Fremantle Village Caravan Park

Taking regular water meter readings in the morning was one of the only ways we could tell if we had any water issues at the caravan park. The park is located on an old rubbish dump, so a lot of subsidence puts pressure on aging infrastructure, resulting in leaks. When our water started to increase without explanation, we knew we had an issue we couldn’t ignore.

Eroded pipe showing leak.

It wasn’t until a data logger installed by Water Corporation confirmed we had a water loss contributing to approximately 45% of our total water usage that we knew how big of a problem we had.

“With the nature of the ground, unless the leak is huge, the water will disappear, giving us no visual signs at the surface. We must rely on valves and meters to help us locate and fix the leak.” Over my journey, I have got to know my infrastructure very well. When I can locate and repair a leak, it is always a win. Knowing that the longer it goes on, the more money and precious resource I waste.” Mick Kennedy, Manager, Fremantle Village.

How we did it

The park is located across 6.4 hectares, so we installed a series of submeters with isolation valves to isolate the area of the pipe with the water loss.

A leak detection specialist was then called in to pinpoint the exact location of the leak using specialised equipment, including gas tracing and acoustic and radar devices.

Leak detection devices are used to pinpoint the exact location of a leak.

A number of leaks were identified across the park and immediately repaired, leading to a reduction of approximately 23 million litres of water annually.

We’ve now been in the Waterwise Business Program for ten years. Over time we’ve been able to implement short and long-term goals to improve our water efficiency and stay on top of leaks.

Some of the other water saving measures we introduced include:

• daily water use monitoring with the use of data loggers
• installation of sub-meters and isolation valves at every opportunity allowing us to monitor smaller sections of the park for early leak detection
• auditing and replacing fixtures in amenities with water efficient models
• replacing the existing pipes with new pipework
• introducing waterwise plants in landscaping.

What we’re doing now

We better understand our water use with sub-meters and isolation valves now installed across the site. Close monitoring of sub-meters ensures any leaks are detected before significant water is wasted. We have also purchased our acoustic device to assist with leak detection.

We’ve also established a culture of sustainability amongst our staff and permanent residents. We continue to educate staff, residents and travellers about how water can be saved. This includes running waterwise forums for residents, displaying posters and stickers in amenities and increasing the number of sub-meters in the park to make permanent residents more accountable for the water they use. Since the sub-meters were installed, we have observed a change in behaviour by permanent residents and a decline in water consumption.

“It was very difficult to educate older residents about being waterwise when we could not tell them how much water they used. Within one month of having the sub meters we saw a drop in consumption of 6,000 litres, and we now monitor water use and send letters out to residents above acceptable water usage levels.” Mick Kennedy, Manager, Fremantle Village.