Category: Water

See the commission’s press release

Australian cities need to get used to the idea of drinking recycled water Chairman of the National Water Commission, Ken Matthews, said last week. “To retain the water security we have grown up with we need to find alternatives to rain fed dams,” he said. The commission compared the economic and environmental cost of securing urban water supplies through storm water capture, desalination, inter-basin transfers and recycling. It concluded that recycling is a viable option and that public education programs are required to generate well informed debate on the safety issues environmental costs and existing use of recycled water.

The Generator News – Week ending December 5th,2008

To recapture the sense of supply security we grew up with, cities need a diversified portfolio of water sources, including less-climate dependent sources of supply such as purified recycled water. Australian cities of the future will be designed water sensitively – and it is important that water recycling continue to be available as the backbone for more enlightened water sensitive urban designs.

The National Water Commission therefore regards water recycling in all its forms as a vital option to re-build Australia’s water security and as an enabler for water sensitive urban design. The Commission believes it should be considered on its merits with an open mind alongside other less-climate dependant water sources such as desalination, stormwater capture and inter-basin water transfers.

It is critical that the recycling option not now be lost. Decisions about recycling being made now will be hugely influential for decades to come. The choices that any government makes today will affect the ability of all governments around Australia to take the tough decisions needed to secure long-term water supplies for the communities they represent.

In making choices about what supplies should be used to meet their water needs, Australian communities have a right to know about both the risks and benefits in using recycled water. This requires an understanding of how water quality and health standards can be maintained through rigorous controls and monitoring based on sound science and proven treatment technologies.

The National Water Commission acknowledges that there are risks associated with water recycling – just as there are with food, beverage and pharmaceuticals production. However the Commission is convinced that water safety risks can be safely and acceptably managed under Australia’s stringent regulatory systems. Australia’s Drinking Water Guidelines are already world-leading.

Public attitudes to water recycling are dependant on numerous factors including the degree of water scarcity, costs, the quality of consultative processes, perceived management of health risks, and the accountability of, and trust in, supply system managers.

Better information on these issues is needed to ensure that communities are able to make an informed and balanced evaluation of the merits of recycling as a water supply option.

Recycling of water for non-drinking purposes has long been widely accepted across Australia, for use by industries, irrigation and households. Recycled water has also been used for drinking purposes for centuries – with many communities drawing on water supplies that contain treated wastewater discharged from upstream sources. Literally millions of Australians drink such water daily.

The National Water Commission supports water recycling for both non-drinking and drinking purposes as a critical means of making our urban water cycle sustainable, and as an essential option to re-build urban water security. The Commission would like to see all governments contribute positively to encouraging public confidence in Australia’s stringent drinking water regulatory arrangements.

Australians need ongoing leadership on water planning to ensure we keep all supply options on the table. That includes the use of recycled water as a vital means of supply hardening our cities’ water systems into our climate-challenged future.

Ken Matthews
Chair and CEO
National Water Commission

It would have committed the Government to holding an independent inquiry into the affects of long-wall mining on groundwater on the Liverpool Plains and other areas that form part of the Murray-Darling Basin catchment.

“The Federal Government has a mandate and responsibility to override the interests of State Governments to ensure the security of the nation’s water supply,” Mr Windsor said.

“The issue goes beyond the Liverpool Plains and the Murray-Darling Basin catchment.

“It extends to all rivers and catchment systems as part of a national water management strategy.”

Mr Windsor moved that: “Prior to exploration licences being granted for subsidence mining operations on alluvial floodplains that have underlying groundwater systems forming part of the Murray-Darling system inflows, an independent study must be undertaken into the impacts of such mining on those systems.”

The Government opposed Mr Windsor’s amendment saying that the Bill already allowed for the Minister or the Murray-Darling Basin Authority to cause such a study to happen.

Mr Windsor argued that whilst this may be the case, it does not compel the Minister or Authority to order such a study to be done.

“The people of the Liverpool Plains farming community continue to seek an independent study into the impact of long wall mining under the Liverpool Plains before it commences,” he said.

teve Posselt sets out in his kayak again in his quest to save the Mary River.

 

To convey the views of thousands of Australians, Steve is taking their letters and petitions in his kayak from Brisbane to Peter Garrett’s electoral office in Sydney.

 

“Traveston Crossing dam will obliterate lungfish breeding grounds,” he says. “This creature is much older than the dinosaurs and it only lives in SE Queensland with the Mary River breeding grounds being fundamental to its viability.”

 

“Peter Garrett can protect this ancient and vital species from the greed of the Queensland government. He can save Australia from acute international embarrassment.”

 

Last year Steve paddled and dragged his kayak from Brisbane to Adelaide. This year he paddled up the Brisbane River, dragged the kayak over the Conondale Ranges, paddled the length of the Mary River and returned to Brisbane via the ocean.

 

In less than a year he covered more than 4000km.

 

He leaves from the boat ramp on Riverside Drive, West End, between Jane and Boundary Streets at noon Saturday 4^th October. A flotilla of kayaks plus many supporters are expected. Speeches and media opportunities will be held for up to two hours before this but he paddles away at mid-day.

 

Steve will be available for media opportunities and to talk to people all the way down the coast.

 

He will arrive at the opera house in Sydney on Saturday 1^st November at mid-day.

NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI) acting district agronomist at Scone, Hayley Taylor, said falls of 20 to 66mm in the Upper Hunter were a welcome addition to good in-crop rain that had fallen through winter.

“The rain during the weekend should ensure the crops have a good finish now because they were drying out,” she said.

“It will depend on whether we get some hot, dry winds in the next couple of weeks, but if not, this rain should see the crops through.”

B and W Rural senior agronomist at Moree, Rob Long, said falls of 15 to 20mm in the area wouldn’t make a lot of difference to maturing barley crops, but would be useful for chickpea and wheat crops that were in the grain-fill stage.

“And most of the sorghum has been planted, so the rain will help it drive its roots down and get going,” he said.

DPI district agronomist at Forbes, Ken Motley, said the rain across his area had been widespread, with falls between 20 and 25mm.

“It’s been a saviour for some crops, particularly in the south-west of the region. For other crops it’s been a good top-up,” he said.

The band of showers that pushed through the Riverina and South West Slopes brought weekend falls of about 16mm to Griffith, Hillston, Narrandera, Yanco, Gren-

fell, Condobolin and Temora, but failed to register significantly on the far South Coast and in the far south west.