Martin Anda

Access to safe and reliable drinking water is a fundamental human right, yet remote Indigenous Homeland communities continue to face significant challenges achieving this basic standard. Across WA, health violations of Australian Drinking Water Guidelines for nitrate and uranium have been more frequent in recent years, having been linked to chronic kidney disease, diabetes, blue baby syndrome, and cancers. Furthermore, poor taste and appearance of drinking water drives a preference for unhealthy alternatives, and excessive hardness degrades infrastructure. These create a disproportionate health burden for First Nations peoples, as well as unnecessary social and economic strain. Aligning with recommended pathways to SDGs 6 and 10, and closing the gap for Indigenous Australians, this project works towards the development of a real-time, remote, water quality monitoring platform for application to remote Homeland communities.

A smart metering trial was incorporated into a residential water efficiency project in Perth, Western Australia. The H2ome Smart program by the Water Corporation and its contractor ENV Australia Pty Ltd engaged 12,000 households in selected suburbs of the Perth metropolitan area. Smart meters are an informative and educational tool that allows households to instantaneously view personal real-time water use feedback. From the most apparently active H2ome Smart participants nine agreed, after a selection process, to participate in the Greensense smart metering trial with the tenth participant being local television sustainable gardening celebrity Josh Byrne. It is interesting to note the patterns in water use before households could view their dashboards and after they had access their dashboard and had a few days to understand the real-time data and patterns in water use. By comparing these two separate date ranges we can see the differences that access to real-time water use data can make on water use behaviours. Now at the conclusion of the program the team has collated all water use data and feedback from the participants to complete a final analysis demonstrating the outcomes of the challenge including its advantages/ disadvantages and opportunities/ constraints for the future.

Reusing greywater from laundry and bathtub is an option for residents wanting to keep their gardens and lawns green, especially when water restrictions are in place during summer period. The present study was carried out to evaluate the effects of laundry and bathtub greywater irrigation in sands on the growth of couch grass (Cynodon dactylon L.) sod in a tank experimental study. Untreated laundry and bathtub greywater collected from a residential home were monitored for sodium (Na), chlorine (Cl) and boron (B), as these elements are dominant in household detergent and cleaning products. The turf grasses were planted in the modified aquarium tank with triplicate for each irrigation type. Irrigation sources included (i) 100% potable water as a control (TW) (ii) untreated full cycle laundry water (LGW) (iii) untreated bathtub water (BGW) over 24 weeks, starting from October 2009 to March 2010. The reduction on soil hydraulic conductivity was tested using double rings infiltrometer. A mass balance was carried out to determine the amount of Na, Cl and B flowing into and out of the tank. The results showed that the high salt (Na, Cl) and B content was significant in laundry greywater compared to bathtub. Irrigation with laundry and bathtub greywater without fertilizer addition was insufficient to sustain the turf growth. Long-term use of laundry and bathtub greywater can lead to salt and metal accumulation in the soil and subsequent uptake by the turf grass. Turf grass established well at the first 8 week irrigated with LGW and BGW, but did not survive after 16 weeks of study. There was a greater reduction of growth in species that accumulated more salt and B. Consequently, the turf grass requires an addition of nutrients in its fertilization program in order to sustain the turf grass growth.