Port Macquarie Hastings Council is inviting the community to get a firsthand look at its water operations, as part of celebrations for National Water Week.
Given this year's theme is 'Our Water Stories' PMHC is taking this opportunity to share information about its story around water security and delivery of this precious resource to the community - as well as tips and tricks for water conservation.
PMHC has several events scheduled over October, to provide fun and family-friendly activities to explore our local water stories and easy ways we can all work to ensure every drop counts.
Activities include pop up stalls, a water meter challenge - and tours of their water facilities.
The pop-up stalls were held earlier in the month and featured the famous Whizzy the Water Drop! The Water Meter Challenge encourages households to make simple water saving changes and measure the difference. Throughout the first week, water is to be used as per normal. In the second week, participants are told to make one or more water saving changes to try and conserve water. At the end of the two weeks, participants can compare the difference and note how much water was saved. All entrants for the challenge go into the draw to win prizes including a water efficient dishwasher or washing machine!
PMHC is also launching Community Tours with several Water Facility Tours, 'From Catchment to Tap' - which includes a tour of Cowarra Dam and the Wauchope Treatment Plant - as well as 'After the Drain' which explores Port Macquarie Wastewater Treatment Plan - and 'Renewing the Cycle' at the Port Macquarie Recycled Water Treatment Plant.
PMHC Education Team Leader Dette Gammon said the National Water Week activities are a great way to engage with the community about this precious resource.
"When we turn the tap on, we often don't actually think about the journey that water has gone on – or how lucky we are to use it so conveniently!" she said.
"It's an incredible process and we want to share that information with the community. We have recently run school tours and have enjoyed seeing the kids get involved - and the excitement and interest they bring."
"Each and every person in our community has a part to play when it comes to conserving water. We are hoping these activities will demonstrate this!"
Group Manager Utilities Planning & Design Cameron Hawkins said water security and upgraded infrastructure is a key priority for the community and as such is a priority for PMHC - with several large scale projects in the works.
"Water Week provides an opportunity to show our community the important work we are doing in this space," he said.
"While the construction of a new bulk water treatment plant at Cowarra Dam will ensure the security of our supply – we are also investing heavily into our water network infrastructure to ensure we can deliver drinking water to our communities."
"We are constructing several new water mains to achieve this, including Norther Arm Trunk Main from Cowarra to Port Macquarie Dam, the Southern Arm Trunk Main from the Pacific Highway to Bonny Hills and the Trunk main from Bonny Hills to a new Kew Reservoir."
"Our strategy is also focused around investigating less rainfall dependent options and we are already making exciting advancements through recycled water."
PMHC's water security plan also involves investigating innovative technologies to help improve water efficiency across the network like smart meters, leak detection and in home water recycling.
