What has been achieved?

Over the past several years, we have reduced demand, constructed new water treatment plants to ensure we consistently provide quality drinking water, constructed new recycled water schemes to increase the percentage we recycle, reduced our greenhouse gas emissions, and completed river bank stabilisation projects and other catchment management projects to help improve catchment health.

In 2008, MidCoast Water developed The Manning, Great Lakes and Karuah Sustainable Water Cycle Management Strategy and this strategy was delivered to the public through the Our Water Our Future campaign.

The 2008 strategy aimed to:

Plan for the provision of a sustainable supply of water to meet future demand and climate variability Ensure an economically viable water service business Communicate levels of service that match community requirements and Deliver the least environmental impact solutions, while being affordable. The objectives of this latest iteration of Our Water Our Future are to:

Review, identify and evaluate catchment issues that affect and are affected by MidCoast Water activities. Review and update overarching goals and principles to guide the development of future planning and management options. Review, develop and evaluate solutions that are feasible. Define, endorse and implement a strategy, Our Water Our Future 2045, that will develop sustainable water services for the communities of the future.

The key message from 2008 was that as a community and as individuals, householders, businesses and families, we must accept the need to change the way we value – and use – water.