Illaroo Public School wins national competition
Nov 2009

Illaroo Road Public School has recently won $1000 in eWater CRC’s national Catchment Detox Competition. The National Award Winning video started with a bunch of game-crazy Year Six students who were eager to learn more about catchments. By playing the on-line Catchment Detox game the students learnt what was involved in making a healthy catchment area for their area.  

Catchment Detox is a multi-platform project with a 'sim' style game at its centre where players must deal with the environmental challenges facing us all. The aim is to fix environmental problems as well as provide food for the population.

Watch the movie to find out what happened when their local catchment inspector showed them around the Shoalhaven River. Click here to view the movie

Back to top >>

Proposed Water Rebate for farmers
November 2009

Council at its meeting of 26 th November 2009 proposed to provide financial assistance to drought affected farmers whose property is connected to its reticulated water supply.  The assistance would be in the form of a water rebate and would only apply to farming properties located in Livestock Health & Pest Authority Districts, three months after the District is declared by the NSW Minister of Agriculture as being “Drought Declared”.

The level of assistance for the rebate would be based on metered water usage charges where the level of water consumption is 1.5 times greater than the daily average of the previous corresponding 3 periods.

Full details on the background of the proposed rebate and the level of assistance can be obtained from item 3 on page 9 of the Shoalhaven Water Operations and Strategic Committee report at the following link.

http://www.shoalhaven.nsw.gov.au/council/pubdocs/papers/2009
/SW/20091020%20SWOSRC%20Business%20Paper.pdf

and the Minutes to the Council Ordinary meeting of 28 th October 2009 at item 1443 on page 4

http://www.shoalhaven.nsw.gov.au/council/pubdocs/
papers/2009/Ordinary/20091029%20Ord%20Minutes.pdf

Written submissions on the proposal to provide a water rebate are being sought and will be received up to 5pm Monday 30 th November 2009.  Submissions should be addressed to Mr Tony Holmes, Business Manager Shoalhaven Water and include a reference to Council’s file number 40185.  Please note that correspondence submitted on this matter may be open for public inspection without notifying the correspondent.  Pre-printed form letters, which have been individually signed, will be considered but not formally acknowledged.  Further enquiries can be obtained from Mr Holmes on 44293336 or holmes@shoalhaven.nsw.gov.au

Back to top >>

Water Restrictions
September 2009

Level 1 Water restrictions are in force from Monday 5 th October 2009.

Level 1 Water Restrictions means that;

• The use of sprinklers and unattended hoses is banned
• The use of water on paved areas and hard surfaces is banned

All customers (residential or commercial) would be restricted to the following for external water use:

• One hand held hose per property can be used at any time
• Drip irrigation systems may only be used if fixed to a single tap per property and fixed with a timer only in lieu of a hand held hose
• All vehicles and boats can be washed on grassed areas with one hand held hose
• Topping up of existing swimming pools with one hand held hose only

Director Shoalhaven Water Carmel Krogh said these water restrictions are in line with Council’s Drought Management Plan and are triggered by the first release of water from Danjera Dam, the city’s drought backup storage.

Over the last few weeks Shoalhaven Water has drawn water from its Bamarang Dam to a level that has triggered the release of water from the backup storage at Danjera Dam. This action is the trigger to introduce Level 1 water restrictions.

Currently Shoalhaven City dam levels are:

• Danjera Dam – 98% capacity full

• Bamarang Dam – 74%

• Porters Creek Dam – 79%

The available dam capacity for the Shoalhaven is sufficient to supply the city under restrictions until significant rainfall is received.

A snapshot of the dam levels, rainfall figures and river inflows are updated regularly and customers can view these via the homepage.

Back to top >>

National Water Week 18-24 October 2009
August 2009

National Water Week is held across Australia in October of each year to promote water conservation. It is also timed to coincide with the upcoming summer period and is designed to assist communities to take actions that help protect and conserve a most precious resource.

National Water Week will be held during the week commencing Monday 19 October and will commence with an opening ceremony at the Shoalhaven Entertainment Centre where we will launch a new element of the Tapstar Water Wise Educational Show.

