tag:theconversation.com,2011:/global/topics/water-restrictions-25200/articles
Water restrictions – The Conversation
2022-10-18T15:31:18Z
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/192762
2022-10-18T15:31:18Z
2022-10-18T15:31:18Z
South Africa’s biggest cities are out of water, but the dams are full: what’s gone wrong
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/490352/original/file-20221018-24-jqrq3s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Johannesburg cityscape panorama sunset.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THEGIFT777/GettyImages</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>South Africa’s major cities in the Gauteng Province – the country’s economic heartland – are experiencing <a href="https://businesstech.co.za/news/government/635111/gauteng-gets-urgent-water-allocation-amid-shortages-and-breakdowns/">major water shortages</a>. In Johannesburg and Tshwane taps have run dry, with numerous areas experiencing intermittent supply while some areas have no water at all. </p>
<p>The province has metropolitan areas – the City of Johannesburg, Tshwane and Ekurhuleni. All are affected. Rand Water, the water authority for the region, has imposed <a href="https://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/rand-water-implements-30-water-supply-reduction-2022-10-14/rep_id:4136">restrictions of 30%</a>. This will be revisited when the system recovers. </p>
<p>The last water shutdown was in November 2021 when Rand Water cut off water for <a href="https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2021-11-09-rand-water-shutdowns-to-restrict-consumers-supply-in-eight-municipalities-over-54-hour-period/">54 hours</a> so that it could to do infrastructure maintenance. There were also restrictions during the <a href="https://businesstech.co.za/news/lifestyle/139975/shocking-pictures-show-just-how-empty-the-vaal-is/">drought in 2015-2017</a>.</p>
<p>The province serves as a perfect example of how an area can experience water shortages and intermittent supply even though dams are full. </p>
<p>The biggest problem lies with decaying infrastructure. This includes water storage, water supply and treatment. In addition water resources are poorly managed. And there’s been poor planning, a lack of financing to maintain ageing infrastructure and to keep up with rapid urbanisation. </p>
<p>The crisis in Gauteng has been developing over many decades. The water and sanitation infrastructure in Johannesburg is old – some water
pipes <a href="https://www.theheritageportal.co.za/article/delta-sewage-disposal-works-1934-1963">were installed nearly a century ago</a>. In addition, there’s been exponential growth – of businesses and the population.</p>
<p>Gauteng is South Africa’s smallest province, but contributes <a href="https://www.gcro.ac.za/about/the-gauteng-city-region/">45%</a> to the country’s total economic output. All economic sectors have expanded in the past decades.</p>
<p>The province’s population has also increased to just over <a href="https://www.gcro.ac.za/about/the-gauteng-city-region/">16 million</a> – up from 12 million in 2011.</p>
<p>Rand Water has indicated that high water consumption is to <a href="https://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/rand-water-implements-30-water-supply-reduction-2022-10-14">blame</a> for the current shortages. Estimates suggest that water consumption in Gauteng per person per day is over 300 litres, well above the global average of 173 <a href="https://twitter.com/Rand_Water/status/1580919219176189953/photo/1">litres</a>. Importantly, this estimate includes non-revenue water – water that’s lost before it reaches the consumer.</p>
<p>The Gauteng Province is unfortunately finding itself in a perfect storm of major intermittent water supply due to continued power blackouts, high temperatures leading to above average water use as well as major continued water losses through bursting pipes and major leaks due to dilapidated infrastructure.</p>
<p>There’s an urgent need to put water higher on the country’s agenda. Various water problems are escalating at a rapid rate.</p>
<h2>The decline</h2>
<p>The quality of water infrastructure in South Africa is deemed to be <a href="https://saice.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/SAICE-IRC-2017.pdf">below average and deteriorating</a> in comparison to comparable countries such as Nigeria and Zambia.</p>
<p>A number of factors have contributed to the current state of affairs.</p>
<p>Firstly, the poor quality of infrastructure. This is attributed to insufficient long-term planning, poor construction techniques and materials as well as the poor maintenance of existing infrastructure. </p>
<p>South Africa’s infrastructure is mostly aged (more than two decades old), in a state of decay. In its 2017 infrastructure report card the South African Institution of Civil Engineering concluded that the country’s infrastructure was at risk due to its <a href="https://saice.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/SAICE-IRC-2017.pdf">low overall grade of D+</a>. </p>
<p>Secondly, the management of consumption has been poor. South Africa is a water scarce country. Yet the average domestic water use is estimated <a href="https://www.dws.gov.za/National%20Water%20and%20Sanitation%20Master%20Plan/Documents/NWSMP(Master%20Plan)%20Call%20to%20Action%20v10.1.pdf">at 237 litres per person per day</a>, 64 litres higher than the international benchmark of 173 litres per person per day. </p>
