Water threads [Merged]

[pahoffm]

Melbourne's Water Reserves have now slipped to 52.1%.

For those of you, whom are unaware, this is where we were at this time of year in the really bad old days of the drought.

Melbourne desperately needs rain over the August - October period. If we do not build up our reserves by November to around 60%, then in 2006 we will be, as a city, in dire straits.

I urge you to make this fact known to as many people as possible. If you know any Melbourne-based politicians I urge you to tell them about this.

Stage 2 Water restrictions should be reintroduced immediately.

 

[Tigerclan]

Re: Melbourne's Water Reserves

Hopefully the rain at the end of the snow season that people usually complain about

actually happens this year

 

[TigerForce]

Re: Melbourne's Water Reserves

Melbourne's Water Reserves have now slipped to 52.1%.

For those of you, whom are unaware, this is where we were at this time of year in the really bad old days of the drought.

Melbourne desperately needs rain over the August - October period. If we do not build up our reserves by November to around 60%, then in 2006 we will be, as a city, in dire straits.

I urge you to make this fact known to as many people as possible. If you know any Melbourne-based politicians I urge you to tell them about this.

Stage 2 Water restrictions should be reintroduced immediately.

Why should the public pay the consequences ?

When is Mr Bracks going to give us a clear explanation on why these 100 year old dams/reservoirs can't pick up rain ?
(especially through that torrential day we had in February this year)

 

[Tigerclan]

Re: Melbourne's Water Reserves

Our population is exploding and our water wastage is huge

I still see people washing their drives down with hoses

Taps and toilets constantly flowing

We are not doing enough, water should be as precious as anything we have

 

[Rosy]

Re: Melbourne's Water Reserves

Why should the public pay the consequences ?

When is Mr Bracks going to give us a clear explanation on why these 100 year old dams/reservoirs can't pick up rain ?
(especially through that torrential day we had in February this year)

Very worrying if that's a common attitude TF.

We've had years of fairly severe drought so the catchments are very low.  The ground is so dry that water soaks in...it has to reach a certain saturation point before significant run-off into the reservoirs occurs.

The rain in Feb would hardly measure in the dams.  It will take years of normal rainfall to fill them.

I don't know about the Western and Eastern suburbs but the amount of growth at Whittlesea, Mill Park, Craigieburn etc is staggering.  That's all extra drawing on resources yet there are no actions being taken to extend catchments.

I don't know what can be done.  I certainly hope it's being addressed by governments.

The public are the ones who use the water so it's them who need to show consideration with how they use it.  The long range weather forecasts predict increasing droughts so things could get pretty dire in the water dept.

While the scientists and governments try to find solutions for the water situation every single one of us needs to treat such a valuable resource with respect and think carefully how we use it.  We'd be goners without it.

One small thing we can do to help is plant more trees.  We're fortunate to have a farm to plant them on but there are plenty of conservation groups people could help out with if they can't plant them on their own property.

 

[Anduril]

Re: Melbourne's Water Reserves

Probably too late to sign the Kyoto Agreement and stop brown nosing to wealthy energy groups :

 

[geoffryprettyboy]

Re: Melbourne's Water Reserves

Melbourne's Water Reserves have now slipped to 52.1%.

For those of you, whom are unaware, this is where we were at this time of year in the really bad old days of the drought.

Melbourne desperately needs rain over the August - October period. If we do not build up our reserves by November to around 60%, then in 2006 we will be, as a city, in dire straits.

I urge you to make this fact known to as many people as possible. If you know any Melbourne-based politicians I urge you to tell them about this.

Stage 2 Water restrictions should be reintroduced immediately.

It didn't worry the state government several years back when they were pumping fresh water into the Domain Tunnel to keep it from collapsing, that didn't worry the politicians did it. The bunch of blood sucking parasites wouldn't care if the sky was falling on top of them, as long as the $$$$ are coming in.

 

[TigerForce]

Re: Melbourne's Water Reserves

Melbourne's Water Reserves have now slipped to 52.1%.

For those of you, whom are unaware, this is where we were at this time of year in the really bad old days of the drought.

Melbourne desperately needs rain over the August - October period. If we do not build up our reserves by November to around 60%, then in 2006 we will be, as a city, in dire straits.

I urge you to make this fact known to as many people as possible. If you know any Melbourne-based politicians I urge you to tell them about this.

Stage 2 Water restrictions should be reintroduced immediately.