Our program includes the Tapstar Show targeting primary school children with teachers utilising the educational resources of the program to enhance their school curriculum on the subject of water conservation. The program is widely utilised and last year involved over 1,500 primary school children during water week and included school activities, live radio coverage of events and tours of water supply and sewerage facilities.

The Tapstar Water Wise Education program has recently undergone a script redevelopment to include a new play on issues surrounding the disposal of rubbish into our sewerage system. This year the students will be working towards producing a media campaign relating to this new message.

Winners of the Shoalhaven segment of the Water Week competition will have their radio campaign aired throughout Water Week on the popular local radio station PowerFM.

Other events for the week include Water and Sewerage Treatment Plant Tours and Information Displays at Stockland Nowra.

Back to top >>

Shoalhaven Water joins EWON
June 2009

The EWON provides an independent way of resolving customer complaints about some water supplies in NSW. On 1st June 2009 Shoalhaven Water became the first Local Government water utility in NSW to join as a member of EWON. EWON is an industry based scheme which is funded by its members. EWON provides customers of Shoalhaven Water with an independent way of resolving a customer complaint. If, after Shoalhaven Water is given an opportunity to resolve a complaint or issue, a customer is not satisfied with the outcome; they may choose to contact EWON. EWON can investigate a wide range of complaints including;

• Disputed accounts
• High bills
• Debts
• Disconnection or restriction of service
• Reliability of supply
• Connection issues
• Actions of a supplier that affect your property

Shoalhaven Water is committed to providing our customers with high quality water and wastewater services. As an organisation which strives to not only meet but exceed our customers’ expectations, the availability of EWON to our customers is a positive step toward our continuous improvement of our services.

Back to top >>

Proposed Water and Sewerage Charge Increase
May 2009

Water and Sewerage charges are proposed to increase in 2009/10. Residential customers can use their property water meter number (this can be found on the back of your last Water Account or from the inside of the actual meter on the boundary of your property) to compare current and proposed charges for water based on the last full financial year water consumption for their property.  Customers can also enter reduced consumption amounts to see how much can be saved.  Commercial customers should contact Shoalhaven Water direct  water@shoalhaven.nsw.gov.au to obtain an estimate.

To compare current and proposed charge:

http://www3.shoalhaven.nsw.gov.au/ShoalwaterCalculator/Default.aspx

Back to top >>

Back to top >>

Residents warned of latest scam
30th April 2009

Shoalhaven City residents are warned to be on the look out for bogus doorknockers or telephone callers, after reports of people impersonating Shoalhaven Water employees in the local area. Shoalhaven Water's Director, Carmel Krogh, said she had been made aware of the most recent incident in which a customer was telephoned purporting to be a Shoalhaven Water employee claiming that works were being undertaken in the area that may have affected the water quality, if so would they like to purchase a water filter.  Similar scams have been occurring with other authorities and residents should be cautious.  All Shoalhaven Water Staff carry identification cards when working outdoors.   If any customer has any concerns about their water supply or sewerage services, or the legitimacy of Shoalhaven Water staff, they are encouraged to contact us direct on 44293214 or after hours on 44213100 or 0422803013.

Back to top >>

Washing Machine Rebate Scheme
March 2009

Council introduced a Washing Machine Rebate Scheme in 2008 as part of the Water Supply Demand Management Strategy. This scheme has provided over 700 customers with a rebate to buy a water efficient machine. Council at its meeting of 10 th March 2009 resolved to discontinue the rebate as part of the annual review of the Demand Management Strategy in order to focus on other water saving initiatives.  The Demand Management Strategy incorporates a number of strategies to reduce water consumption and includes pricing, water education, retro fit programs, water audits, rebates and leak reduction programmes.. No rebate will therefore be provided for any machine purchased after 13 th March 2009. The conditions, applications and frequently asked questions regarding the scheme have been retained on the Saving Water pages of this website to enable customers to make claims for the rebate for any purchases prior to 13 th March 2009.

Back to top >>

Water Tank Rebate
March 2009

Council introduced a Water Tank Rebate Scheme in 2005 and over this period 803 rebates have been provided to water customers to help them conserve water and reduce water demand on the City. As part of the regular review of the Water Supply Demand Management Strategy, Council has resolved to continue with the water tank rebate scheme in accordance with the current terms and conditions but under a flat rate rebate of $150.

Back to top >>