<p>High consumption is partly attributed to high municipal non-revenue water. This stands at <a href="https://2030wrg.org/southafrica-stories/#:%7E:text=Non%2Drevenue%20water%20(NRW),best%20practice%20of%20about%2015%25.">41%</a> This means that 41% of water is lost due to leakages owing to poor operation and maintenance of existing aged water infrastructure, commercial losses caused by meter manipulation or other forms of water theft and lastly, unbilled authorised consumption such as firefighting.</p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/south-africa-has-had-lots-of-rain-and-most-dams-are-full-but-water-crisis-threat-persists-178788">Global best practice is 15% </a>.</p>
<p>Thirdly, a lack of institutional capacity at a local level has limited the capability of local governments to provide infrastructure. Low expenditure levels on infrastructure investment is evidence of these capacity deficits despite the national government continuously emphasising the need for more investment.</p>
<p>Fourthly, there has been massive under funding for decades. This has led to decay and in some instances a collapse of infrastructure. Government spending on infrastructure reached its peak in the 1960s to late 1970s. There was then a steady decline from 1977. In 2000, the country’s per capita spending on infrastructure reached a 40-year low and warnings were issued about the condition of bulk water and sanitation infrastructure. </p>
<p>By 2002 the country’s infrastructure stock was at <a href="https://ideas.repec.org/p/sza/wpaper/wpapers19.html">similar levels to that of 1973</a>. </p>
<p>Other factors contributing to the current crisis include poor management (at national and local level), delays in implementation, insufficient institutional capacity and competence and a lack of political will.</p>
<p>Fifth, a multi-layered and complex system of managing water resources. Numerous stakeholders at different levels of government play a role in the management of water <a href="https://hsf.org.za/publications/hsf-briefs/the-institutional-structure-of-water-resource-management">resources</a>. </p>
<p>The Department of Water and Sanitation is the custodian of the country’s water. It is ultimately responsible for ensuring that water resources are protected, used, developed, conserved, managed and controlled effectively. The development and management of national water resource infrastructure also forms part of the department’s functions. </p>
<p>Other managing agents include catchment management agencies (managing water resources at a regional or catchment scale), water user institutions (providing the institutional structure) as well as water service authorities which include local government and municipalities, water utilities and private firms responsible for governing domestic water supply services. </p>
<p>Johannesburg Water therefore sources water from Rand Water, which supplies potable water to the Gauteng Province and other areas. The City of Johannesburg and Johannesburg Water, for example, are responsible for dealing with growing demands and the management of the delivery and <a href="https://mg.co.za/special-reports/2022-03-15-water-conservation-and-water-demand-management-in-johannesburg/#:%7E:text=Johannesburg%20Water%20sources%20its%20water,other%20areas%20of%20the%20country.">services</a>.</p>
<h2>What’s needed</h2>
<p>The following steps should be considered to try and ensure continued suitable water supply within the Gauteng Province as well as other areas experiencing the same issues:</p>
<ul>
<li>A suitable budget needs to be made available immediately to address priority
areas. Proper planning and informed actions, not just promises, is a major
requirement. Johannesburg Water estimated in 2020 that R88 billion was required for the replacement of infrastructure with a total renewal backlog of <a href="https://www.citizen.co.za/news/south-africa/joburg-can-no-longer-rely-on-its-water-supply/">R20.4 billion</a>.</li>
</ul>
<p>The entity has been <a href="https://www.timeslive.co.za/politics/2022-06-09-native-watch-joburgs-golden-repair-under-way-with-r33bn-allocated-to-infrastructure/">allocated a R3.3 billion multi-year capital budget</a> aimed at replacing water and sewer pipes, upgrading water storage infrastructure, a wastewater treatment works programme and lastly, repairing and maintaining outdated
infrastructure. A further <a href="https://randburgsun.co.za/455293/joburg-water-general-manager-says-entity-is-operational-and-functional-2/">R2.3 billion has also been allocated</a> to address burst pipes across the province.</p>
<p>This amount of money might be a suitable investment to address the dilapidated state of infrastructure. But it should have been assigned much sooner. </p>
<ul>
<li><p>Dilapidated infrastructure needs to be upgraded and properly maintained. The lack of maintenance has contributed to leaking pipes and faulty infrastructure which now needs to be fixed as a matter of urgency as it contributes to major physical water losses. This won’t solve the problem overnight given that there have been decades of neglect. But a start needs to be made.</p></li>
<li><p>Capacity constraints or lack of skills need to be identified and addressed.</p></li>
<li><p>Private sector investment in water infrastructure needs to be incentivised
together with the promotion of private-public partnerships.</p></li>
<li><p>Implementation of water conservation and demand management.</p></li>
<li><p>Political will to move away from simply providing infrastructure to
maintenance, rehabilitation and upgrading of existing infrastructure.</p></li>
</ul><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/192762/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anja du Plessis does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
There’s an urgent need to put water higher on South Africa’s agenda. Various water problems are escalating at a rapid rate.
