AN initiative that has improved local sporting fields and saved the equivalent of 20 Olympic-sized swimming pools full of water every year has won Lake Macquarie City Council a state award.
Council’s Lake Macquarie Sports Field Improvement Program has won the program innovation category at the Australian Water Association NSW Water Awards.
Council’s acting sustainability manager Dean Chapman said the program had helped save about 50 megalitres of water a year.
That’s the equivalent of 20 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
“The Lake Macquarie Sports Field Improvement Program includes a holistic and integrated suite of works that aims to save water and use compost product to better maintain the quality of our sports fields for the community,” Mr Chapman said.
“By rethinking our approach to how we use compost and different turf species, and improving our irrigation and monitoring systems, council is saving money, saving water, reducing waste to landfill, and ensuring the city’s sports facilities remain resilient to the impacts of climate change like prolonged hot weather and drought.”
Council will now represent NSW in the program innovation category at the National Water Awards.
National winners will be announced at the OzWater16 conference in Melbourne on Wednesday, May 11.
