2009 - Securing Our Water Future
In the face of climate uncertainty, Australia needs to ensure that we have adequate, safe water supplies for critical human needs, but also for agriculture, and with sufficient water left for the environment.
This is one of the most fundamental challenges facing the water sector, and it can be a difficult concept to communicate, especially in a nation with a diverse climate as Australia, and with a population that has generally had unlimited access to cheap water for decades prior to our most recent drought; and may be sceptical/poorly informed of the science surrounding water.
Australia's water suppliers (water utilities) have some common threads in how to address this challenge. One of the approaches implemented is diversifying water supplies. This means no longer relying on one main water supply (usually dams), and looking at other ways of ensuring that our water supplies are adequate so that we don't run out of water in the future. Diversifying water supplies usually includes the following:
- Climate-independent methods of sourcing water (e.g., desalination and recycling)
- Increasing efficiency (by ensuring adequate infrastructure, reducing leakage and evaporation from the systems etc.; as well as efficient water use/savings by water customers)
Some of these measures are not very popular. For example, desalination is perceived to have a number of drawbacks, as it is more energy consumptive than some other water supply methods (although sourcing energy from 'green' sources is usually required for the desalination process); and environmental considerations need to be given to discharges of brine (a product of the desalination process) on the ocean environment to which it is discharged.
In the case of recycling water, consideration needs to be given to the level of treatment required for its end use (is it for people to drink?). Recycling water for drinking is a legitimate alternative water source and there are examples of where this is occurring in other parts of the world, however in Australia community acceptance is low, and there have been cases where proposed projects of this nature have not proceeded due to lack of community support or resistance from the community (e.g., Toowoomba, South East Queensland).
However, science tells us that these are safe and effective methods for securing water supplies, and are particularly necessary in the face of climate uncertainty. Depending on the geography of an area, these may need to make up a part of our water supplies.
Key Messages of NWW for 2009
- Water supplies are limited
- Our water comes from a number of different sources
- We all share water
- We're all responsible for our water future!
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