Water water everywhere & no one stopped to think

It's been raining on the Eastern seaboard. And the catchment areas under the control of the Sydney Catchment Authority have had good falls, raising dam levels. Warragamba is now sitting at 1,014,930 ML, or 50.1% of capacity. Avon Dam is at 102,900ML (70.1% capacity) & Cataract is at 76,900ML ( 81.5%). Compared to the first week of June, things are looking much better. Warragamba was at 678,370ML or only 33.5% of capacity four weeks ago.

But has the drought broken? Or perhaps more pertinently, was it really a drought or the beginnings of a climate shift to lower annual falls, faster cycles of ocean temperature fluctuations & drier conditions in the southeast of the continent as a consequence? Let's leave aside the issue of whether it's human caused climate change or natural climate pattern variation ( or a combination of both) but I'm horrified to see the simplistic response to a good month's rain by our so-called leaders.















The above graph doesn't reproduce well, but it still illustrates a long-term trend very very clearly. The green line toward the top indicates total storage capacity for the Sydney Catchment Authority (who collect the water - Sydney Water buys it from them & then delivers it to homes & industry). There is undoubtedly redundant capacity in that figure, but it gives us an eight year overview. And it should be a sobering one. The last time the system was at maximum capacity was June 1999. Eight years ago. We've been in drought since 2003. Officially. So where has all the water gone?

The capacity line is in freefall until it stabilised about June 2005. On June 1st 2005 Level Three water restrictions were introduced for the first time across the Sydney Metropolitan Area. Listed below are the restrictions:

• No hosing of lawns and gardens except hand-held hosing before 10am and after 4pm on Wednesdays and Sundays. (Hosing on Fridays has now been banned).
• No hoses for washing vehicles or hard surfaces. There are exemptions for swimming pools and containers, which may be filled by hose.
• No sprinklers or other water systems at any time.
• Fire hoses may be used only for fire-fighting purposes.
• No filling of new or renovated pools greater than 10,000 litres except with a permit from Sydney Water.
• There are exemptions for recycled water from "non-potable" pipework.
• There are exemptions for flushing boat engines and safety components on boat trailers including brakes and wheels; cleaning of bilges; use of water for public health and fire-fighting related activities.

Other measures in place prior to the introduction of Level Three restrictions, did not have anything like the impact upon water use that the June 2005 restrictions achieved. And look at the list above. Is there anything in that list that you can seriously argue acts as impediment to your life, lifestyle or survival?

If you do not have a rainwater tank, use grey water, mulch your garden & plant low water requirement plants, then the garden watering restrictions may have seemed harsh. But using fresh potable water for watering the garden is one of the most stupid things we do. There are so many things that householders can do to reduce their water use in the garden & no one should be wandering around thinking that potable fresh water should be used to water the photinia. (one of gardening's bad bad plants in the Universe of Bernice-its flowers have a particularly pungent scent reminiscent of cat piss - noice).

And yet - here they are lined up like so many carnival clowns, titillating us with the hope, nay the promise that Level Three restrictions will be lifted. To quote:

The opposition water utilities spokesman, Chris Hartcher, says the water saving efforts made by Sydney residents need to be recognised.

"It's a great idea to reward Sydney for the self-control in recent times," he said.

"If the dam levels do rise to 65 per cent, and there's every indication that they will, it would be appropriate to review the water level restrictions to bring them down."

"This would acknowledge the fact that the people of Sydney have played their part in water conservation."

"Have played their part"? Excuse me? Past tense? Obviously Mr Hartcher & his government counterpart Nathan Rees have perfected the art of long range rainfall forecasting or they're both bloody idiots. I'm sure that most Sydneysiders would prefer to see their part in water conservation repaid by holistic planning for future water use & needs, subsidies for households to implement a range of water saving technologies, and for recent governmental decisions regarding water provision be opened up to public scrutiny & reconsidered.

Such as the Kurnell desal plant. Iemma promised at the state election it would only be built if storage levels fell below 30%. Storage capacity is now at 55.6% Yet here it is going ahead, bigger than previously announced. Why proceed Mr Iemma? Is it because your advice is that climate change is a reality, & a drier NSW & much drier Sydney basin is the medium & long term prospect? Drier to the point where desal cannot be deferred any longer? If that is the case, then why the hell is your Utilities Minister even suggesting that Level Three restrictions should be eased?

& why is infrastructure placement proceeding to allow for the draining of the Kangaloon aquifer? Against the advise of the independent report?

"Whilst a significant amount of investigation has been done to date, the author could not find any statement to suggest that there is sufficient information to confidently predict that the Kangaloon Borefield proposal as presented is yet feasible. In almost every aspect there is uncertainty in regard to:
· Sourcing 15 GL for 2 to 3 years and recovery of the aquifer’s groundwater system
· Consequent impacts on surface and groundwater resources
· The transfer of groundwater via rivers to water storages
· Environmental impacts"

Or the continued flows of up to 425ML of water daily from Tallowa Dam, pumped up via the Bendeela Pondage to Warragamba or the Nepean catchment system. & of course it isn't happy times & full dams for the rest of the state. Local councils along the Murray-Darling system are fighting furiously against compulsory water restrictions being imposed on riverside communities, despite the fact that irrigators are facing zero allocations after July. If the Minister sees fit to allow Sydneysiders to return to patterns of wasteful & stupid water use, then he can hardly argue for restraint in the rural areas.

Goulburn may have had flooding last week but its main reservoir still remains at less than 40% capacity. Sooley Dam is full, indeed it was overflowing, but its total capacity is only 4140ML. Hence recently announced federal funding (& dithering by the state government) to build a pipeline from Wingecarribee Reservoir near Bowral to Goulburn's water treatment plant. This 300mm pipeline is being funded as an emergency supply, able to meet Goulburn's daily needs when on Level 5 restrictions, with the town's water storage capacities at zero. But it is also being seen as an opportunity to provide water into a regional centre that habitually has water restrictions due to its geographic location. For Goulburn to grow, it has not only to be able to offer industry secure water access, but meet the expectations of new residents as to water availability. An expectation not built around Level 5 restrictions, regardless of the geographic realities of Goulburn.

We live on the second driest continent. Our soils are old and fragile. The native fauna & flora is highly evolved to survive this reality. Water is transient, scarce and precious. And will only become more so. Our foolish pompous politicians do not have the right to play politics with our most precious resource - if Hartcher & Rees want to do something useful, let them initiate a cross-bench open inquiry searching for green innovative water use technologies. And leave the restrictions at Level Three. Because the dams will be empty again in five years time.