The Murray & Securing our water supply

[Wayno]

Is our water supply secure?

It's interesting that Adelaidian's have not been rallying in the streets about the lack of real action by Federal & State Govts. Also our own S-A community remains curiously quiet on this front?!? why?

Do we truly believe our water supply is secure and all will be ok? or is the sheer scale of the problem simply too scary to consider? We have a desal plant coming online in 2012, but what if the murray inflows drastically fail every year between now and then - yikes!

It's obviously difficult to discern fact from fiction, politics from science, but too often do I see reports about the inevitable failure of our lakes, acid & salt slowly leaching its way up the murray, near 0% allocation to our farmers, gross water overallocations interstate continuing til 2019, etc etc etc...sooo confusing and frustrating.

And why is the media not all over this? Also there appears to be little in the way of "public action groups" seeking to expand their membership and run vocal campaigns? Are we really just a bunch of simplistic beings bored with hearing so much on this one topic?

Surely the thumb-screws could do with an extra twist?!?

[rev]

The only people who bother to form public action groups, are too busy wasting their time holding up developments like Victoria Park and so on.
They have no real interest for water supplies, because to them, they aren't the ones working on the farms, so as it's not "a gigantic ring of public parklands that they consider their personal backyards", they don't give two hoots.
The rest of the population will only care if the media tells them to.
Expect the media to make a fuss at the next state election. Will be good for their ratings and revenues.
Until then we will get promises, pledges, but little action. It was revealed just this past week that interstate farmers up-stream have been taking more water out then they are supposed to. What will be done about it? Squat. What is going to be done about the artificial canals they have created in the eastern states to divert massive amounts of water from the Murray-Darling system to their farms, illegally? Squat. It really is a pity that we are at the bottom end of the rivers flow, because it would be sweet justice to starve those greedy bastards of water.
Martin Hamilton Smith will have a few more media briefs, were he will promise the world, but wont go into detail about how he will pay for it all.

In my opinion, they don't plan on fixing the Murray to secure Adelaide's water supply, that will be done primarily through desal plants. I fully expect them to announce another one at the next state election.
The eastern states will continue to plunder the river system for as long as the rivers are running.
Although MrX should give them plenty of headaches in the senate soon over the issue along with the Greens and other independents who all hold the balance of power.

[Wayno]

In my opinion, they don't plan on fixing the Murray to secure Adelaide's water supply, that will be done primarily through desal plants. I fully expect them to announce another one at the next state election.
The eastern states will continue to plunder the river system for as long as the rivers are running.
Although MrX should give them plenty of headaches in the senate soon over the issue along with the Greens and other independents who all hold the balance of power.

You are spot on here Rev, just today was an article saying Adelaide's desal plant will be expandable to cater for up to 50% of our urban water needs. Good news, but ecologically not what i'm keen to hear.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008 ... 290554.htm

Contractors are about to be sought to design, build and operate Adelaide's planned desalination plant.

South Australian Water Security Minister Karlene Maywald says a plant will initially supply up to 25 per cent of Adelaide's water requirements. But she says the successful design must ensure the plant can be readily upgraded to deliver half of Adelaide's annual water needs.

Mrs Maywald says it will be an important part of securing Adelaide's water supply.

"It's about ensuring that we have a non-climate dependent, that is it's not dependent upon rainfall, supply of water that can assist us with ensuring against variability in water supply and the shortage of water that climate change is likely to bring," she said.

A trial plant will be on the former oil refinery site at Port Stanvac, with plans to also have the main desalination plant built there.

[Sonata]

Surely it's not only farmers who are concerned?
I'm not sure what sort of crops South Australian farmers have, but I do think, if they're not growing something like rice or cotton etc, they shouldn't be in these dire straits unneccessarily. (I don't think they shouldn't be careful with their water, or rationed, just... not this desperate) And I do get the feeling that it's unnecessary, due to people further upstream not cooperating with us/each other. It's really quite shocking.

[rev]

Hmm so much rain over night and today. Wonder where it's all ended up.

[urban]

We have only had about 15mm, the July average is about 80mm so we still need a lot more rain before we will start to get decent runoff entering our creek and river systems.

[rev]

Well that was yesterday or whatever, it's been raining quite consistently here all day. I'd say at least in some metro areas, a lot more then 15mm has fallen. They certainly don't go around measuring rainfall in each suburb.

[Hippodamus]

Currently, some 80 per cent of Adelaide's water supply is dependant from the River Murray, while only 20 percent comes from resevoirs from the Adelaide Hills and other outer metro areas.

Also...did you also know that only 5 percent of the total water consumed in Australia is used by the major urban centres, and some 95 percent is consumed from just agriculture, mining and defence alone... !!