Anja du Plessis, Associate Professor and Water Management Expert, University of South Africa
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/185820
2022-06-30T12:23:01Z
2022-06-30T12:23:01Z
A water strategy for the parched West: Have cities pay farmers to install more efficient irrigation systems
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471673/original/file-20220629-23-fihz5j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=24%2C0%2C5415%2C3621&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Low-tech irrigation on a cattle ranch near Whitewater, Colo., June 30, 2021.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/water-flows-from-irrigation-pipes-to-keep-parts-of-janie-news-photo/1233914594">Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>“Are you going to run out of water?” is the first question people ask when they find out I’m from Arizona. The answer is that <a href="https://www.azcentral.com/in-depth/news/local/arizona-environment/2019/12/05/unregulated-pumping-arizona-groundwater-dry-wells/2425078001/">some people already have</a>, <a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/arizona/articles/2022-01-22/exchange-rio-verde-foothills-homes-to-lose-water-source">others soon may</a> and it’s going to get much worse without dramatic changes.</p>
<p>Unsustainable water practices, drought and climate change are causing this crisis across the U.S. Southwest. States are drawing less water from the Colorado River, which supplies water to 40 million people. But levels in Lake Mead and Lake Powell, the river’s two largest reservoirs, have dropped so low so quickly that there is a serious risk of one or both soon hitting “<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-dead-pool-a-water-expert-explains-182495">dead pool</a>,” a level when no water flows out of the dams. </p>
<p>On June 14, 2022, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Camille Calimlim Touton warned Congress that the seven Colorado River Basin States – Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming – need to reduce their diversions from the Colorado River by <a href="https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2022-06-14/big-water-cutbacks-ordered-amid-colorado-river-shortage">2 million to 4 million acre-feet</a> in 2022. An acre-foot is enough water to cover an acre of land, about the size of a football field, with a foot of water – roughly 325,000 gallons. If the states don’t come up with a plan by August 2022, Touton may do it for them. </p>
<p>To achieve Touton’s objective, states need to focus on the region’s biggest water user: agriculture. Farmers consume <a href="https://www.ers.usda.gov/amber-waves/2017/june/understanding-irrigated-agriculture/">80% of the water</a> used in the Colorado River Basin. As a longtime <a href="https://robertglennon.net/">analyst of western water policy</a>, I believe that solving this crisis will require a major intervention to help farmers use less water.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jtxew5XUVbQ?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">John Oliver, host of HBO’s ‘Last Week Tonight,’ delves into the West’s water crisis.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Lawns in the desert</h2>
<p>It’s not an exaggeration to call the Southwest’s water shortage a crisis. Declining river levels are compromising <a href="https://theconversation.com/hydropowers-future-is-clouded-by-droughts-floods-and-climate-change-its-also-essential-to-the-us-electric-grid-182314">electricity generation from hydropower</a>, which affects the <a href="https://www.eenews.net/articles/southwest-megadrought-pushes-hydropower-to-the-brink/#:%7E:text=As%2520the%2520megadrought%2520gripping%2520the,a%2520raft%2520of%2520warning%2520signs">power supply</a> for millions of people. Farmers are <a href="https://asmith.ucdavis.edu/news/fallow-fields">fallowing fields</a> and using less water on their crops. This, in turn, imperils food production already under global strain from the war in Ukraine. Drought conditions could <a href="https://californiawaterblog.com/2022/06/12/considerations-for-developing-an-environmental-water-right-in-california/">wipe out endangered species</a>, especially salmon.</p>
<p>There is something profoundly unsettling about the lush green landscape in Southern California, a desert transformed by the power of water. The average annual rainfall at Los Angeles International Airport from 1944 to 2020 was 11.72 inches (30 centimeters). That’s not much more than Tucson, Arizona, gets in the middle of the Sonoran Desert. </p>
<p>Now, however, western states are imposing unprecedented restrictions on water use. On June 1, 2022, the Metropolitan Water District, wholesaler to 20 million Southern Californians, urgently called for a <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-06-01/southern-california-new-drought-rules-june-2022">35% reduction</a> in water use. In response, the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power is limiting residents to watering their lawns twice a week, for eight minutes per session. Other providers allow just one weekly watering. </p>
<p>The California Water Resources Control Board has ordered many farmers and San Francisco Bay-area cities to <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-06-09/california-cities-farms-ordered-to-stop-diverting-water-from-rivers-san-francisco">stop diverting water</a> from the San Joaquin River system. <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-06-13/some-california-golf-courses-face-drought-restrictions">Golf course operators</a> are under substantial pressure to reduce water use.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1537929078010957824"}"></div></p>
<h2>Focus on irrigation</h2>
<p>Still, agriculture uses far more water than lawns and golf courses. In 2017, U.S. farmers irrigated about <a href="http://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/farm-practices-management/irrigation-water-use/">58 million acres</a> (23 million hectares) of cropland, almost two-thirds of it in the West. </p>
<p>In recent decades western farmers have significantly changed their irrigation practices. Many have switched from flood systems, which literally flood fields, to pressurized systems. Typically these are center pivots that apply water from sprinklers connected to a large arm that slowly moves around a core, creating those large, usually green circles that airplane passengers can see across the West. This shift reduces water losses from evaporation, percolation into the soil and runoff. </p>
<p>In 2012, U.S. farmers used pressurized systems on <a href="https://www.nass.usda.gov/Surveys/Guide_to_NASS_Surveys/Farm_and_Ranch_Irrigation/index.php">72% of their fields</a>, up from 37% in 1984. That still leaves 28%, or 20 million acres (8 million hectares), that are flood irrigated.</p>
