Waterwise Council Program

The Shire of Serpentine Jarrahdale is proud to be a Gold Waterwise Council.

We have been an endorsed Waterwise Council since 2010 and achieved Gold Status in 2019 for our contribution to waterwise communities and best-practice water management.

About the program

The Waterwise Council Program is a partnership between Water Corporation and the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation.

It supports councils to improve water efficiency and water management, helping create a waterwise Perth and waterwise communities.

Our waterwise work

Our approach brings together environmental planning, community programs and improvements to the way we manage water.

Planning and environmental protection

• Adopting and progressively implementing the Urban and Rural Forest Strategy, State of the Environment Report 2019 and Integrated Water Management Strategy.
• Using policies to protect and conserve landscapes of high ecological significance.
• Working with developers to achieve water-efficient and water-sensitive design.
• Applying water-sensitive urban design (WSUD) to new subdivisions and key projects.
• Applying better urban water management guidelines and ensuring appropriate water management plans are prepared through planning and development processes.

Greener public spaces

• Using local native species in public open spaces and gardens.
• Revegetating or redesigning suitable public open spaces using hydrozoning, which groups plants with similar watering needs.
• Controlling and monitoring fertiliser use on Shire reserves.

Efficient irrigation and monitoring

• Upgrading irrigation to more efficient systems.
• Installing water-use meters on Shire bores that service public open spaces.

Supporting waterwise gardens

• Providing the Free Verge Plant Program and Free Street Tree Program.
• Establishing a Garden Competition with categories recognising native and waterwise gardens.
• Supporting community learning through waterwise garden workshops.

Community water-use objectives

Our waterwise objectives include:

• Maintaining community drinking water use below 80 kilolitres per person each year.
• Keeping the average annual increase in community drinking water use below the rate of population growth.

Waterwise Greening Scheme

The Shire has received funding through Water Corporation’s Waterwise Greening Scheme, which supports waterwise greening initiatives through co-funding for participating councils.

Initiatives supported through the scheme include the Free Verge Plant Program and waterwise garden workshops, helping us work towards our ambition to be a leading waterwise community.