Katherine’s daily water use is being kept well under previous years’ average thanks to the great efforts of local residents and businesses.

Chris Horton, Power and Water’s Area Manager Katherine Region, is pleased to report that at the end of June, water use was down by more than two million litres per day compared with the same time last year.

“This is a great achievement by everyone. Using less water is essential to help keep reliance on bore water to a minimum of one million litres a day. This is the amount that can be successfully treated to remove PFAS by the pilot PFAS treatment plant each day,” Mr Horton said.

“Katherine’s drinking water is sourced mainly from the Katherine River, however a small amount of bore water is also needed to adequately supply the town’s daily water needs.

“Through the efforts of the Katherine community, reliance on bore water can be kept down and the drinking water free of PFAS and safe to drink.

“Our Living Water Smart Leak Find and Fix program has also helped significantly, identifying and fixing around 147 leaks since May, which will save an estimated 13.2 million litres of water a year,” he said.

Power and Water will have a comprehensive display at the Katherine Show this week providing information about Katherine’s water supply and treatment process, which includes how PFAS is removed from the bore water.

“There will be a range people at hand to talk to about all aspects of Katherine’s water, including the conservation measures, finding and fixing leaks, and our ‘Garden Tune Up’ program to help save water in the garden,” Mr Horton said.

“Every little bit helps. Katherine is one of the highest water users in the country at around 426 litres per person, per day. This is down from 529 litres per person, per day at the same time last year. The national average is 226 litres per person, per day.

“As we approach the end of the dry season and the ‘build-up’ conditions begin, historically water use increases and we need to remain vigilant. We’ll be keeping the community informed of the town’s water use regularly so we can work together to continue to keep our water safe and reliable.

“Come and visit us at the show, we will have plenty of interesting information and fun activities for the whole family, and we look forward to seeing you there.”

Contact: Media unit

Phone: 0401 117 599