<p>And center-pivot systems are not as efficient as drip or microirrigation, which delivers water directly to plants’ root zone through hoses embedded in the soil. Drip irrigation delivers water slowly, reducing runoff and evaporation. <a href="https://www.epa.gov/watersense/microirrigation">Microirrigation systems</a> use 20% to 50% less water than conventional sprinkler systems.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471668/original/file-20220629-17-l37so1.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A long mechanical arm sprays water down onto plants." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471668/original/file-20220629-17-l37so1.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471668/original/file-20220629-17-l37so1.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=441&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471668/original/file-20220629-17-l37so1.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=441&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471668/original/file-20220629-17-l37so1.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=441&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471668/original/file-20220629-17-l37so1.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=554&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471668/original/file-20220629-17-l37so1.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=554&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471668/original/file-20220629-17-l37so1.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=554&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A center-pivot irrigation system in Arizona.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/thumbnails/image/wss-wateruse-irrigation-center-pivot-spray.jpg">USGS</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But drip systems are quite expensive, costing upwards of US$2,000 per acre. They are not cost-effective for farmers who grow low-value crops, such as alfalfa, and are prohibitively expensive for small farmers. </p>
<p>Most farms that irrigate are small operations with fewer than 50 acres (20 hectares) and less than $150,000 in annual revenues. But <a href="http://www.ers.usda.gov/amber-waves/2017/june/understanding-irrigated-agriculture/">large-scale farms</a>, with annual revenues over $1 million, use about 60% of irrigated water.</p>
<p>Bigger farms have the <a href="https://www.ers.usda.gov/amber-waves/2017/june/understanding-irrigated-agriculture/">necessary capital to invest</a> in sprinkler systems, but not necessarily enough to invest in highly efficient subsurface drip or microirrigation. Existing U.S. Department of Agriculture programs offer <a href="https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/nrcs141p2_035796.pdf">modest incentives</a>, usually a maximum of $100 per acre – not enough to justify switching for most farmers.</p>
<h2>Balancing rural and urban needs</h2>
<p>Helping farmers switch to high-efficiency irrigation systems would benefit the entire Southwest. I propose a two-pronged approach. </p>
<p>First, Congress would provide funding to the U.S. Department of Agriculture to offer farmers more generous financial incentives to switch to microirrigation systems. The <a href="https://tucson.com/news/local/subscriber/colorado-river-facing-unprecedented-risk-top-interior-official-says/article_85b68a0e-f128-11ec-b636-fb1c28d92fa6.html">2021 infrastructure bill contains $8.3 billion</a> to assist western states in adapting to drought and climate change. I believe that this financial aid, with support from the federal Bureau of Reclamation and the USDA, could persuade millions of American farmers to make the move.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/do-AVvmDD9U?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Microirrigation on a fruit and nut farm in Yuba City, Calif.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Second, to augment the federal program, state, municipal and local interests, including government agencies and private businesses, would create funds to underwrite the entire cost of converting farms to microirrigation. As I envision it, cities could offer to absorb 100% of the purchase and installation costs of microsystems in exchange for a percentage of the water that farmers would save by making the switch.</p>
<p>A program that’s cost-free to farmers would be far more attractive than existing federal programs. In my view, locally financed programs managed in collaboration with farm communities could reallocate a lot of water in a short time frame. This could be done through either a formal water rights transfer or short- or medium-term leases with farmers retaining water rights. </p>
<p>In the past, farmers have been rightly suspicious when city representatives arrived with <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/03/business/colorado-river-water-rights.html">proposals to buy agricultural water</a>. All too often, such transfers have triggered economic death spirals for rural communities. But it need not be so. </p>
<p>Because farmers consume about 80% of western water, while residential, commercial and industrial use is <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/research/shopping-for-water-how-the-market-can-mitigate-water-shortages-in-the-american-west/">less than 10%</a>, I believe reducing agricultural consumption by a few percentage points would solve the municipal and industrial need for water. If farmers achieve this reduction thanks to increased efficiencies from microirrigation systems – paid for by cities – the farmers could grow as much product as they do now, with slightly less water. </p>
<p>Making this shift could raise economic and technical challenges. For example, most farms would probably fallow or reduce production of low-value crops, such as alfalfa, which could affect animal feed prices. And one disadvantage of drip irrigation systems is that gophers love to gnaw on the plastic tubes, so farmers would need an animal control program.</p>
<p>Nonetheless, I see voluntary, compensated water transfers as a strategy that would protect the long-term viability of rural communities and keep the taps flowing in western cities. Limits on watering lawns won’t solve the West’s water crisis.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/185820/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Robert Glennon does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Stemming the water crisis in the western US will require cities and rural areas to work together to make water use on farms – the largest source of demand – more efficient.
