Hackathon 2018 - Hack Pack

Some other key areas of low water literacy include:

• An understanding of how groundwater fits into the water cycle – there can be an assumption that groundwater is an infinite and never-ending resource that can be tapped into whenever you need extra water.

• Wastewater treatment – not many people realise that wastewater, such as stormwater runoff, is not treated and flows straight into the nearest water bodies, along with any pollutants and litter that the water has picked up along the way.

• Connection between water and green space – people understand that they need to reduce the amount of water they use, but still expect to see lush, green parks and ovals.

Who and What are We Working With in Canning?

Surveys of locals suggest people in canning feel a strong connection with our Canning River. People can enjoy the river and green spaces near it. It's a great space that brings people together. But those people don't feel as connected to other green spaces like parks wetlands and bush land in the city.

Connection with water depends on the distance a person lives from a waterway. People who live close to a river or wetlands are better connected and value water. They probably see water in nature more often and think about water more than most people in our community who do not live close to the river are not as well connected.

So how do we help people connect to water when they don't see it and enjoy it as often?

So far the City is doing some education work through schools and sustainability education centres. The theme of water is a voluntary part of WA school curriculum. The City of Canning, supports the Canning River Eco Education Centre (CREEC) which provides education materials and programs to the community. These help raise awareness and influence a change in behaviour for the health of local environment.

Canning's Vision As A Water Sensitive City

Being the awesome and sustainable council we are doing lots as custodians of water. We have been recognised by the Water Corporation as a GOLD Waterwise Council. The City of Canning has been working on a Vision as a Water Sensitive City. The first part relates water literacy and our community's connection with water.

"People of all cultures understand their impact on the water cycle, respect water’s intrinsic value and feel part of the city’s evolving water story."

Check out the rest of the vision below:

Water literacy, huh? If you don't understand some of these words how are you going to hack the water literacy literacy challenge? It's up to you to turn this jargon and information into a solution that will make people care about the future.

Definitions:

Water Literacy– to understand where our water comes from, how we use it, where it goes and what happens to it, and how water, people and the environment come together. If people understand this and are connected to water, they will be more accepting of water saving behaviours and more open to changes in the management of urban water eg using recycled water or rain water.

Water Efficiency– relates to the amount of water we use. We sometimes say WaterWise. The Water Corporation is already doing a good job at improving people’s behaviours in water use, with consumption declining over time. However, the if all we do is use less water we will still struggle to have enough water for the growing population and lowering rainfall.

Water Sources - Where people get water from. Traditional water sources are running low so we need to think carefully about where we get water for growing populations in a drying climate. Find out more in the videos of each source:

• ground water - underground, stored in soil and in aquifers
• desalination - sea water without the salt and stuff
• surface water - runs over land and collects in dams or lakes
• recycled water - converting wastewater into water that can be reused for other purposes. Reuse may include irrigation of gardens and agricultural fields or replenishing surface water and groundwater
• other new water sources - science wow

Jargon continued

Do you know what it really means when we say water wise, catchment, stormwater pollution, or even biodiversity?

A third or more of the sampled community members reported no understanding of the following terms: fit-for-purpose, total water cycle management, water sensitive, treatment wetlands, decentralised water supply, raingarden, biofiltration, urban heat island effect, microclimate, and riparian.

Should people know this stuff and if so how will you help them?

Most of our water comes from underground - We need to be careful about this though as this water won't last us forever. We use a bit of desalinated sea water which uses a lot of energy to make drinkable. Dambs aren't a reliable water source any more as our climate drys. Recycled water is under used here and we should be reusing greywater more and more as there are lots of different uses for it.

Who's using it?