Irrigators welcome passage of Water Bill
Council CEO Andrew Gregson says that while the bill is imperfect, irrigators wanted it passed, so that focus could be directed to the Basin Plan.
Water commission recommends recycled drinking 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 Continue Reading →
Water Commission advocates recycled water
From the National Water Commission
The National Water Commission sees water recycling, including for drinking purposes, as a viable option to “supply harden” water supplies to Australian cities and towns.
The key urban water lesson of the last decade has been that many Australian cities’ supply systems have been found to be vulnerable and fragile – too reliant on single sources of water especially rain-fed dams. These cities need to harden their water supply systems by tapping into more secure and reliable water supply sources that can supplement variable rainfall, meet the demands of population growth and position us to withstand climate change.
Labor refuses water reform
Independent Federal MP Tony Windsor has blamed “irresponsible party solidarity” by Labor members for the defeat of an amendment he had introduced in a bid to protect rural groundwater supplies from mining developments.
Mr Windsor singled out South Australian Labor MPs for voting along party lines to defeat his amendment that he says would have provided greater knowledge of the groundwater catchment system of the Murray-Darling Basin and could have provided greater security for Adelaide’s water supply.
Mr Windsor moved an amendment to the Water Amendment Bill 2008 this morning in a bid to empower the Federal Government to override State mining interests.
Interstate kayak aims to save lungfish
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. Continue Reading →
Bumper crop as drought recedes
WIDESPREAD rain during the long weekend has given a spring boost to crops and pastures and comes as a reprieve for those crops in the hardest-hit drought areas that were about to be cut for hay.
The North West, Central West and Hunter Valley fared particularly well, with Jerrys Plains scoring 66 millimetres, Narrabri West 44mm, Woolbrook 42, Geurie 41mm, Gwabegar 40mm and Brewarrina 37mm in the week to Tuesday.
Notable registrations in the south included 56mm at Taralga, 41mm at Quandialla, 32mm at West Wyalong and 22mm at Booligal.