Water Night to raise awareness of water waste and sustainability

WATER Night is on again in 2025 and households across the MidCoast are being encouraged to get involved in the awareness-raising event.

Each year, Water Night asks Australians to turn off their taps between 5pm-10pm on Thursday 23 October to highlight just how regularly and mindlessly people reach for their taps, and in the process, inspire a more conscious relationship with water.

Led by sustainability exponent and celebrity gardener Costa Georgiadis, participation in Water Night has grown across Australia every year since it was launched in 2020.

MidCoast Council’s Director of Infrastructure and Engineering Services, Rob Scott, said this increase in popularity had been reflected locally as well.

“Every year the number of households in our region that take part in Water Night more than doubles, with close to 200 households and over 500 individuals taking part in 2024,” said Mr Scott.

“Coupled with the growing popularity of our other National Water Week events and activities, it really demonstrates that people on the MidCoast are seeing the importance of building a sustainable relationship with water.

“Water Night is great because it holds a mirror up to your unconscious water habits and makes you stop and appreciate how fortunate we are to have instant access to clean, safe water.”

It isn’t just households across the MidCoast that have been getting on board with Water Night, with participation among local schools also growing year on year.

In 2024, Krambach Public School won a national competition for signing up the largest percentage of students and staff out of any school in Australia.

The school was rewarded with a rainwater tank and wicking garden for its efforts.

Prizes form an integral part of the event, with every person that signs up going in the draw to win a dishwasher, smart watch, airpods and more.

Water Night is also backed by cutting edge research into the nation’s water use habits, with this year’s research focussing on Australians’ wasteful habits in the shower.

Among a range of findings, the report highlighted the following concerning statistics:

● One in five Australians shower for between 10-15 minutes

● One in three Australians shower twice a day or more

● Showers are the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions from an average Australian home.

Mr Scott said Water Night provided a great opportunity for each individual to look at their own personal water use habits and see where they could make improvements.

Sign up at www.waternight.com.au