I live in Brisbane, in south east Queensland, and the city has historically relied on three dams for all its water. Not so many years ago politicians boasted that the dams were big and we would always have enough water.
Now we have level 4 water restrictions, which means that if I want to water my garden I can only do it on Tuesday, Thursday or Saturday during specified hours and with a single bucket. All hosing is banned. Sprinklers are something we have already almost forgotten ever existed. It really is bizarre that gardening should come to this.
I have written that Brisbane should recycle its water and build a desalination plant or two, click here for the piece entitled 'No More Excuses' originally published in the local newspaper, The Courier Mail.
The Australian Water Association has said that if Brisbane recycled its water there would be 40 percent more water in the system. I am all for it, but the politicians have been dragging their feet while claiming the water crisis is all the fault of climate change. We have had a few dry years, but there are also lots more people. Indeed infrastructure has not kept pace with population in this fastest growing region in Australia.
Then just the other week the Queensland Labor Premier, Peter Beattie, announced that on 17 March 2007 south east Queensland residents will vote on the permanent introduction of recycled water into existing water supplies.
Just today the leader of the Liberal Party, Bruce Flegg, launched a water options website at www.wateroptions.net. There is some good information there about water recycling, water in south east Queensland and attitudes to recycling.
Interestingly local ABC radio has run a poll on water recycling and last time I looked most people (74 percent) just wanted the government to get on with the job of water recycling: http://www.abc.net.au/brisbane/vote/total.htm .
Anyway, if you live in Queensland you can have your say and vote at: http://wateroptions.net/campaigns/1/ .
But if you just want to be really scared click here: https://climatelab.com.au/blog/archives/001514.html .
Glacier's water = Fool's water ;
Schiller, do you really believe such nonsense??
On my mineral water bottle is labelled: " gives you overhuman powers and is the source of youth" !!!!
Schiller: bunk
The problem with recycling wastewater is that it isn't old enough for consumption. Not properly aged, you might say. Well, those concerned about properly aged water should consider:
Old Water - 10 Thousand BC Luxury Glacier Water
http://www.trendhunter.com/trends/old-water-10-thousand-bc-luxury-glacier-water/
"10 Thousand BC is a luxury bottled water from Canada that claims to be the best bottled glacial water in the world. The water comes from the Coastal Glacier Range in British Colombia and costs about $7 per bottle. The company has a couple of interesting steps in its process, one being that the water is bottle to ‘inspirational’ music because apparently research shows that water has memory. (GUSH)
Locked in an icy vault for over 10,000 years, 10 Thousand BC (TM), is the world's finest luxury glacier water from the remote and environmentally protected Coastal Glacier Range in beautiful British Columbia Canada. This precious live resource is literally bottled to "inspirational music" since research shows water has a memory. Glacier water is recognized the world over for its unsurpassed natural purity, high ionic content and ability to slow the aging process. Only the purest water optimally hydrates the body, reduces anxiety, heightens brain functions and stimulates everything from plant growth to the human sex drive. (finewaterimports)"
Jennifer: Although it is not obvious in the Canberra Times report about future regional water supply options there is a strong case to directly recycle the bulk of treated effluent from the existing Lower Molonglo plant straight into old Dams along the Cotter River and hence into Canberra’s drinking water, as a “shandy” the former head of ACTEW Paul Perkins said.
http://canberra.yourguide.com.au/detail.asp?class=news&subclass=general&story_id=538583&category=General&m=12&y=2006
This scheme could involve a number of parched NSW cities and towns in a regional agreement with new federal funding. Growth in this region the hardest hit by drought now totally depends on new water supply and storage systems. Only the ACT has any developed capacity to store for the whole region, but rainfall is only a fraction of what we once had at a bit over 5%
"..Australian bat lyssavirus is usually transmitted to humans via bites or scratches that provide direct access of the virus in bat saliva to breaks in the skin and exposed tissue and through mucous membranes (eyes, nose and mouth).
The virus cannot survive more than a few hours outside the bat. ABL is not spread by bat urine, faeces or blood. Fruit soiled with bat saliva, urine or faeces is not a risk but should be washed before eating.
There is no risk of ABL infection from eating flying foxes that have been thoroughly cooked..."
Luke; I also worked in chlorine production (3 sites) and monitored acid treatment in a variety of places around the chemical industry. My workmates got soaked and breathed the atmosphere every day. Lead burners were most affected when they smoked. I woke up to danger when I found out one chap had a whole lung removed He looked quite crooked afterwards.
It set me on a long personal crusade looking for hazards. However I sent a note off today to one adviser chatting about our obsession with purism in our policy development. I have been a professional risk taker in a number of fields after a bit of reflection. But a history of looking into hazards got me a start with our AFP.
At the MMBW final water treatment and distribution stages we used liquid chlorine as the main dose after fluoridation further back in supply. Salmonella, Cryptosporidium and Giardia etc were our bread and butter. I spent months reading up on world wide water treatment research during that period however it was my experience in water recirculation and effluent measurements that got me in the door in the first place.
For the export and food manufacturing biz we had a lot of techs from Geelong schooled up in incubators and growth mediums. My dear ladies have both been expert in that field too. All factories have to deionize today as their final solution to crap build-up through evaporation and so on all too expensive for the home front.
A guy I met at the holiday camp by the beach last month failed to bluff me on taste even though he had a digital meter. After rain they chlorinate all rainwater tanks and septic systems under new council regulation due to local possums and birds on the roof. Guess what they have to top up with ground water from the park in-between. Loved the wild life regardless. They get hundreds of overnight visitor’s peak season.
After the third day I could not say for sure it was chlorine in our tank. Note, Our taste picks up on acids and minerals too.
Correction – “were all once routine smokers” applies only to those folk I guess had blamed their pronounced lip, throat, nose and lung problems on anything but tobacco smoke.
I worked with many shift operators in various industries and developed a keen eye for skin colour etc as part of our union activity in assessing signs of reaction to many industrial pollutants.
Gavin - we're talking about a modern cocktail of chemicals. Obviously drinking it for a few weeks wouldn't hurt. Smoking and other hazards of western civilisation are obviously much more dangerous than water quality in Brisbane.
The consequences for guzzling it for a lifetime though are simply "unknown" but perhaps "of concern" for long term consumption.
Of course chlorine gives us bladder cancer perhaps - but of course you can skip the chlorine and run the risk with Salmonella, Cryptosporidium and Giardia and go au naturale.
Luke: Our body and gut system are quite robust compared to other water based organisms.
City dwellers exposed to your list of metals etc in their tank water would still have a better chance after drinking it than if they had even minor passive exposure to cigarette smoke.
People I see too often dying on their feet or in a more advanced stage of smoke damage and cancer in their beds were all once routine smokers. I can assure you the other stuff hardly matters as they go on and die.
Hmph ! Jen's not amused.
OK - I still wouldn't regularly drink your Brisbane urban tank water - I've been told you'll find Pb, Cu, Zn, Cr, As, Cd, polyaromatic hydrocarbons, and phalates as roof top pollution. And first flush doesn't necessarily remove them. Will they harm you in the levels present - who knows (for now). OK for your garden though - all that stuff settles on the plants anyway.