Example Policy Brief: Water Use in Perth
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Reducing Domestic Water use in Residential Gardens|
Issue and Stakeholder Briefing|
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To the desk of Hon. Bill Marmion. Minister for Water and Environment
This policy brief brings to light the issue of household water consumption in Perth, particularly the need to examine the potential for large scale water savings in the domestic sphere. Domestic water use is nearly double that of Melbourne and Brisbane, whilst local water supplies are critically low. This brief summarises the history of water usage in Perth, it accounts culturally for the reasons that we use so much on our gardens. There is a section that outline the dimensions of issue, who is using how much? The benefit that multi-story housing has on water consumption, as well as the socio-economic gap between the high income earners and on average their tendency to have a higher instance of garden ownership and the use more water generally. Finally this brief will inform the reader on the relationships that interact with the issue, particularly the levels of government and how each one interacts. As well as governance, there is information on the complex interaction between the public and the policy makers.
In order to conserve valuable water resources policy makers have to analyse the current water use situation and identify key areas where consumption can be influenced or if necessary forced. Currently the Water Corporation identifies ex-house usage as the area with the biggest potential for reduction, as shown in figure1, ex-house usage vs in-house usage. Ex-house water usage is a term used to describe all private citizen water usage that doesn’t occur within the house; this can extend to pools and ponds but is largely comprised of garden and lawn use. Domestic water usage per person in Perth is twice that of our east coast neighbours Melbourne and Brisbane, in addition to having the lowest annual rainfall it isn’t particularly surprising that Perth’s’ future water outlooks are the
Reducing Domestic Water use in Residential Gardens|
Issue and Stakeholder Briefing|
|
|
|
To the desk of Hon. Bill Marmion. Minister for Water and Environment
This policy brief brings to light the issue of household water consumption in Perth, particularly the need to examine the potential for large scale water savings in the domestic sphere. Domestic water use is nearly double that of Melbourne and Brisbane, whilst local water supplies are critically low. This brief summarises the history of water usage in Perth, it accounts culturally for the reasons that we use so much on our gardens. There is a section that outline the dimensions of issue, who is using how much? The benefit that multi-story housing has on water consumption, as well as the socio-economic gap between the high income earners and on average their tendency to have a higher instance of garden ownership and the use more water generally. Finally this brief will inform the reader on the relationships that interact with the issue, particularly the levels of government and how each one interacts. As well as governance, there is information on the complex interaction between the public and the policy makers.
In order to conserve valuable water resources policy makers have to analyse the current water use situation and identify key areas where consumption can be influenced or if necessary forced. Currently the Water Corporation identifies ex-house usage as the area with the biggest potential for reduction, as shown in figure1, ex-house usage vs in-house usage. Ex-house water usage is a term used to describe all private citizen water usage that doesn’t occur within the house; this can extend to pools and ponds but is largely comprised of garden and lawn use. Domestic water usage per person in Perth is twice that of our east coast neighbours Melbourne and Brisbane, in addition to having the lowest annual rainfall it isn’t particularly surprising that Perth’s’ future water outlooks are the
Cited: ABC news, 2011. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-04-15/perth-water-consumption-highest-in-australia/2614666. [Online] Available at: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-04-15/perth-water-consumption-highest-in-australia/2614666 ABS, 2008. Environmental views and behaviour, 2007-08. [Online] Available at: http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Lookup/4626.0.55.001Main+Features12007-08%20%282nd%20issue%29 ABS, 2010. WATER CHOICES OF PERTH HOUSEHOLDS. [Online] Available at: http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Latestproducts/1367.5Feature%20Article82010?opendocument&tabname=Summary&prodno=1367.5&issue=2010&num=&view= City of Perth , 2004. Water. [Online] Available at: http://www.cityofperth.wa.gov.au/web/Council/Environment/Water/ Loh, M. & Coghlan, P., 2003. Domestic Water Use Study, Perth : Water Corperation. Morgan, R., 2010. ‘FEAR THE HOSE’:an historical exploration of sustainable water use in Perth gardens in the 1970 's. Transforming Cultures eJournal. Sonti, C., 2010. Water use falls - but it 's not over yet. [Online] Available at: http://www.watoday.com.au/environment/water-issues/water-use-falls--but-its-not-over-yet-20100209-npkc.html