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Quench Campaign – Ballarat Launch – Water is more precious than GOLD here!!! On December 1st & 2nd 2006, Quench visited the Bridge Mall in Ballarat. Stage 4 water restrictions, it seems Ballarat’s water supply may soon be as sought-after as was its own historical gold. Ballarat water reserves are now at 18.5% (refer to Central Highland Water’s information at www.chw.net.au). So we set up our Quench water saving Shower Cubicle, in an attempt to promote the benefits of water-saving initiatives in Australia. We would like to take this opportunity to thank those who attended, including the general public. We would also like to thank those who assisted us in making the event possible, and those that were compelled to SING, DANCE & SHOWER, all in the name of water conservation. Santa – “All I want for Christmas is a Quench Water Saving Shower Cubicle” Whilst we welcome Santa to town, let’s all consider what Christmas will be like next year if we have no water?! ‘Save Our Water’ Santa Unfortunately, leaving some cookies & milk for Santa won’t solve our water crisis. We all need to actively do something about it. Even if you don’t get a Quench Water Saving Shower cubicle in your home, you can still save water by at least installing a water-saving shower head, and doing the basics to limit your water consumption (see helpful hints on our home page). Pre - Water Saving Shower Heads Still Being Used SHAME! SHAME! SHAME! Pre-water saving shower heads use more than double the water as compared with a new water saving shower head. For a very small investment, this level of consumption could be halved (just ask your local plumber / product supplier how). Hypothetical: Based on just 25 hotels / motels each having 20 bathrooms, and with each shower being used on average only once per day, this equates to roughly 182,500 showers each year. Given an average of just 7 minutes per shower:
The saving of over 20 million litres each year would be a conservative example given the number of ‘commercially’ used showers in Ballarat (surely more than 500). Furthermore, the average shower, when away from home, is probably longer than 7 minutes, as it also becomes an act of relaxation in these situations (thus making the savings even greater). So all the more reason that government should place stronger enforcements on local businesses to ensure that they are being water conscious, and the media become more conscious of promoting water-wise initiatives. The Quench promotion should have been one of the biggest media stories of the year for Ballarat. Instead, it was deemed by most to be ‘not newsworthy!’ Water Saving is Sweet Music to Our Ears The local Christmas band gets in on the act to support water saving in Ballarat. The local Reece Plumbing Manager told us they expect Ballarat could be in Stage 5 water restrictions in roughly 6 months. If just 1,000 Ballarat homes had a Quench Water Saving Shower unit, this alone would save the equivalent of roughly 80 Olympic swimming pools each year!! Concurrent Mall Promotions There was some great promotions held at the same time in the mall with the Monster Truck, and the ‘Extreme 31’ Power FM Radio station promotions also being held. Entrants of the Extreme 31 had to stay in the mall for 31 hours straight, performing publicity stunts, with the winner earning $1,000 cash. Monster Truck
Extreme 31 How is Your Appetite for Water?! All that dancing tends to build up an appetite. Unfortunately, the average Australian household’s appetite for water results in hundreds and thousands of litres of water being wasted every year in the shower. We encourage people to wash themselves within a couple of minutes (soap & shampoo), then use the Quench Auto-mode to recirculate just 4 litres of clean fresh water. This creates a relaxing experience, whilst only going through roughly 25 litres each time. “I’m Singin’ In The Shower"
Thank goodness the Quench has its own Sanitisation function which flushes the system out – in this case, several shades of hair dye needed to be flushed away!! The sanitisation process allows the unit to be flushed out within 1 minute of finishing your shower (with environmentally friendly cleansers), and uses only a couple of litres of water. Winners Are Grinners You too would be smiling if you just found out you could shower for as long as you want with just 25 litres of water. Call us to purchase your own recirculating shower cubicle, or email us to give us feedback. What do you think of the idea? We also encourage the water saving ideas of others. It is for this reason we have established the Quench Watertight Fund – so that we can help others make their own ideas of water conservation come to life (see home page for details). Just Taking a Break The owner and an employee of Quench are all incredibly passionate about water conservation. Our major goal is to create awareness of the fact that