Strata Owners Join Fight to Save Water 1/11/2006 The owners of properties under strata title management have not been left behind in the battle to save water. Indeed, modern ecological efforts to save Australia’s scarce supply are seeing people living under strata title joining the fray.
Water saving measures for these folk may take a slightly different turn, but their efforts are helping take pressure off our continuing water shortage.
Mr Richard Tooker, the leader of one of Sydney’s largest strata management companies, New South Wales Strata Management Pty Ltd., says that there is much more to the battle than the water reductions that lead to faded lawns outside high-rise buildings.
“All of Sydney is under strict water restrictions and people living under strata title management are indeed pulling together to coordinate their efforts. We’re seeing owner’s corporations taking steps which largely go unsung, but they have joined the fight and are making a difference.”
Mr Tooker says that one path toward greater water conservation is to have the Treasurer of an owner’s corporation monitor overall water usage. This is done by reviewing water bills quarter by quarter. If the bill has dropped significantly, say by 25 per cent, this is a good indication that the buildings occupants are pitching in.
But lawns and gardens, he says are not a buildings largest user of water. The major culprit, he notes, is the bathroom. Part of the answer to wasted water can be as close as the bathrooms’ shower head.
“Some owners’ corporations are managing to negotiate group discounts on prices for such things as water saving shower heads which owners can purchase and install. This can see owners save money.
“And recommendations for the greater use of water saving fitments need not stop at shower heads either. Aerators or flow regulators on taps can also help. And some owners’ corporations are helping further by actively recommending that owners pay regular attention to washer replacement, and change over from their use of single to dual flush toilets”.
Leaking cisterns can be another source of wasted water. Mr Tooker suggests that a touch of food dye in a cistern at night can soon show if water is leaking through to the bowl. Sydney Water estimates that this simple measure alone can achieve significant water savings.
With hundreds of buildings under management Mr Tooker says his company has noted that small changes at each can amount to massive savings over time.
“Sydney Water estimates that some 49 per cent of all residential water goes down the drain or toilet. By altering this use by only a fraction people can make a significant difference. It saves money for the individual owner, saves money for the corporation since most owners do not have their water individually metered, and of course saves water for use by others.”
He advises people to ask their strata manager for assistance if they want their strata management to assist in the coordination of ecological ways to help save water.
He says that as a licensed managing agent under the Property, Stock and Business Agents Act, and a member of the Institute of Strata Title Management, New South Wales Strata Management Pty Ltd remains committed to better living through greater consumer awareness.
New South Wales Strata Management (formerly Gilmour Strata Management) commenced business in early 1991, as a member of the highly respected J A Gilmour & Sons group of companies. Licensed solely and specialising only in strata management services, the company has steadily grown to become one of the largest such organisations in New South Wales.
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