Townsville locals urged to tap into the $10 million Water Smart Package
Date published: 29 December 2018
Townsville City Council is urging residents to tap into the $10 million Water Smart Package.
More than 2000 homeowners, renters and body corporates have registered their interest for the Water Smart Package and Registrations of Interest will remain open until the end of March.
The program provides vouchers or rebates for water-efficient products and services including irrigation systems, low-flow shower heads, drought-resistant turf and water tanks.
Townsville Mayor Jenny Hill said the Package is open to all local residents and body corporates.
“Of the registrations we have received, almost 90 per cent are from home owners and a bit over 10 per cent from renters,” Cr Hill said.
“We want to remind people that both home owners and renters – with landlord’s permission can get access to the program.”
Cr Hill said the Package has two different incentives for residents, with the garden support package proving the most popular so far.
“More than 75 per cent of people are opting for the garden support package vouchers – which is important because that’s where people use the most water,” Cr Hill said.
“Pensioners and low-income families can receive up to $500 in vouchers, and all remaining households are eligible for up to $300 in vouchers to redeem for water-efficient products and services,” she said.
“We have designed the Garden Support Packages to help residents take practical steps to become more water wise in their gardens while keeping their gardens thriving.”
Townsville Water and Waste Committee Chair Cr Russ Cook said one quarter of households have registered for the second option, which allows rebates for water-efficient products and appliances.
“We also provide rebates for products such as pool covers, water-efficient washing machines and a range of other water wise products for mainly inside the home,” Cr Cook said.
“It’s important to remind people that once the program goes live in March next year, they’ll need to register for the Package online before they go and buy the product, as the registration of interest process we are running now doesn’t guarantee people access to the program.”
The $10 million Package is funded from the Queensland Government’s $225 million investment in water security in Townsville.
The registration of interest form can be found here https://fs6.formsite.com/townsvillecc/form602/index.html
