“Residents prioritised fixing up their houses, including their legacy water issues. A lot of water was being wasted, and water is a resource we don’t have the luxury of wasting”, says Bill Headley, CEO of Kalano Community Association.

Prior to recent works, Miali Brumby only had one water meter at the entrance of the community.  The meter indicated significant leaks but it was near impossible to detect where the leaks were located within the large footprint of the community, many of which were hidden underground or beneath infrastructure. 

To help narrow down the leak locations, sub-meters were installed at each property. Living Water Smart also installed isolation valves to assist in leak detection.  
 
“This allowed for sections of the water mains to effectively be shut off, assisting in tracking down leaks and aiding future maintenance,” Mr Laidlaw said.
 
New water efficient fixtures, such as shower heads, taps and toilets were also installed to help reduce water use as part of the housing and infrastructure upgrades. 
 
“We have been able to educate and work with residents to save water. Residents are reducing water use in the garden, turning off taps after kids’ water play and reporting leaks as soon as they’re suspected,” Mr Headley said.
  
“We’re really proud of the progress we have made in a short time period, and will continue to work with the team at Living Water Smart to further reduce water use.”