AUSTRALIA IS IN A WATER CRISIS, and the fact that WE CAN ALL MAKE A DIFFERENCE!! What The !!?? We weren’t the only ones to question this sign. We certainly won’t be getting 20% off our water bills in the future. We have heard that the community may be limited to a maximum number of litres per person per day. We believe that to really make this effective, consumption over and above this level should incur a fee as high as $20 per thousand litres (currently a little over $1 per thousand litres)! This may be the only way to convince community members to save water. We believe that both of these ideas have merit. Fortunately, households with a Quench shower would not be significantly affected by these measures, as they should easily keep below the mandated limits, whilst still enjoying long showers. Phone Call from Malcolm Turnbull’s Office During the Ballarat Quench Roadshow I received a phone call from Malcolm Turnbull’s office - it was from one of his advisers. This adviser told me that she was sorry for taking so long to respond to the email that I had sent in some months ago. I responded by saying that I had actually spoken to Malcolm some months before and also a second person from his office regarding the same email 2 months ago, and she was actually the third person I had spoken to regarding the same issue. She replied ‘Oh, I am wasting my time then’. I replied that my conversation with Malcolm approximately 1 week after his appointment as the Water Minister, left me deflated and uninspired, also, that he advised me that he did not know how he could help me, and it sounded a great idea, and that I was to be congratulated for my obvious passion and commitment to saving water. I asked Malcolm if he could help create awareness - and he responded by saying that it was ‘not what his office does and that I should go to my local government and investigate how they might assist’. I asked the lady why she was calling, and she replied ‘I am just letting you know that we received your email and thank you for writing in with your water saving ideas’. I responded by saying – ‘is that it’? I asked her if she knew what my ‘water saving’ idea was – and she said yes, it was a water saving device. I asked again ‘did she understand what I had designed and had she taken the time to read the information contained in the email that explained the water saving system’? – she replied ‘NO!’ I said that ‘I was truly surprised, and I suppose that you are simply calling me to pay lip service and thank me for writing in and wish me good luck’. I went on to say rather firmly, that I was disgusted that in a nation experiencing a water crisis that Malcolm Turnbull’s office was ringing me up with no substance to the reason for the call - and not having even taken the time to read and understand the water saving concept I had put forward. I asked if she, as an advisor to Malcolm Turnbull, and Malcolm Turnbull himself understood the word crisis – because if they did they might take a little more time to read and pay some attention to the worthwhile inventions and concepts that inventors and manufacturers in this country were coming up with to help a nation suffering from a water crisis. I suggested that she showed Malcolm Turnbull the word crisis in the dictionary so that he understood our water position. I went on to tell her that I was in Ballarat right now demonstrating the Quench Shower water saving system that could save an average family home in Australia 100,000 to 200,000 litres per year, and that if only 1,000 houses installed a Quench Shower, we could save the equivalent of 80 Olympic-sized swimming pools of water in one year. She replied- ‘that sounds impressive’. I told her that we were in Bendigo last week on the Quench Roadshow and that politicians like ….Damian Drum were stating that Bendigo’s water supply would run out in approximately 25 weeks from now, and they would then move into an EMERGENCY status as opposed to a crisis. I asked Malcolm Turnbull’s advisor- ‘what do the people of Bendigo do then’? She replied rather defensively ‘well, they are getting a recycling plant!’ I asked- ‘when?’. She said- ‘well, not soon enough of course - but it is coming!’ I said that Ballarat was facing the same issue, and that the water reserves here were below 19%, and they were also talking about being out of water around the same time, and you are calling me up to say thank you for writing in! How about you asking me how you might be able to assist me in creating awareness for such an incredible water saving concept ? How about you assisting me in creating awareness so that people understand that there is simple technology out there that can save incredible amounts of water, and that might also inspire other companies and individuals to develop water saving products and ideas? I said, that I was sure Malcolm Turnbull could call a few people in the media and encourage them to help create awareness for manufacturers like us – I stated that I did not care if he did not mention the brand Quench – it was just to get the message across that there was incredible innovation available to change the way we use and waste water – that’s the call I wanted from Malcolm Turnbulls office! ABC local radio We contacted the ABC Ballarat head quarters on no less than 4 occasions prior to going to Ballarat, and sent through literature on Quench, and advised that we would be in the Bridge shopping mall Friday and Saturday and that we were trying to create local awareness for a WORLD FIRST Australian shower system that enabled you to shower for as long as you like in a drought using only 4 litres of water. We asked if they could send someone from the ABC to cover the story for their community – they said they would see what they could do. On the Friday morning we called the ABC and asked if they were sending anyone down to the mall to cover this story, they said ‘stand by your phone at around 10.30 and if they could work it into a story they would call for a live chat’ – NO call. I went to the ABC headquarters on the Saturday morning and spoke to a lady via Intercom, and after I explained the importance of the ABC supporting their local community by creating awareness for water saving technology in a region that is going to see some real pain in the coming months, she replied- ‘we do not have any programmes out of here today matey!’ SPECIAL THANKS: The Bridge Mall, & local Council A special thanks to Mel Robertson & Melanie Hoggart for representing both the Environment and the Bridge Mall. It was great to have your support in pushing to obtain the permit, and also in coming down to show genuine interest and feedback. Local Plumbers & Power FM Thanks to local plumbers such as Scott (Gas & Solar Plumbing) and Greg (Pipe Doctor) for giving such great feedback on the unit. We endeavour to ensure purchasers of the unit that the best installation and ongoing support will be sourced from local plumbers who care about providing a solution, not just a service. We would like to thank Lee Henderson and her fellow workers from Power FM for arranging the promotion of the Quench Water Saving Shower Cubicle on their radio station, and congratulate those that braved a very public shower in the Mall as part of their competition. The Courier Newspaper We would also like to thank Donna, and those from the Courier whom have shown a detailed interest in the Quench promotion and its potential community benefits. We thank you for the highly anticipated promotion / feedback article on our awareness campaign. Unfortunately, most other media sources found our water-saving ideas to be ‘not newsworthy’ or they were just ‘too busy’ to be interested. Star Bucks As normal, the Quench team required plenty of caffeine to keep them going. Thanks for your positive and unquestioning response to all of our requests (both for caffeine and otherwise). Public Interest Community Feedback So thanks to the general public who gave us such great feedback. It’s imperative that we understand your issues in order to help combat the problem. Feedback Corner: “Bloody Fantastic! You’ve got my vote” (Scott Ferris – Gas & Solar Plumbing) “We try to be water conscious, but if the community on average keeps doing the same things, we will have no water left to conserve. It’ll just be gone. It’s a great thing you’re doing. Keep up the good work” “We are from Europe, where we have been educated to use less water: we have 2 – 3 minute showers, so even if we do have long periods of drought, we still have plenty” “We live on the farm, and are just used to taking 2 minute showers. Any more than that is an offence to the rest of the community” “We live in the Malee, and the water crisis is terrible. We have to get water specially delivered to us because the catchment water does not supply enough” “We expect that we might run out of water by June 2007 … (the Quench Water Saving Shower is a Fantastic idea!” (Rod – Reece Plumbing, Ballarat) “We visit Melbourne regularly, and are astonished to see the lack of concern the general public has with water saving. What will it take for people to realise that water is a precious commodity, and that prevention is much easier than cure?!” “We live on a farm. We have to save water!” “We are from Stawell, where we are desperate for water saving SAVE OUR WATER!!  Summary: Maybe I have blinkers on, maybe I am expecting too much from a simple, yet very effective, water saving idea - or maybe there is no drought! If you were in my shoes right now you would be pulling your hair out wondering what you have to do to create awareness for such an obvious contribution to saving our water in this country! If anyone out there can help us to create awareness through the media (not even mentioning our brand name), we need to let people know that a simple product can make such a big difference contact us please! |
