Community effort to conserve water and a multi-billion dollar infrastructure program have set Australia at the international forefront in managing urban water systems, according to the Annual Report Card on Australian water use.
The Report Card by the Water Services Association of Australia (WSAA) is to be released in Canberra on August 19. It shows that due to a conscious effort by domestic and business water-users, per capita consumption in Australian cities has declined over the past five years.
Ross Young, executive director of the WSAA, says that adapting to climate change and serving rapidly growing populations remain the main drivers of $14 billion in urban water industry infrastructure projects underway in 2009/10.
These projects aim to develop new water sources, upgrade wastewater systems and provide for urban growth.
