In the small town of Birregurra, about 130 kilometres south-west of Melbourne near the Otways, an experiment is taking place to see how the community can save water and money on their bills.
In 2019 Barwon Water started the Birregurra Sustainable Communities Living Laboratory.
Almost the entire town — an estimated 400 properties — had a digital water meter installed, while a smaller number agreed to take part in water-saving experiments.
Retiree Judith Goddard was one of them.
The first experiment sought to find out how behaviour change and more efficient showerheads could reduce water usage.
For a week, Ms Goddard showered normally.
The next week she had four-minute showers.
Then on the third week she had four-minute showers with a new ultra-efficient shower head installed by Barwon Water.
"It's still an acceptable flow and this showerhead uses half the water," Ms Goddard said.
"It also saves money, which is a plus, plus."
Just by changing her showerhead, Ms Goddard is saving nearly 6,000 litres of water every year.
Multiple benefits
The Living Laboratory is also looking at other ways residents can save water.
Last week, Ms Goddard received a text saying Barwon Water had identified a leak at her property using the digital metre.
"I haven't visibly seen a leak," she said.
"Fortunately, they will organise a plumber to come and sort it out."
Barwon Water have also offered residents a free audit of their garden's irrigation systems, to see if any water savings can be made outside.
Ms Goddard says she is happy to receive help to save water.
"I believe that water is such an important component in our life and the planet," she said.
"Anything we can do to be educated to save water is worthwhile. It also costs you less."
Digital meters saving thousands
Barwon Water is examining what is working in Birregurra so they can introduce similar measures across their catchment.
The first thing they plan to rollout in other communities is digital metres.
Digital meters provide hour-by-hour updates on water usage, meaning leaks can be picked up and repaired more quickly than with analogue meters that are manually checked once a quarter.
As of March 2023, about one in five properties in Birregurra had a leak identified and repaired.
Barwon Water's sustainable water lead Kate Vallence said this saved an estimated 38 mega litres of water a year.
That was equal to $81,000 in savings for the whole community, compared to the costs if the leaks hadn't been fixed over a 12-month period.
"The community told us they were really keen to be as sustainable as possible," she said.
"The marriage of technology and community behaviour change is where the success of the program is, for lasting change."
Preparing for changing climate
Barwon Water chief scientist Will Buchanan said with forecasts of a hotter and drier climate alongside population growth, anything that can be done to use water wisely was important.
"Our worst modelling shows [water] inflow could reduce by as much as 50 per cent," he said.
"Under that scenario we would need to find another five billion litres of water every five years, so being able to put water demand under the microscope with the community of Birregurra has been really great".
By offering free programs and grants to help the community save water and money, Barwon Water is saving money as well.
"Every time we save water, it pushes out the date of the next infrastructure upgrade," Mr Buchanan said.