Robert Glennon, Regents Professor Emeritus and Morris K. Udall Professor of Law & Public Policy Emeritus, University of Arizona
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/127909
2019-11-27T18:42:44Z
2019-11-27T18:42:44Z
How drought is affecting water supply in Australia’s capital cities
<p>The level of water stored by Australia’s capital cities has steadily fallen over the last six years. They are now collectively at 54.6% of capacity – a decline of 30% from 2013. </p>
<p>We’re going into a hot summer and Sydney has just announced <a href="https://www.nsw.gov.au/news-and-events/news/level-2-water-restrictions-to-start-across-sydney/">level 2 restrictions</a>, the toughest for any capital. Data from the <a href="http://www.bom.gov.au/water/dashboards/#/water-storages/summary/urban?location=Canberra">Bureau of Meteorology</a> shows other capital cities facing mixed results.</p>
<p>The results show that Darwin’s water supply has lost about 25% over the last year. On the plus side, Melbourne’s supply actually increased over 2019, having fallen below 50% earlier this year, and now sits on 63.9%.</p>
<iframe title="Total water storage of Australia's capital cities" aria-label="Interactive line chart" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/NjYpn/2/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border: none;" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>While the national average is trending downwards, the patterns for each city are very different. Sydney and Perth water supplies have had contrasting journeys over the last six years. In October 2013 Perth’s supply was a very low 33.8% and Sydney was a comfortable 91%.</p>
<iframe title="Perth and Sydney water storage, 2013-2019" aria-label="Interactive line chart" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/jRo4d/1/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border: none;" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>Now, for the first time in many years Perth does not have Australia’s lowest level of all capital city water storages. As of last week, Sydney has taken this unwanted distinction from Perth. </p>
<p>For Perth residents, the news is good as their surface water storages are at a six-year high of 46.4%. In Sydney they are worried, as they have a six-year low of 46.2%. </p>
<p>Sydney has experienced a steep decline over the last 30 months, from nearly full storages (96%) in April 2017. The speed and severity of the Sydney drought is starting to resemble previous dry spells. One was in the 1940s and the other was the Millennium drought. </p>
<p>Perth has lived with the most water stress of any capital city. They have had to contend with a steady 45-year decline in rain. The inflow of water into Perth’s dams has also <a href="https://www.watercorporation.com.au/water-supply/our-water-sources/securing-perth-supply">fallen dramatically</a>.</p>
<p>Perth has adapted to its drying climate by sourcing water from <a href="https://theconversation.com/is-perth-really-running-out-of-water-well-yes-and-no-90857">many different supplies</a>. It now uses its surface water storages for about 10% of its water supply. Much larger proportions of Perth’s supply comes from its two desalination plants, which unlike the other capitals are constantly in operation. It makes greater use of groundwater and highly treated recycled water. Perth also has permanent water restrictions.</p>
<p>Sydney’s desalination plant, after hibernating for 7 years, is now supplying water. It was switched on in late January 2019 when Sydney supply hit 60%, and can supply 15% of water demand. Unusually perhaps, the desalinated water does not reach all parts of Sydney.</p>
<p>Sydney Water has announced plans to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/sep/26/sydney-desalination-plant-to-double-in-size-as-dams-approach-critical-level">double the capacity</a> of the desalination plant. Construction is expected to <a href="https://www.planning.nsw.gov.au/-/media/Files/DPE/Other/About-us/Metropolitan-Water/2017-Metropolitan-Water-Plan.pdf">begin soon</a>.</p>
<iframe title="Melbourne and Brisbane water storage, 2013-2019" aria-label="Interactive line chart" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/glQxq/1/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border: none;" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>Melbourne and Brisbane water supplies are currently at similar levels. However, since 2013 Melbourne’s storages have generally been lower than Brisbane’s. Melbourne’s supply has risen in 2019 after good winter rainfall in its catchments. The storages have increased from under 50% (49.6%) in late May 2019. Today, Brisbane storage levels are now at 59.2%.</p>
<p>Melbourne residents use <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-sydney-residents-use-30-more-water-per-day-than-melburnians-117656">less water</a> than the other capital cities. In 2018 the average Melbourne resident used 161 litres per day, approximately 30% less than Sydney residents. </p>
<p>Melbourne’s supplies have also been supplemented with the reactivation of its Wonthaggi desalination plant in 2019. It is Australia’s largest desalination plant, capable of producing <a href="https://www.water.vic.gov.au/media-releases/2019/desalinated-water-begins-flowing-to-secure-supplies">410 million litres a day</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-sydney-residents-use-30-more-water-per-day-than-melburnians-117656">Why Sydney residents use 30% more water per day than Melburnians</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Brisbane also built a desalination plant after the Millennium Drought. In addition, they also made very large investments in Australia’s largest waste water recycling scheme. The <a href="https://www.seqwater.com.au/seq-water-grid">Western Corridor recycled water scheme</a> opened in 2008, cost $2.5 billion and features three advanced waste water treatment plants, with more than 200 km of pipelines and three advanced waste water treatment plants.</p>
<iframe title="Hobart, Darwin and Canberra water storage, 2013-2019" aria-label="Interactive line chart" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/iI7HJ/1/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border: none;" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>Hobart, Darwin and Canberra are the three Australian capital cities without desalination plants. Canberra has had a steady decline in its supply over three years. It was full in October 2016, gradually dropping to 51.6% in November 2019. Hobart’s storages were above 80% for most of the last six years. They were just above 90% 12 months ago and have since fallen to their current level of 72%.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/fish-kills-and-undrinkable-water-heres-what-to-expect-for-the-murray-darling-this-summer-126940">Fish kills and undrinkable water: here's what to expect for the Murray Darling this summer</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Darwin’s water supply was full as recently as April 2018. Now, 18 months later, it is just touching 54%. This is its lowest level in six years. Darwin, our tropical capital, has the most seasonal rainfall of Australia’s capitals. Typically, they have almost no rain June to September during their dry season, and a wet season of <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-is-the-australian-monsoon-69411">heavy rains from October to April</a>.