A Desal plant, while being an attractive alternative for water to most desperate South Australians at such a critical time; is not neccessarily our God send either i.e. a final solution to our problem. Putting aside the fact that it will be very expensive to implement and run, it also has major environmental concerns as it consumes vast quantities of energy, not to mention altering the fragile balance of coastal marina environments such as seagrasses, while affecting the quantity of salt levels in the sea. Furthermore, where do we send the vast salt quantities which will be extracted... anyone think of that!? I think there is only so much you can put on kitchen tables and the rest will not be any good to an already saline rural Australia..

Some of the residual affects of having such facilities have not been yet understood completely, as it is still a realtively new resource and method of extracting and supplying water to starving cities around the world. The full extent of the consequences are yet unknown. Maybe in 50 years we will learn about these affects as history shows with every other major environmental stuff up.

I'm not saying the answer is easy, but I just want to outline that there are a multitude of ways of firstly reducing our dependancy of water consumption from the Murray, and secondly implementing more sustainable methods of water harnessing.

Ways of reducing water from the Murray will not work with water restrictions alone, if anything; they have very little affect on the grand scheme of things when you consider the abovementioned facts of total Australian water consumption.

I believe that the Federal Government ough to severly hit certain types of agriculture... this in my opinion, would be the only serious attempt to saving the Murray.

Did you know that it takes 25 bath tubs of water to grow enough cotton which is in one t-shirt ("when the rivers run dry” 2006 by Fred Pearce).. so I ask... why on earth do we still have monster cotton farms in NSW along the Murray (and the Govt. gives them concessions all the bloody time!! It's ridiculous!!)... and why is Australia expanding rice farms along the Murray so we can sell the rice back to Chinese... it's absurd and totally not sustainable.

It absolutely frustrates me to pieces because the truth is distorted and it seems that 95 per cent of the Australian population is imposed with strict water restrictions while Australia have these greedy McFarms with almost unlimited water licenses enough to to give life to entire countries in Africa...

What are our priorities Australia?

[Maximus]

Also...did you also know that only 5 percent of the total water consumed in Australia is used by the major urban centres, and some 95 percent is consumed from just agriculture, mining and defence alone... !!

I was actually thinking about starting a thread on what everyone thinks would be the correct way to structure water restrictions (given the apparent widespread dissatisfaction over the current system), but if this quote is correct then water restrictions are definitely a complete waste of time.

Methinks a serious and fundamental change in thinking on water will be needed in years to come.

[Omicron]

Karlene Maywald is the Datsun 120Y of ministers - so woefully inept, it's almost amusing.

[AtD]

Also...did you also know that only 5 percent of the total water consumed in Australia is used by the major urban centres, and some 95 percent is consumed from just agriculture, mining and defence alone... !!

I was actually thinking about starting a thread on what everyone thinks would be the correct way to structure water restrictions (given the apparent widespread dissatisfaction over the current system), but if this quote is correct then water restrictions are definitely a complete waste of time.

Methinks a serious and fundamental change in thinking on water will be needed in years to come.

Of course remember that irrigation water and drinking water are not the same. Generally, irrigation water is of much lower quality and a large portion is collected in private dams from storm water runoff.

[Shuz]

After the Adelaide desal plant has been established, I think that another three should be built for to service the water needs of the Eyre and Yorke Peninsulas, so to cut their dependence off entirely from the Murray. The third should service the Far North/dams at Port Augusta - if that isn't already being undertaken.
Our agricultural lands are richer in the SE, which is where the dependency should be directed to - should there be a dependency on the Murray.

Regarding Adelaide, the 25% capacity desal plant seems like a half-baked solution at present, given its supposed to accomodate 50% of capacity anyway. This alongside with a major investment in the water supplies within the Adelaide Hills, and the Lofty Ranges of the Fleurieu, I believe should be readily able to cope with the other 30-40% reliance on water supplies to the city. The Murray should really only be utilised for agriculture in the SE and the Coorong/Lower Lakes conservation.

[AtD]

Those areas hardly have the population to warrant that.

[Shuz]

Thats why you build small ones. Not billion-dollar ones silly.

[Maximus]

Also...did you also know that only 5 percent of the total water consumed in Australia is used by the major urban centres, and some 95 percent is consumed from just agriculture, mining and defence alone... !!

I was actually thinking about starting a thread on what everyone thinks would be the correct way to structure water restrictions (given the apparent widespread dissatisfaction over the current system), but if this quote is correct then water restrictions are definitely a complete waste of time.

Methinks a serious and fundamental change in thinking on water will be needed in years to come.

Of course remember that irrigation water and drinking water are not the same. Generally, irrigation water is of much lower quality and a large portion is collected in private dams from storm water runoff.

So, are water restrictions a waste of time or do they have a role to play? It would seem to me that they are a step in the right direction at the very least, but are structured in a very non-sensical way. I'm only allowed to water my garden for three hours per week, but inside the house I could have ten baths a day and sit in the shower for hours on end. Additionally, it's not even law for me to have a dual-flush toilet or a low-flow shower head, nor is there any legislation that requires devices such as washing machines to have a certain minimum water efficiency rating.