Waterwise Council Program

The Shire of Serpentine Jarrahdale is proud to be an endorsed Waterwise Council, with Gold Status.

The Waterwise Council Program is a partnership between Water Corporation and the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation. It supports councils to improve their water efficiency and water management to help create a waterwise Perth and waterwise communities.

The Shire has been an endorsed Waterwise Council since 2010, recently being recognised for the achievement of 10 years in the program.

The Shire achieved Gold Status in 2019 for significant contributions towards development of waterwise communities and best practice water management.

The Shire’s Waterwise Vision is to:

• Promote a sustainable and waterwise community that values all resources.
• Improve the quality of the water environment, through delivering water sensitive urban design outcomes, supporting innovative agriculture and rural uses, and exploring alternative water supply strategies.

The Shire’s Waterwise Achievements include:

• Adopt and progressively implement the Urban and Rural Forest Strategy.
• Adopt and progressively implement the State of the Environment Report 2019.
• Adopt and progressively implement the Integrated Water Management Strategy.
• Water sensitive design of key projects.
• Free Verge Plant Program and Free Street Tree Program.
• Established a Garden Competition which includes category awards for Native and Waterwise gardens.
• Extensive policy framework to protect and conserve landscapes of high ecological significance.
• Extensive use of local native species in public open spaces and gardens.
• Suitable areas of public open space revegetated or redesigned using hydrozoning in irrigation design and installation specifications.
• Control and monitor fertiliser use on Shire reserves.
• Upgrade irrigation with more efficient systems.
• Installation of usage meters on all Shire bores servicing public open space.
• Work in partnership with developers to achieve water efficient and water sensitive design.
• Adopt WSUD for all new subdivisions.
• Enforce better urban water management guidelines and ensure appropriate water management plans are prepared through the planning and development processes.
• Maintain community potable water use below 80 kL/year per capita.
• Maintain the average annual increase in community potable water use below the rate of population growth.

Waterwise Greening Scheme

The Shire of Serpentine Jarrahdale is proud to be a recipient of funding from Water Corporation through the Waterwise Greening Scheme, which provides the opportunity for Waterwise Councils to receive up to $10,000 of co-funding each year to support waterwise greening initiatives.

Initiatives co-funded by Water Corporation’s Waterwise Greening Scheme and forming part of our ambition to be a leading waterwise community include the Free Verge Plant Program and waterwise garden workshops.