Green Precincts Fund - An Island is not an Island
Water for the Future – Fact sheet
Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, September 2009
PDF file
Recipient: Wide Bay Water Corporation, Heron Island, Queensland
Funding: $1.29 million
Heron Island on the Great Barrier Reef.
Photo: J Tomkins and DEWHA
The Australian Government has granted funding to the Wide Bay Water Corporation for its An Island is not an Island project.
The project aims to reduce the environmental impact of Heron Island's three tenants - Voyages Heron Island Resort, the University of Queensland's research station and the Queensland Parks and Wildlife ranger station.
The title and concept of this project was inspired by Alfred Russell Wallace, whose pioneering work on climate change in the early 20th Century (1903) recognised that an island emitting greenhouse gases 40 kilometres off the mainland, could pollute just as much as a factory in an urban centre.
Key initiatives of the project include:
- installing new desalination technology, which has been demonstrated to reduce the power requirement for water production by 60 per cent
- retrofitting of existing water facilities on the Island with the latest WELS and Smart WaterMark recommendation fittings
- a major pipe replacement program including replacing leaky pipes within the Island's water reticulation system
- replacing Resort in-room refrigerators with in-room eskies and a self-serve ice-machine
- improving the efficiency of the Island's solar hot water systems; and
- installing four solar arrays, totalling more than 100 kilowatt in capacity, including one on the arrival jetty as part of the educational and promotional program.
This project will highlight the benefits of reducing water and energy use in the vulnerable and unique environment of the World Heritage listed Great Barrier Reef.
The project will engage not only visitors and residents of Heron Island, but provide a sustainability model to the Great Barrier Reef region and the wider tourism industry.
As the site is not on the electricity grid, the Island's energy needs are produced through four 250 kilowatt diesel generators.
The project's ultimate aim is to achieve energy and water savings sufficient enough to run only one or two of the generators for a significant amount of time each day and reduce the Island's environmental impact.
The An Island is not an Island project is one of a number of high-profile demonstration projects to be undertaken with funding from the Green Precincts Fund.
The Green Precincts Fund is an Australian Government initiative to prepare Australia for a future with less water and to encourage local communities to better manage their water and energy use for current and future generations.
Annual savings
Water: 5ML Energy: 670,000 kWh CO2 emissions: 187 tonnes
ML = Megalitres kWh = kilowatt hours
More Information
For further information on the Green Precincts Fund you can email greenprecincts@environment.gov.au or call 1800 218 478.
Before you download
Most publications are available as PDF files. Adobe Acrobat Reader is required to view PDF files.
If you are unable to access a publication, please contact us to organise a suitable alternative format.
Key
Links to another web site
Opens a pop-up window