Media Release

05 Jun 2009

New water efficiency program announced on World Environment Day

Sydney Water has rolled out its new ‘BizFix’ campaign, a program of installing water efficient devices to businesses’ taps and toilets, Managing Director Kerry Schott announced this World Environment Day.

Dr Schott said BizFix, the first program of its type in Australia, was expected to save 700 million litres of water – or enough water to fill 700 Olympic size swimming pools – in the first three years.

“By installing water efficient fittings and regulating the water flow in taps and toilets, the average business can reduce the amount of water used in bathrooms by close to a third,” Dr Schott said.

“While retrofitting amenities will save businesses money on their water bills over time, there can be a large upfront cost involved. BizFix allows businesses to significantly cut water use without making large demands on their cash flow.

“BizFix is a two-step process. Once an eligible business registers for the program, a qualified plumber will audit their amenities and provide a report outlining the results. The report will also include a quote from Sydney Water to return and install water efficient devices in the amenities.

“Once the business has accepted the quote, Sydney Water will send a qualified plumber to complete the recommended work. Sydney Water will split the cost of both the initial inspection and subsequent work with the business.

“Businesses will pay about $280 for the water audit, with the fee appearing on their next water bill. The cost of retrofits will vary depending on what work needs to be done. Businesses have the option to spread the cost of any work done over their water bills for the next twelve months.

“Since Sydney Water began offering the service to members of the Every Drop Counts Business Program in April this year, about 60 businesses have signed up for an audit.

“Sydney Water has allocated close to $5 million to the BizFix program over four years. The service will initially be offered to non-residential properties using over 80,000 litres of water a day, with plans to expand the offer to smaller businesses.”

BizFix is based on Sydney Water’s successful WaterFix service, which involves installing water efficient showerheads and flow regulators on taps in homes. WaterFix has been extremely popular, with over 473,900 homes participating to date saving close to 10 billion litres of water a year.

BizFix is one of many services Sydney Water offers to businesses in Sydney, the Illawarra and the Blue Mountains as part of the Every Drop Counts Business Program.

For more information, visit the BizFix pages of the website.

 

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