So, why do we need to save water in the Darwin region?
Good question! While it may rain a lot in the wet season, only a small percentage of this water actually falls in the Darwin River Dam and surrounding catchment area. Around two thirds of this water evaporates due to our climate, and we never know how much rain we are going to get from year to year. Our increasing population over the years has meant increases in our water use, and it might surprise you to know we currently use almost twice as much water as other cities with similar climates.
In Darwin we use more water than can be captured and supplied in the long term. While Darwin plans for the future, everyone needs to play their part to be water smart. Find out more by taking a journey through Darwin’s water story.
Here's what's happening in the water saving community
Living Water Smart's Garden Tune Up provides a free garden irrigation audit at your home or business by one of our registered irrigation experts. The irrigator will reprogram your irrigation controller to provide your garden with the water it needs, when it needs it. It also includes up to $50 of on-the-spot irrigation repairs.
During the Dry Season your lawns, garden beds and native plants have to deal with six to seven months of no rain at all, so it is important to know how to keep them healthy without over watering. When [...]
27 June 2019 More than 350 year 7 students unveiled their innovative solutions, campaigns and projects designed to influence water consumption in the Darwin region this week. The Darwin Water [...]
Congratulations Darwin! You have reduced your average residential water use by 20% over the last 5 years! Gone are the days of watering down footpaths, washing cars on the concrete driveway and [...]
For the second year running, Living Water Smart is running a program in schools designed to create generational change and broad community awareness around the issue of water consumption in the Darwin region, called The Darwin Water Challenge.
At the moment Darwin River Dam is at 74% full and falling at almost 8 mm a day, which is normally where the Dam level is at around November after a full dry season of water use. What does this mean for our water supply?
A great advantage of living rural is the surrounding environment. But there is a lot to do, especially with a large garden to look after and keeping on top of water leaks.
A smart irrigation controller automatically adjusts watering based on local weather conditions. For example when it rains the smart irrigation controller will reduce or turn off your irrigation to [...]
To make your existing irrigation system ‘smart’, the first step is to determine what type of irrigation system you currently have. Generally there are two types: Standard (central automated) [...]
A smart irrigation controller automatically adjusts watering based on local weather conditions. For example when it rains the smart irrigation controller will reduce or turn off your irrigation to [...]
Many people struggle to know how much to water their garden. Do you water for 20 minutes, 40 minutes, or more? How many days per week? And what type of sprinklers should you use? If you have a mix of [...]
There are many different types of sprinklers, including fixed spray, single-stream rotors or multi-stream rotors, and drippers. Each type of sprinkler applies water at different rates, making it hard for you to work out how long to water your lawn and plants to reach the recommended 10 mm of water.
When planning your garden, selecting plants that thrive in conditions that change from months of drought to months of heavy monsoonal rain is a must! Luckily, there are some beautiful options, that [...]
Merv Johnson from Giraween Primary School in Darwin tells us how we can better use 'his' water - in the bathroom, the garden and the pool. "That's My Water!" he says. He takes us through his home [...]