SA Water Interview – Anne Howe
Episode: SA Waterwise Special – Our Changing Climate
Presenter: Kim Syrus
Supplying the states water is a big job, water supply and the increasing important waste water treatment process is managed through the government by SA Water
Anne Howe is CEO of SA Water, Kim spoke with her at one of SA Waters joint water quality improvement projects, the Woodhouse Wetland.
Kim: Anne I suppose the first question and the most obvious one, where do we get all of our drinking water from?
Anne Howe: Well we have got three key sources of water in South Australia. We have ground water, River Murray water and of course the Mount Lofty Ranges catchment which provides water to our reservoirs in the catchment.
Kim: What has SA Water done to make sure that the water actually ending up in the reservoirs is of reasonable quality?
Anne Howe: For sorts of things that we are doing to try and ensure that our water quality entering the reservoirs is as good as it can be, is the Cocks Creek nutrient litigation program. We do this in partnership with the Environmental Protection Agency, the Natural Resource Management Board for the Mt Lofty and of course community groups like scouts, where we have collectively planted 13 000 trees, we are capturing the nutrients that runs off from the catchment into this creek. We have found that having analysed where our nutrients come from, this is a major source of nutrients going into Happy Valley and Mt Bold.
The intention here is to capture the nutrients and clean up the water as much as possible, re- vegetate the landscape and make it possible for the fish that live in the creek to survive and prosper by the program that we have here.
Kim: What can South Australians do both inside and outside the home to help the water situation?
Anne Howe: Well inside the house people can do a number of things, making sure that when they run their washing machine, the washing machine is full of clothes, same as their dishwasher. Taking the shorter showers, turning the tap of when cleaning your teeth, and outside of course we have got where our restrictions are mainly aimed, looking at the lawns that you use making sure that they are drought tolerant, making sure that they are not any leaks in your systems and that you are turning the tap off and that you do not water unnecessary.
Presenter: Kim Syrus
Supplying the states water is a big job, water supply and the increasing important waste water treatment process is managed through the government by SA Water
Anne Howe is CEO of SA Water, Kim spoke with her at one of SA Waters joint water quality improvement projects, the Woodhouse Wetland.
Kim: Anne I suppose the first question and the most obvious one, where do we get all of our drinking water from?
Anne Howe: Well we have got three key sources of water in South Australia. We have ground water, River Murray water and of course the Mount Lofty Ranges catchment which provides water to our reservoirs in the catchment.
Kim: What has SA Water done to make sure that the water actually ending up in the reservoirs is of reasonable quality?
Anne Howe: For sorts of things that we are doing to try and ensure that our water quality entering the reservoirs is as good as it can be, is the Cocks Creek nutrient litigation program. We do this in partnership with the Environmental Protection Agency, the Natural Resource Management Board for the Mt Lofty and of course community groups like scouts, where we have collectively planted 13 000 trees, we are capturing the nutrients that runs off from the catchment into this creek. We have found that having analysed where our nutrients come from, this is a major source of nutrients going into Happy Valley and Mt Bold.
The intention here is to capture the nutrients and clean up the water as much as possible, re- vegetate the landscape and make it possible for the fish that live in the creek to survive and prosper by the program that we have here.
Kim: What can South Australians do both inside and outside the home to help the water situation?
Anne Howe: Well inside the house people can do a number of things, making sure that when they run their washing machine, the washing machine is full of clothes, same as their dishwasher. Taking the shorter showers, turning the tap of when cleaning your teeth, and outside of course we have got where our restrictions are mainly aimed, looking at the lawns that you use making sure that they are drought tolerant, making sure that they are not any leaks in your systems and that you are turning the tap off and that you do not water unnecessary.
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