City of Joondalup Receives Highest Waterwise Recognition

The City of Joondalup has been crowned WA’s Platinum Waterwise Council of the Year as part of the Waterwise Council Program’s 2022 recognitions.

The honour was announced by Water Minister Dave Kelly and recognises the City’s achievements over and above Gold Waterwise Council status requirements.

The Waterwise Council Program was introduced by Water Corporation and the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation more than 13 years ago.

It is one of several targeted programs that promote efficiency among high water users and ensure all segments of the community are doing their bit to conserve precious water supplies.

The City first joined the Waterwise Council Program in 2010/11 and became a ‘10 year Waterwise Council’ in 2020/21. The City has had continual endorsement as a Gold Waterwise Council since 2015/16.

The City’s Platinum Council application highlighted three waterwise projects that were successfully implemented in 2020/21:

• Creating Waterwise landscapes;
• Endorsement of the Yellagonga Integrated Catchment Management Plan;
• Adopting a Central Smart Control Groundwater Irrigation System technology.

Joondalup Mayor Albert Jacob said the City is the largest local government in WA to achieve this status, and has long recognised the importance of sustainable water management.

“It has been, and always will be, a priority for our City, and this award also comes on the back of Joondalup winning the Water Sensitive Cities Award from the Cooperative Research Centre for Water Sensitive Cities for our water sensitive practices,” Mayor Jacob said.

“These accolades give us the confidence to know we are striking the right balance between the provision of water services for the community with the protection of water resources in the context of a drying climate.

“At the City of Joondalup, our commitment to water conservation and water quality is strong and demonstrated by the many effective programs and strategies we have implemented to improve how we sustainably manage this precious resource.

New Platinum Waterwise Councils are promoted in different ways to show industry and the community that local governments are undertaking innovative initiatives to save water and build waterwise communities.

The City will be able to access an additional $10,000 on top of the usual $10,000 of available co-funding (total of $20,000) through the Waterwise Greening Scheme, as well as having priority to access other opportunities as they become available.