ORDINARY PEOPLE NEWSPAPER ARTICLE COURIER MAIL  - Amanda Watt

Andrew Willsford 40 Valuer, Inventor Upper Brookfield                                                             

I was having a drink with a neighbour about ten years ago and we were talking about different

inventions and ideas. I said, "Mate, I've got a good one" and told him about this water-saving device

I'd been thinking about for a while. The idea was to create a diversion valve near the hot water

supply of your house so that when you turned on the shower or kitchen tap, the cool water that

usually went down the drain while you were waiting for it to warm up was diverted back to your

rainwater tank.

We brainstormed it for some time and then sketched it out on the side of the carton of beer we

were drinking.We didn't know if it was a winner or not but it seemed like a fantastic project to

work on. The only way we could afford to make up a prototype was to do it ourselves so we

bought a lathe, a milling machine and some metal and over the next couple of years spent many

a late night in my shed refining the idea until it was ready to patent. We got it onto the market

in 2009. It's done better overseas than here. Africa and Europe are good markets for us, as are

Victoria and NSW — we're selling about 1000 a year now.

My day job is valuing land and buildings. I started out in the suburbs and then moved to [an

international firm] inQueen Street [in Brisbane's CBD] but about five years ago I just knew it

was time to leave.

I'd worked really long days for years. My wife and I had a young family and I hadn't seen much of

my eldest child [Tom, now eight] in the first few years of his life so when our daughter

[Sarah, 5] came along, I knew I didn't want to repeat that with her. We had an old, small house

on land at Brookfield [in Brisbane's west] so the plan was to build a bigger house and kick back for

a while, but the phone kept ringing so I ended up starting my own business from home. Valuer

s get paid to think, largely. I lecture at QUT and I tell the students the ability to hold a lot of detail

in your head is an important skill because a lot of our work is based on comparing properties; you

need to be able to recall what [similar] properties sold for and when.

Working from home is the key to a good life for me. My neighbour moved away a while ago so I'm

the only one running RedWater Australia now. I make the valves in the shed. I'll do a production

run over a couple of days and assemble about 1000 at a time. People who turn up to see me about

a valuation report wonder if they've rocked up to the wrong office when they see this bloke

emerge in King Gees and boots. Every day I'll package up any orders that come in, go to the post

office and drop off a few valves and some valuation reports, then go pick up the kids from school.

AMANDA WATT

Australian Achiever Award – WINNER Save Water Awards

2012

This award recognises an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to water

conservation through initiative and leadership.

ANDREW WILLSFORD

A passionate environmental and water conservation campaigner, Andrew Willsford

is credited with inventing , developing and funding the Redwater Diverter – a low

impact water saving plumbing device that features patented energy efficient

technology.

Cost effective and easy to install, the innovative Redwater Diverter retains any cool

water left in the hot water line that would otherwise be lost down the drain,

without the need for user intervention. This cool water can then be diverted to a

tank for re-use.

Compatable with many different types of plumbing systems throughout the world,

including those with low water pressure issues, this noise free device doesn’t

require a water pump, electronic sensors or pressurised bladders, which  makes it

an economical and efficient choice for households and businesses.

Importantly, the Redwater Diverter saves approximately 16, 000 litres of potable

water per annum in an average sized home with four occupants.

Andrew actively promotes his water conservation message throughout the

plumbing industry and wider community via a number of channels, including

website, social networking, media interviews, presentations to large water users,

and ongoing consultation with industry experts.

He has also lobbied the Queensland government to change legislation to include

re-circulation devices in the Sustainability Declaration when selling a home in

Queensland, and the Redwater Diverter is now incorporated into new housing and

building designs throughout Australia.

Andrew Willsford believes that being names finalist is heartening and validates

our achievements to date.

“This recognition is an opportunity for Redwater Australia to further promote and

empower the population to be self reliant and responsible for their water supply;

essentially changing their environmental behaviours to make water saving a

household expectation”, says Mr Willsford.