THE drought of the past 11 years has meant most of eastern and south-western Australia has experienced substantially reduced rainfall and streamflows in comparison to the long-term average, prompting the widespread introduction of water restrictions and conservation measures in urban areas, including major capital cities.
There has also been major investment in augmentation projects to ensure security of water supply into the future, with desalination plants either constructed or planned for Perth, Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, and the Gold Coast.
While the community has responded to the drought with an enthusiastic uptake of water conservation practices – triggering an unprecedented demand for water saving equipment, appliances and practices – Australian manufacturers have also busily assessed and adjusted their water use.
Industry has a clear understanding of its obligation to the community to lower water usage. The Australian Industry Group’s (Ai Group) national survey, Road to a Sustainable Future, which was undertaken in conjunction with Sustainability Victoria, identified that almost half of all businesses are already undertaking water reduction activities as a result of this concern.
The drought has made industry conscious of its exposure to an array of sustainability issues including security of supply, water quality, price increases, water re-use, and trade waste management concerns.<[ql]>
Industry also knows that it’s essential that investments in water efficiency measures are assessed against broader environmental performance indicators.
For example, there is little point in implementing water efficiency initiatives that may necessitate increased energy use and an associated jump in that business’ greenhouse gas emissions. Likewise, there is little benefit in using greater quantities of recycled water if that action will adversely impact on the quality of trade waste discharged to the sewerage system.
Taken these concerns into account, manufacturers are responding to the challenge of a water-constrained future through investment in a wide range of innovative water efficiency measures.
Vinidex, Australia’s leading manufacturer of thermoplastic pipe systems for the transportation of fluid, data and energy, exemplifies what industry is doing to minimise its water impact.
The company’s PVC pipes are playing a large part in water conservation projects around Australia, including the Wimmera Mallee water saving pipeline project where up to 8,000km of PVC pipes is being used.
However, while Vinidex’s products are delivering solutions to the water shortage, the company has also implemented initiatives to reduce water use during the manufacture of those crucial products.
Vinidex no longer uses water from its cooling towers to cool pipes during production, preferring instead to install water chillers as an alternative to that traditional process.
The water chillers have improved the efficiency of production, substantially reducing Vinidex’s water consumption. The use of Variable Speed Drives to control the water pumps for both the process and water chillers has also offset the higher energy consumption of the new system.
While the cost savings were negligible, Vinidex viewed the project as an important opportunity to reduce large amounts of water lost due to evaporation. Increased productivity gains, resulting from the water chillers, also made it easier to justify the project.
As a final benefit, the water chillers also provided an important social outcome through reducing the risk of Legionella.
Another example of industry’s commitment to better using its water resource is Davey Water Products, the recipient of the 2008 Premier’s Sustainability Award (Victoria).
Davey Water Products is harvesting rainwater for use in supplying rinse water for its powder coating pre-treatment line and flushing of toilets. This initiative alone has saved 50% of the site’s potable water consumption.
And finally, in response to declining water supplies in regional Victoria, Hazeldene’s Chicken has made substantial capital investments in its processing plants, including improved wash down systems, reuse of treated wastewater for irrigation purposes, and installation of environmental control systems on site.
The significant water savings that have resulted have enabled Hazeldene’s to achieve world’s best practice water usage for poultry processing.
Ai Group has a long record of working closely with its members on a national basis to encourage continuous improvement in water use efficiency, including use of recycled water where possible, and reduced usage of drinking water.
The intensity of the drought has seen a significant increase in these efforts over the past few years through the organisation’s Sustainable Business and Energy Helpdesk.
Water saving seminars are regularly undertaken around the country and several States host well-attended networking meetings for members to hear updates on the water situation and to provide guidance and advice on actions that can be taken.
* Peter Burn is the Ai Group’s associate director – public policy. For more information, contact Ai Group’s Sustainable Business and Energy Helpdesk on 1300 733 752.