Deciding The Future, Drop By Precious Drop
The Sunday Age
Sunday October 26, 2008
Our long-term water needs require more than one solution.
IT MAY be that at some future date, historians will relate the story of climate change as a case of successful adaptation: humans, faced with an unprecedented challenge, made the necessary adjustments and survived. At this stage, of course, it is way too early to make this optimistic call.In south-eastern Australia we cannot even say with confidence whether the drought conditions we are experiencing are the result of climate change or the extreme seasonal variation that is part of life on the world's driest inhabited continent.Melbourne is experiencing a severe lack of spring rain - this may be the lowest rainfall for September and October on record - and the State Government has not ruled out making the unwelcome decision to introduce stage 4 water restrictions by the summer.In the past the Government has baulked at taking such a severe step, which would prohibit the watering of sporting ovals, lawns and gardens with mains water, the washing of cars except for health and safety reasons, and the use of mains water for commercial car washes.The human impact, including the loss of employment and of recreation opportunities, was rightly considered too high, and 3a restrictions were introduced as an interim measure.But as The Sunday Age reports, 97 regional towns, including Wedderburn in north-central Victoria, are already living with stage 4 and forced to make difficult choices: such as closing the golf course but keeping the local swimming pool. Some town gardeners are managing to keep their plants alive, but the effect on farmers has been catastrophic. The town is gamely holding on, waiting for water from the Wimmera Mallee pipeline to replenish their stores in 2010.Technical solutions such as the pipeline are welcome and necessary innovations, but if rainfall continues to decline they must be accompanied by more profound changes to the way we farm and the way we live.Last week, a report to the Federal Government, It's About People: changing perspectives on dryness, recommended policy should focus on helping farmers prepare for drought and developing a culture of self-reliance rather than relying on emergency handouts.Last week too, the chairwoman of Melbourne Water, Cheryl Batagol, warned that Victoria's $4.9billion water plan may not be enough to secure Melbourne's drinking needs for the long term.She flagged the possibility that future projects would be considered as soon as the desalination plant and the north-south pipeline are completed. What this strongly suggests is that future water management will combine multiple strategies: consumers using less water around the home - by using grey water and installing tanks and more efficient taps and appliances - as well as infrastructure projects that upgrade irrigation systems or recycle water.After 12 years of drought, Melburnians have cut their water use by 35% a head since the mid-1990s. Under the present five-star energy rating scheme, all new homes have to install either a rainwater tank, solar hot water or third-pipe recycling.Recommendations that these requirements be relaxed when the desalination plant and other water initiatives begin delivering water, as reported in The Sunday Age today, appear out of step with the philosophy pursued so far: that many solutions are needed to solve our long-term water needs.
© 2008 The Sunday Age