A dry continent (Australia) demands creative solutions

A dry continent demands creative solutions

December 28, 2008

BEFORE Melbourne's climate became hotter and drier, a cool December was considered a sign that the summer might be a fizzer. How times have changed. With Melbourne's catchments at a low 34.9 per cent many are now wishing for a season of long rainy summer days. Unfortunately, no one is predicting an end to the drought any time soon. Despite heavy rains in December and late November our water storages are 4.4 percentage points below what they were last year. September was the driest on record in central Melbourne.

The State Government's big-ticket responses to the water shortage — the desalination plant near Wonthaggi and the north-south pipeline from the Goulburn Valley to the city — will ease the pressure on Melbourne's water supplies, but may not solve the problem in the longer term. Both projects are controversial, but what is beyond argument is that more water is needed. Melbourne grew by more than 1000 people a week in the past 12 months. By the end of 2011, Melbourne should be receiving 240 gigalitres of extra water from new projects. Already policymakers and politicians are arguing whether this will be enough by 2030. It is not possible for future rainfall patterns to be predicted with any certainty, although the recent State of the Environment report by Sustainability Commissioner Ian McPhail strongly suggests the frequency of drought in Victoria will increase. Which means that the way we think about water needs to change.

Mr McPhail urged the Government to "engage with the community" about the water issue, including the possibility of "drinking purified recycled water" in the future. According to John Morgan, who was Melbourne Water managing director from 1995 to 1998, recycling water from the Carrum sewerage plant would be cheaper and more energy efficient than desalination. If the gloomier climate change prognoses are correct, the state will be forced to revisit the issue.

In the meantime, other avenues also need to be explored including encouraging domestic food production. Suburban gardeners, particularly those without rainwater tanks (likely to be those on low incomes), have been struggling to keep their vegetable patches alive under the 3a restrictions that allow watering only twice a week between 6am and 8am. The restriction does not take into account the amount of water saved by the urban farmer, who does not use the wasteful overhead sprinklers of the commercial market gardener, and who grows food in more protected spaces. And it makes no allowance for the carbon savings made when fruit and vegetables are eaten where they are grown.

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