Monthly Archives: September 2009
Are you Ready for Spring?
Spring is here and summer is just around the corner! This means footy finals, Spring Racing and cricket! You don’t have to change your sleep habits to watch the games, and you can start planning a good old BBQ with family and friends.
This also means that people will want to get their backyard into shape, and the NSW State Government is helping with this by offering rebates for some water saving devices. More information about this can be found at http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/rebates/
Here are some simple ways to save water around the house but still keep your garden looking its best during the hot summer:
– Install a timer irrigation system. Drip lines are effective as they deliver water straight to the plant root system and largely avoid water loss through evaporation.
– Use mulch throughout your garden beds to further trim down evaporation.
– Install a trigger nozzle. They save water by shutting off a hose between watering different plants in the garden.
– Install a rainwater tank to capture otherwise wasted rain water that runs off the household roof. The NSW Government provides rebates of up to $1500 for such tanks.
– Think about installing rain and soil sensors which prevent irrigation systems from operating unnecessarily after rainfall.
Also if you are installing a new BBQ, always remember to use a licensed gasfitter!
Overlooked Grand Final Heroes – Plumbers!
With a crowd of nearly 100,000 spectators expected to cram the Melbourne Cricket Ground this Saturday for what is obviously one of the biggest annual sporting events in Australia, it puts a large burden on the grounds personnel and infrastructure.
The challenge includes the upkeep of the ground’s 546 urinal stalls, 166 individual urinals and 345 toilets. Whilst this may seem daunting, the 3.5 million people who annually pass through the MCG gates during the course of the season provide great training and testing for these bathroom facilities, and give plumbers and curators a great idea of whether or not the lavatories will be able to cope on the last weekend in September.
During the large scale redevelopment and rebuilding of stands at MCG earlier this decade, plumbing was also improved.
In recent years, improved crowd control and regulation has ended the outlandishly large crowds on Grand Final Day, such as the enormous 121,696 people who packed the MCG in the 1970 Collingwood v Carlton match. Although people may not drink as much at the football game as back then, facilities and maintenance practices today are still light-years ahead of what they were. This includes a team of plumbers outsourced by the grounds manager who must go to great lengths in preparation for a big event to ensure everything runs smoothly.
Whilst crowd satisfaction is the foremost goal at a large event, in the 21st century the sustainability of a venue must also be taken into account. One of the ways the MCG attempts to be more eco-friendly is by catching rainwater from the gigantic Northern Stand roof and storing it in a 1.5 million litre tank below gate one.
Even though it is very easy to forget about plumbing when at the footy, it is still amazing how much time, effort and planning must go into managing something as simple as bathrooms, in order for fans to have an enjoyable, comfortable and trouble free day.