However, the last wet season was one of the <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-03-14/revisiting-the-1952-northern-territory-missing-wet-season/10883534">driest on record</a>.</p>
<iframe title="Adelaide water storage" aria-label="Interactive line chart" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/0MdtJ/1/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border: none;" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>Adelaide’s water storage has fluctuated over the last 6 years. Adelaide gets more rain in winter and has dry summers, an opposite pattern to that of Darwin. Over the last 3 years the level has dropped from over 97% in October 2017 to just below 58%. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/up-the-creek-the-85-million-plan-to-desalinate-water-for-drought-relief-126681">Up the creek: the $85 million plan to desalinate water for drought relief</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The desalination plant in Adelaide can supply up to 50% of its water supply. It has been operating in 2019, although not in the wetter months of July and August. The Murray also continues to supply a <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-12-14/adelaide-desal-plant-revival-plan-to-ease-use-of-murray-water/10619960">large proportion</a> of Adelaide’s water supply. The Commonwealth has agreed to use drought funding for the Adelaide desalination plant, so more river water can be used by farmers upstream to <a href="https://watersource.awa.asn.au/business/assets-and-operations/sa-desal-plant-to-increase-production-as-part-of-drought-deal/">grow fodder for livestock</a>. </p>
<p>Australia is set for a <a href="http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/outlooks/#/overview/summary">dryer and hotter summer than average</a>, particularly in the east. Coupled with continued high levels of household demand, we can expect further declines in water storage levels through the first half of 2020.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/127909/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Australia’s capital cities have collectively lost 30% of their stored water over the last six years. But this loss is not evenly distributed across the country.
Ian A. Wright, Senior Lecturer in Environmental Science, Western Sydney University
Jason Reynolds, Research Lecturer in Geochemistry, Western Sydney University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/125742
2019-10-27T07:57:48Z
2019-10-27T07:57:48Z
Panic over water in South Africa’s economic hub is misplaced
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/298509/original/file-20191024-170458-obx399.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>It has been a hot, dry October in much of the interior of South Africa. And the rains have started later than usual. So it was not surprising that alarm bells went off when it was announced that the <a href="https://www.water-technology.net/projects/lesotho-highlands/">Lesotho Highlands Water Project</a> tunnel system, which supplies water to some of South Africa’s biggest cities, would be closed for maintenance for two months. </p>
<p>These fears were inflamed by appeals by local authorities in Gauteng province, the country’s economic hub, to use water sparingly. Residents had already seen the recent example of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/may/04/back-from-the-brink-how-cape-town-cracked-its-water-crisis">Cape Town’s water crisis</a>.</p>
<p>Gauteng and the surrounding region gets its water from the 14 interconnected dams of the <a href="http://www6.dwa.gov.za/Vaal/">Integrated Vaal River System</a>. Some of these are in Lesotho, South Africa’s mountainous neighbour. </p>
<p>The Lesotho dams provide over 25% of the water supplied by the Integrated Vaal River System. So a permanent loss of supply from Lesotho would indeed cause shortages for millions of South Africans. But this <a href="https://www.sanews.gov.za/south-africa/lesotho-highlands-water-project-tunnel-shutdown-maintenance">long-planned maintenance</a> merely stores the water in Lesotho’s dams for a few months, to be released later. There are far greater risks emerging in the Integrated Vaal River System that need to be addressed. </p>
<p>Despite the current heat wave, there is in fact no danger of an immediate water shortage in the Gauteng cities of Johannesburg and Pretoria. Specialists concluded very recently that no water use restrictions would be required in the Vaal River System this summer. This followed a detailed review of the state of the dams in the system mapped against possible future rainfall patterns and current consumption levels.</p>
<p>But there are issues that residents of Gauteng and surrounding areas should be concerned about. Specifically, are the authorities responsible for managing water supplies keeping their eye on the ball? And are they ensuring that plans to protect the province from shortages over the next six years will be implemented on time?</p>
<h2>What lies ahead</h2>
<p>Concerns have been fuelled by many well-founded <a href="http://pmg-assets.s3-website-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/180327AGSA-Challenges_Water_Sanitation.pdf">reports</a> of mismanagement at the Department of Water and Sanitation, which has oversight responsibility for water security. And the experience of a <a href="https://www.fin24.com/Budget/how-medupi-and-kusile-are-sinking-south-africa-20191009">faltering electricity supply</a> has shown that weak management of critical services like water and electricity can easily trigger supply crises. </p>
<p>So where should concerned water users be looking for problems to emerge?</p>
<p>Falling dam levels are not a problem. Dams are built to store water in wet periods to draw on when it’s needed; they rise in the rainy season and fall when it’s dry. If that didn’t happen, they would not be necessary. What people should be checking is whether the authorities are monitoring the situation. </p>
