AusLeisure

Melbourne's Telstra Dome stadium is set to slash its water use by a quarter as a result of a new project which is harvesting rainwater from the venue's retractable roof.
The project includes 17 large rainwater tanks to store up to one million litres of rainwater collected from the stadium's 41,000 metre2 roof. This water will be used for irrigation and to flush toilets throughout the stadium.
Commenting on the initiative, Victorian Deputy Premier Rod Hulls recently stated that it was important that large water users took the initiative to reuse water and reduce demand on our drinking water supplies.
"The rainwater roof harvesting initiative at Telstra Dome will supply up to 25% of the stadium's water needs over the next 25 years and builds on the work already being done at the stadium which saw 16 million litres saved in 2007-08 from a range of water saving measures."
The $460,000 project was a joint partnership between Telstra Dome and City West Water.
The Brumby Government now requires all non-residential customers across Victoria using more than 10 million litres of water each year to submit a water management action plan (waterMAP) to their water authority.
As a result of its waterMAP audit, Telstra Dome installed flow restrictors on 800 taps, fitted 50 water-efficient showerheads in the changerooms and applied moisture-retaining, soil-wetting agents on the playing field.
Deputy Premier added that "Telstra Dome has an exemption from water restrictions as it is a venue which holds national and international sporting events however they are setting a great example by going above and beyond what is required."
Telstra Dome Chief Executive Ian Collins said the stadium was now a leading environmentally-aware sports and entertainment venue, stating "this initiative will allow us to save a further 17 million litres of drinking water a year which frees up more valuable drinking water for other users and makes sound economic sense for use because we save money on our water and energy bills."

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