Extension of Home Water Action Program

6 August 2008

The NSW Government has granted $150,000 in funding to extend an innovative partnership that engages members of Sydney�s culturally and linguistically diverse communities to use water wisely.

The Minister for Water, Nathan Rees, has praised the outstanding achievements of the volunteer water ambassadors who are trained as part of the Home Water Action Program. The Program works within non-English speaking language groups to provide comprehensive education on smart water use in partnership with the Ethnic Communities� Council.

The program, now in its second year, has trained some 70 members of the Tzu Chi and Lak Saviya foundations who have donated their time to spread the water saving message to the members of Sydney�s Sri Lankan and Chinese communities.

The efforts of these ambassadors have resulted in saving millions of litres water, helping more than 2,700 people to use water wisely through practical water smart actions such as shorter showers, capturing rainwater and participation in water saving programs such as Sydney Water�s WaterFix Program. The success of the Home Water Action Program will now be extended by engaging other language groups across greater Sydney.

Through partnerships such as this one with the Ethnic Communities� Council of NSW, the Water for Life Education Program has resulted in thousands of Sydneysiders taking action to be water smart. As a result, we are now using the same amount of water now as in 1970, even though there are an extra one million people living in greater Sydney.

Further information is available on the Home Water Action Program page.