It didn't worry the state government several years back when they were pumping fresh water into the Domain Tunnel to keep it from collapsing, that didn't worry the politicians did it.  The bunch of blood sucking parasites wouldn't care if the sky was falling on top of them, as long as the $$$$ are coming in. 

well said geoffrey.

 

[Tigerclan]

Re: Melbourne's Water Reserves

We need at least 7 years of above average rainfall before we can even look

like being safe. No politician anywhere can do anything about that, we need to

conserve water and we need to have done it yeserday.

 

[Legends of 2017]

Re: Melbourne's Water Reserves

Can someone please tell me why the government isn't even considering desalination plants? Is it too expensive? Not environmentally sound? Not enough water in the ocean?

 

[Tigerclan]

Re: Melbourne's Water Reserves

I heard recently they were going to build one in South Sydney

It would cost billions to make I imagine, and the price would go up

Water is so ridiculously cheap at the moment, maybe it should anyway

There is a huge ammount of waste from desalination

Looks like something that is most common in the Middle East

 

[Rosy]

Re: Melbourne's Water Reserves

I hope they are considering that L80.  I can't see any other solutions.  It's hard to imagine the current dams being extended and I think the days of buying out farms to flood for new reservoirs is a thing of the past.
There's no doubt the current catchments aren't going to be able to support a growing population especially if we suffer years of drought.
A massive worry.

 

[TigerForce]

Re: Melbourne's Water Reserves

Why can't our scientists go to London to work out how it rains continuously ? :hihi

 

[jb03]

Re: Melbourne's Water Reserves

Simple - build more dams

 

[Crystal]

Re: Melbourne's Water Reserves

Are you guys still on water restrictions? We are. Haven't washed my car in 6 mths. :-\

 

[Tigerdog]

Re: Melbourne's Water Reserves

Can someone please tell me why the government isn't even considering desalination plants? Is it too expensive? Not environmentally sound? Not enough water in the ocean?

TC is right they were planning one for Sydney, WA has one apparently.
But when people heard the de-salination plant would be nuclear powered they didnt exactly warm to the idea.
In the past it has been said that de-salination is too expensive, but surely in this day and age we can find a way.
The Arabs have been doing it (de-salinating sea water) for awhile now, they may have worked out a way to do it in an efficient fashion by now.

More damns wont help if it doesn't rain.
Why the old VFL park wasn't made into a damn is beyond me. It always rained at Waverley!!

Replacing existing irrigation ducts with poly piping to prevent seepage (believed to cost about 50 percent of water usage) would be a good start.
Making it compulsory for all houses to have rainwater tanks would be another.
Than there is the grand scheme of piping water from the North after the wet season.

Rising water tables as a result of salinity is another massive, related problem.

"We're doomed people, run for your lives. We don't have a prayer".

 

[eight ace]

Re: Melbourne's Water Reserves

WA doesn't have one but is planning one.

 

[Rosy]

Re: Melbourne's Water Reserves

Making it compulsory for all houses to have rainwater tanks would be another.

When I grew up in Camperdown tanks were banned in the town area...Now they are openly encouraged.

We don't have town water here. We have a good spring fed creek that has never dried up and several dams and a massive rainwater tank and if when get some spare money to spend on the farm another rainwater tank is always a high consideration.

There have been times where it's been necessary to buy water and use the local firetruck to deliver it for the stock and house tanks. Washing machine and bath water has been bucketed out to the garden. We've had to scrounge buckets of water to use for cooking and washing up. It's not real good to turn on taps and nothing comes out.

I really can't see any new dams being built without major hassles.

A heap of farms were purchased to turn into Eildon Weir. I can't see that being possible in this day and age really. I don't know if there's enough suitable national park area to do it either.

 

[Disco08]

Re: Melbourne's Water Reserves

Compulsory water tanks should have been introduced years ago, as should bio-septic systems in the more drought effected areas.

Although I hear what you guys are saying, you are no where near the trouble that places like Goulburn are facing. They have already had daily household usage limited to 150 litres per day with stringent checking and severe fines, and the long term outlook is very depressing compared to the regular downfalls recieved in most of Victoria. You only need to drive from Yass to Melbourne to see the difference in rainfall between the regions.

 

[Tigerclan]

Re: Melbourne's Water Reserves

I've heard on Radio National about towns that have had only a matter of days supply left

And were begging for someone to get a tanker out to them, hopefully someone came to their aid