<p>In the case of the Vaal River System, it’s reassuring that the Department of Water and Sanitation technicians did hold their annual operating review to decide whether restrictions were needed. This procedure is what kept the region water secure during the 2015/2016 <a href="http://www.randwater.co.za/SalesAndCustomerServices/Forums%20Presentations/Water%20Services%20Forum%20Presentations/2016/May%202016/Raw%20Water%20Availability%20in%20IVRS%20-%20presented%20to%20WSF%2024%20May%202016.pptx">drought</a>. </p>
<p>The more important question is whether the Integrated Vaal River System supply infrastructure is adequate. </p>
<p>The Department of Water and Sanitation has <a href="http://www6.dwa.gov.za/Vaal/documents/LargeBulkWater/09_Vaal%20Recon%20Executive%20Summary_Final.pdf">plans</a> for interventions to ensure adequate supplies for all major systems, including the Vaal River System, until 2040 and beyond. But plans on paper need to be translated into infrastructure and into changed behaviour among water users. In this area, there is good reason for concern. </p>
<p>The plans anticipate that the Vaal River System has to be expanded. It has long been recognised that the most economical source for new water supplies is an additional dam in Lesotho. </p>
<p>Action is now urgent. By 2012, the decision to build the <a href="http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/phase-ii-update-polihali-dam-construction-expected-in-2019-2016-07-29/rep_id:4136">Polihali Dam</a> had been taken by the Lesotho and South African governments. But progress has been repeatedly delayed. One delay was <a href="https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2016-08-05-amabhungane-nomvula-mokonyanes-alleged-interference-in-lesotho-water-project-cited-as-causing-delays/">reportedly</a> caused by the South African minister attempting to redesign the procurement process.</p>
<p>So, by 2017, when the Lesotho Highlands Development Authority got the go-ahead to start design work, the project was already five years late. </p>
<p>Recent <a href="https://mg.co.za/article/2018-04-20-00-challenge-damns-lesotho-water-project">reports</a> from Lesotho suggest that there have been efforts to bypass procurement procedures, despite warnings from the authority that formal tendering processes have to be followed. And, even though preparatory infrastructure construction has already started, South African authorities have not delegated decision-making processes and are taking months to respond on practical project management issues. There are also fears that past mismanagement at the Department of Water and Sanitation may make it harder to raise the loans to fund the main <a href="http://m.engineeringnews.co.za/article/municipal-debt-threatening-water-security-dg-warns-2019-10-22-1">construction work</a>. </p>
<p>Delays at this stage pose a real challenge. If a contractor has to stop work while waiting for a decision on a design change, delay penalties can cost South African water users millions of rands a day. Worse still, any delay extends the period during which the region will be at risk of shortages if there is a drought. </p>
<h2>Demand</h2>
<p>Rand Water, which supplies most of the municipalities in the region, has a licence to take 1,600 million cubic metres of water a year from the Vaal River System. The balance of the system’s supply goes to Eskom, the power utility as well as industry, mining and agriculture. </p>
<p>The population of Gauteng is growing by 3% annually, as people flock in to look for work. The fastest-growing water use sector is domestic supply by municipalities. </p>
<p>But water availability from the Vaal River System will remain the same until the Polihali dam is completed. This means that, to avoid a water crisis in the event of a drought between now and 2026, water use per person in the region is going to have to <a href="https://www.gcro.ac.za/news-events/news/detail/gcro-develops-gauteng-water-security-plan/">reduce</a> by 3% every year. </p>
<p>Over the next six years, all municipalities will have to keep their consumption static, no matter how fast their populations grow. Rand Water has initiated a special “Project 1600” to enforce these <a href="http://www.randwater.co.za/SalesAndCustomerServices/Forums%20Presentations/Mining%20and%20Industry%20Forum%20Presentations/2019/May%202019/Mining%20and%20industrial%20forum%20-23%20%20May%202019.pdf">limits</a>. </p>
<p>Of course, the feared drought disaster might never happen. If good rains fall every year between now and 2026, citizens might be able to squeeze through without tightening their belts. But nature can hit hard and in unexpected ways. Good water management is all about disaster risk reduction, not disaster management. </p>
<p>There are plans to provide enough water to meet the needs of all of South Africa’s major cities until at least 2030. As in the Vaal River System region, what matters is acting on those plans in good time. </p>
<p>Water security requires changing people’s behaviour, building new infrastructure and operating it properly. And this will only be achieved if political heads take the lead and avoid further delays. </p>
<p><em>This article is the first in a series looking at South Africa’s water challenges</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/125742/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mike Muller has received funding from the Water Research Commission and the African Development Bank for research and advisory work related to the subject matter of this article. He also advises a variety of organisations on water related matters including national, provincial and local government, AgriSA and business organisations including BUSA and SAICA.</span></em></p>
South Africa’s Department of Water and Sanitation has plans in place to ensure adequate water supply until 2040 and beyond.
