Kulin District High School taps into huge water savings

Kulin District High School students and their teacher turn on their new waterwise taps  

More than 40 outdated and inefficient taps, toilets and water fountains have been replaced at Kulin District High School, helping staff and students save an estimated 730,000 litres of valuable drinking water each year.

The waterwise retrofit was completed under Water Corporation’s Waterwise Towns Program, which provides offers and incentives to help regional Western Australians reduce water use and lower their bills. 

As part of the $14,000 project, the school replaced outdated single-flush toilets with modern, dual-flush systems that use 75 per cent less water. Standard taps were also upgraded with swivel and push time flow alternatives to reduce unnecessary water use.  

Water Corporation Regional Manager Adrian Stewart said in addition to tangible water savings, the project was an opportunity to show students the importance of being waterwise.  

“It’s young people of today who’ll be our future water sustainability advocates, so by making them aware of water’s value to the community we’re ingraining waterwise behaviours that hopefully last a lifetime,” Mr Stewart said.

"A great example, and something most people don’t realise, is the simple act of swapping to a water-efficient showerhead can help save up to 20,000 litres of water a year.” 

Since the Waterwise Towns Program began in 2013, regional Western Australians have helped save an impressive 1.7 billion litres of water, equivalent to around 756 Olympic-size swimming pools.

School Principal Garry Walker said the upgraded systems were already saving water and reducing energy use.

“It was quite eye-opening to see just how much water can be saved by switching to more modern, water-efficient systems,” Mr Walker said. 

“We really appreciate the opportunity to work with Water Corporation and have used this project to show students that by making seemingly small changes to water-use behaviours, we can collectively have a big impact.” 

In addition to the work at Kulin District High School, 40 households across the Great Southern upgraded inefficient showerheads as part of the Waterwise Towns Program’s Showerhead Swap initiative, saving around 776,000 litres. Although the program ended on 31 May 2023, your local swap location may still have showerheads available. For eligible towns, please visit our website.