The Ringwood Bowls Club began 1929 and has had a long association with Ringwood. The club has recently focused on sustainability and embarked on a water reclamation project aimed to increase its water self-sufficiency.

The Club began the project two years ago, through securing Council, State and Federal grants for the installation of three water tanks and a pumping system to collect water from its roof, car park, greens and adjoining roadways.

The system was officially launched this morning and has a capacity of 280,000 litres and is anticipated to reduce mains water usage by approximately 1,500,000 litres.

The Ringwood Bowls Club is to be commended for its strong emphasis on future sustainability and for being one of the first bowls clubs to embark on a project of this scale. In addition, the club has further plans to reduce its water usage, including the conversion of one of its grass greens to a type that uses 30 to 50% less water.

I worked closely with the club over the past few years to assist in the application of grants and was invited to speak at the launch this morning.

Please continue reading to view a copy of the speech delivered at the launch.

I would like to thank Keith Witney and the Ringwood Bowls club for the opportunity to speak this morning. The Stormwater Reclamation Facility is the culmination of several years hard work and cooperation between all levels of government.

In this regard I would like to acknowledge the presence of Councillor Nora Lamont, one of my colleagues in the Mullum Ward, the State Member for Warrandyte, Ryan Smith, Brian Tee the Member for Eastern Metropolitan Region and Mike Symons, the Federal Member for Deakin.

I would also like to acknowledge the board of management of the Ringwood Bowls Club, its members, representatives from the VLBA and RVBA and guests who have attended this morning.

It has been a pleasure to be able to assist the Ringwood Bowls Club over the Stormwater Reclamation Facility. As the climate of environmental uncertainty continues, it is encouraging to see our community sporting clubs at the forefront of environmental sustainability with the aim of reducing water consumption.

Maroondah Council has invested heavily into water sustainability beginning with a $1 million investment in water sustainability projects, through to funding for energy sustainability initiatives and continuing through to a commitment to reduce greenhouse emissions and to improve our environmental sustainability. Council made available a number of grants to community organisations to assist groups in implementing environmentally sustainable initiatives.

Organisations like Ringwood Bowls Club have been proactive in harnessing this commitment, as well as similar initiatives offered at a State and Federal level and I would also like to acknowledge the cooperation from all levels of government, which when combined helped this project become reality.

The culmination of this funding into water storage facilities with a capacity of 280,000 litres, sets a new standard for sustainability and I congratulate the Ringwood Bowls Club through its Board and Management and its Members for having the foresight to deliver this project.

Initiatives of this scale are never easy and I wish to thank the Ringwood Bowls Club for their ongoing commitment, while construction was relatively quick, the planning and initial applications for this project began a few years ago and I thank the club for their ongoing dialogue and for the opportunity to become involved in assisting this project.

This project is just one example of how the Ringwood Bowls Club is supporting its local community and I encourage people to participate in the many programs the club operates. This project will support the sustainability of the club and provide an independent source of water, making the club increasingly self sufficient and at the forefront of water sustainability.

While today is a day of celebration with the completion of this project, the Club is not resting on its laurels. We have already heard of the club embarking on other steps to conserve water, including the conservation of one of their grass greens to a type that requires less water and I offer my assistance to the club in this and other projects that ensure its sustainability into the future.

While my bowling skills still leave a lot to be desired, I can truly state that it has been a pleasure to work with the club in delivering this project and to be here to see it through its fruition.

I commend the Ringwood Bowls Club for its dedication to sustainability and for implementing this project. Thank you.