Email reply

I have recived a reply to my email I sent to the council. Mr Paul Fraser is the 'PARKS & RECREATION COORDINATOR'. He is the man to reply to my email. Here is the email.

Dear Fletcher
Thankyou for your email regarding your 'Make a Difference Challenge' relating to perceived water wastage from the Steyne Park water bubblers.
The design of the existing bubblers at Steyne Park do not have a water catching bowl and are quite outdated. When the bubblers are used the excess water would be unsuitable for re-consumption and therefore needs to be naturally drained. The bubblers are located next to a large Moreton Bay Fig which utilises this excess water naturally. In saying this, there is evidence that the run-off of water pools below the bubbler which may be a drainage issue.
The bubblers have spring loaded taps to prevent water wastage of leaking bubblers , however these bubblers are aging and may need some maintenance. I will speak with our park staff to inspect and repair if necessary.
On Monday 25 August 2008, a report was presented to Council regarding a major waste problem created by the manufacture and disposal of plastic water containers. The report also discussed the feasibility of installing new bubblers at all public venues where people gather. It was Resolved:A. That Council install bubblers at Trumper Park and at the Double Bay Ferry Wharf as part of this years open space capital works program.B. That bubblers be incorporated into the landscape upgrades of Lyne Park foreshore works, Gap Park masterplan and Rushcutters Bay Park playground.C. That funding for bubbler installations be considered as part of the 2009/2010 budget deliberations.This report can be viewed at;http://www.woollahra.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/35687/aug25-08c_and_emins.pdf
The installation of new bubblers (like the AquaBubbler or similar) will be considered as part of the 2009/2010 budget deliberations. We have installed new drinking fountains at Yarranabbe Park, Lighthouse Reserve, and Robertson Park that have the addition of a dog bowl which can be seen in the attached photos;
(See attached file: 17.07.2008 001.jpg)(See attached file: Bubbler with Dog Bowl.jpg)
Should you require any further assistance please don't hesitate to contact me.
Paul Fraser

Email

I have sent an email to the Woollahra Council asking them to concider changing the bubblers and Steyne Park. I am now waiting for a response.

18/9/08

17/9/08

The Bigger Picture - Water Conservation

Stopping water wastage is contributing to water conservation. Water conservation is a major problem across the planet. Water is a renewable resource but is rarely in action. Sea water can be converted into fresh water but is so expensive. It has cost New South Wales 10 billion dollars to create one desalination plant. If the Polar Ice Caps melt, all the fresh water would enter the sea and be undrinkable. Dams are good but Global Warming is heating up the planet causing more evaperation removing the fresh water. If we act locally it has a global effect.

Think Locally - Act Globally

Bubbler photo summary

After the course of last week I have taken photos at the same time everyday (not including weekends). A school called Double Bay Public School is abjacent to the water bubblers. this may make the bubblers a vital source of drinking water at the park during there lunch times because it is the only one there. I dicided to take the photos at 4:30pm because all the variable elements including the school would not effect the photos at all. I believe that the bubblers are always wet because the bubblers are used by the school at around 12-1pm. when the bubblers are used two things happen. When someone drinks from the bubblers some water doesn't get drunk so it lands on the ground. imagine over 300 people spilling a little bit of water. the bubblers are located right next to a tree. the tree brunches lie over the bubblers puting the into the shade for the majority of the day. when the bubblers are used by the school the water doesn't evaperate because it is in the shade thus making it soaking wet for hours.

My solucion is to replace the water fountains with the AquaBubbler. the AquaBubbler has a basin to catch that exscess water thus saving water.

15/9/08

This is the bubblers on Monday 15th of September.

15/9/08

Bubblers 12/9/08

This is the bubblers on Friday 12th of September.

This is a Bubbler still on dripping in water.

This is one of the small bubblers. this is how much water one bubbler can waste.

11/9/08

This is the water fountains at 4:30pm on Thursday 11th of september.

AquaBubbler

This following web link takes you to to the aqua bubbler website.
The Aqua Bubbler is a water saving tap for schools and councils. It explains what the bubbler does and also its key features. This is the type of bubbler I would like to propose for the Woollahra Council to use at Steyne Park.

http://www.aquabubbler.com.au/page/drinking-fountain-with-bottle-filler

Photo 10/9/08

This is the water fountains at 4:30pm on Wednesday 10th of september.

Water Fountains

If you can see the darker areas in the red circle you are looking at wasted water. The water wastage is only coming from the 2 small taps because the big tap doesn't work.

Evidence

From tommorow I am going to take a photo of the water fountains everyday for 2 weeks.
The reason for this is that in the photo you can see that the ground around the fountain is darker than everything else. that is because it is soaking wet.

Taking Action

Today I took action by using only the lights in my house that were needed.

Stop waste water from water fountains in Steyne Park

These are the water fountains that are wasting water in Steyne Park, Double Bay.

Stop waste water from water fountains in Steyne Park

What: My Make a Difference Challenge is to stop water wastage from water fountains in Stenyne Park, Double Bay.

Why: New South Wales has limited water supplies in it's dams. stopping water wastage from water fountains would make a considerable change in water levels.

How: I will now that my efforts have succeeded when the water fountains are on timers or they do not shoot out excess water.