Water concerns still strong in cities

Even though the "extremely serious" and "very serious" concerns over the water situation combined have dropped from over 80% in 2006 to around 60% in 2009, more than 90% of respondents in the five capital cities surveyed still think the situation is at least somewhat serious.

This is one of the findings of a Newspoll conducted for the Smart Approved Water Mark, Australia’s water-saving symbol for products and services around the home and garden. A representative sample of 702 adults aged 18+ were interviewed in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth.

The CEO of the Smart WaterMark, Julian Gray, says the survey results are encouraging and generally positive when compared with the past four years’ surveys and the fact that most cities have experienced reasonable rainfalls through winter and spring.

“This is good news and shows that issues such as the ongoing drought in many parts of the country and the water conservation campaigns conducted by water utilities are maintaining a level of concern about water use in our cities,” said Gray.

The Newspoll shows that people aged 50+ are the most likely to use water-saving products with nine in 10 (92%) in this age group using at least one kind of water-saving device around their home.

In particular, they are more likely to use soil-wetting agents or mulch (68%) and trigger nozzles on their hoses (73%) than those in younger age groups.

For 18 to 34-year-olds, while they are not as seriously concerned as other age groups - 22% think the situation is extremely serious compared with 30% of those aged 35+ - over 90% see the situation remaining at least somewhat serious.

Results from the five cities showed: 

• Sydney
  • The percentage of people who think that the water situation is extremely serious is 18%, below the capital city average of 27%.
  • About one in four people (24%) still feel that water restrictions are not restrictive enough.
  • Sydney residents surveyed trailed those in other capital cities in the uptake of a number of water-saving measures questioned - 20% for rainwater tanks (versus 30% average across all the five main capital cities), 50% use soil-wetting agents or mulches (61% avg), 15% use irrigation systems (25% avg) and 27% use greywater (44% avg).
• Melbourne
  • Residents appear to be saving more water around the home, with the proportion using rainwater tanks (37%), soil-wetting agents/mulch (61%), trigger nozzles (69%) and greywater (66%) all increasing significantly in this survey.
  • In 2006, only 20% said they are using rainwater tanks - this was nearly doubled this year, at 37%.
  • 26% think water restrictions are not restrictive enough.
• Brisbane
  • The percentage of Brisbane residents who feel the water situation is extremely serious has more than doubled since last year, going from 14% to 32%.
  • The proportion using greywater in Brisbane (57%) has also increased significantly - up from 42% in 2008.
  • 81% think water restrictions are about right - the highest of any city.
  • Nearly everyone is aware of rebate schemes (98% compared with the average across the five capital cities of 90%),
• Adelaide
  • Residents appear to be leading the way in the use of several water-saving measures around the home - rainwater tanks (46%), trigger nozzles (78%) and waterless car cleaners (18%) and second for soil-wetting agents or mulches (74%).
  • Only 10% of those surveyed said water restrictions are not restrictive enough, whereas 22% is the average across all five capitals.
  • However, 16% think Adelaide’s water restrictions are too much - compared with the city average of 6%.
• Perth
  • One in 10 Perth residents surveyed say that the water situation is not serious.
  • Water-saving practices in home gardens have been strongly adopted, with 80% using soil-wetting agents or mulches and 76% using irrigation systems for efficient watering, with the latter well ahead of the average across the five capital cities of 25%.
  • However, rainwater tanks are only used by 12% of people, compared with the capital city average of 30%.

The Smart WaterMark scheme has conducted the Newspoll each year for four years since it was launched to the public. More information on Smart WaterMark can be found on its consumer website at www.smartwatermark.org.