Using technology to save both water and costs across our portfolio

Australia’s changing climate is placing increased pressure on companies and communities alike, with issues of water inequity, quality and drought negatively impacting large areas across the country. As a developer, owner and operator of assets, the efficient consumption and management of water resources is an important issue for Stockland, our communities, and our customers.

We utliise third party technologies and processes to real-time monitor our water consumption, allowing issues such as leaks and other faults to be identified, escalated and resolved in the most effective way possible. This also allows us to assess if our building management systems are running in the most efficient conditions, providing opportunity to optimise them throughout the year. These monitoring systems have saved us $357,000 dollars throughout FY19. Some key examples of where issues were detected and resolved at three of our Retail Town Centre’s include:

Optimisation of hot water use

At Stockland Harrisdale (WA) system algorithms noticed constant running water from the main water meter. It was identified that there was a similar use of electricity in the hot water heaters, pointing to a potential correlation of resource consumption. Further investigations revealed that the hot water was being use for frequent grease flushing, which was then able to be limited to flushing after business hours only. It was recommended to limit the operation to four hours, with timers in place to ensure this was followed.

Leaks in irrigation

At Stockland Shellharbour (NSW), system algorithms detected unusual water use activity, consisting of constant running water from one of the water meters to external taps. After notifying the site team, an investigation determined that there were irrigation leaks in the garden, which was able to be rectified by the gardeners. From notification to resolution, the issue was closed out in less than two days.

Cooling tower fault detection

At Stockland Rockhampton (Qld), system algorithms detected constant running water from one of the cooling towers, which are used primarily for cooling and ventilation of the centre. A contractor was able to investigate on site, and determined that a faulty sump pump was dumping water from one of the cooling towers, causing water to be constantly filling up the tower.

Maintaining effective water management systems to minimise consumption and ensure high water quality standards are crucial to driving cost efficiencies, improving operational performance and minimising the environmental footprint of our assets, from development through to operation.