Mike Muller, Visiting Adjunct Professor, University of the Witwatersrand
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/115171
2019-04-17T14:01:06Z
2019-04-17T14:01:06Z
Mozambique water project: insights into supply and use in a peri-urban area
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/268559/original/file-20190410-2901-1qb2q7h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">In sub-Saharan Africa, upgrading water infrastructure requires substantial investment and a sustainable model.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The United Nations <a href="https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/water-and-sanitation/">reports that</a> water scarcity affects more than 40% of the global population. Just over <a href="https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/water-and-sanitation/">a third of people</a> don’t have access to safely managed drinking water. This is why the <a href="https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/water-and-sanitation/">Sustainable Development Goals</a> set out to achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all by 2030.</p>
<p>In sub-Saharan Africa, upgrading water infrastructure requires substantial investment and a sustainable model where the returns exceed the costs while ensuring everyone has capacity to pay for and access potable water. </p>
<p>But making decisions on appropriate water infrastructure in peri-urban areas is challenging. The main reason for this is that people move into these areas unpredictably, attracted by job opportunities and economic growth. This unplanned population growth can cause significant pressure on public infrastructure, including water services.</p>
<p>Our <a href="https://iwaponline.com/washdev/article-abstract/doi/10.2166/washdev.2019.158/66731/Assessing-the-short-term-outcomes-of-a-piped-water?redirectedFrom=PDF">recently published research</a> evaluated a water supply programme in northern Mozambique. The research is particularly important because it provides insights into water supply initiatives in peri-urban areas. These communities are typically considered high risk for infrastructure investments due to the volatility of economic development, population influx, skills, and a mix of formal and informal markets.</p>
<p>The research is an evaluation study of new piped water supply infrastructure in Ribáuè, a town in Mozambique’s Nampula province. The evaluation showed greater use of improved water sources and an increase in water consumption and treatment by households’ members. The infrastructure also led to new economic opportunities for small businesses, particularly those in the hospitality and retail sectors.</p>
<h2>The research</h2>
<p><a href="http://www.maefp.gov.mz/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Ribaue.pdf">Ribáuè district</a> has 290,000 residents. Most of them live in the administrative area of Ribáuè. This town is situated along the Nacala Economic Corridor – a development initiative that involves a range of projects. These include:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>A rail project to transport <a href="https://allafrica.com/stories/201803230053.html">natural resources in Tete province</a>, particularly coal, to the port of Nacala.</p></li>
<li><p>Road freight connecting neighbouring Malawi, which is landlocked, to Nacala port.</p></li>
<li><p>An agricultural development programme, and </p></li>
<li><p>The <a href="https://www.afdb.org/en/news-and-events/afdb-approves-us-22-million-to-finance-youth-agribusiness-project-in-malawi-16194/">Green Belt Initiative</a>, set to develop two large scale irrigation schemes in Malawi.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>The result of all these activities has been a rapid growth in the town’s population of Ribáuè – both temporary and permanent residents. This has added pressure on the town’s infrastructure, including its water supply.</p>
<p>To address the water supply problems in Nampula Province a project called the Small Towns Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Programme was launched in 2012. It ran until 2016; it was jointly funded by the governments of Mozambique and Australia, and UNICEF. </p>
<p>In Ribáuè, the water supply intervention included:</p>
<ul>
<li>Rehabilitation and expansion of a colonial-era piped water supply system using a low-cost gravity-fed system,</li>
</ul>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/268515/original/file-20190410-2918-622izo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/268515/original/file-20190410-2918-622izo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=519&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/268515/original/file-20190410-2918-622izo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=519&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/268515/original/file-20190410-2918-622izo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=519&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/268515/original/file-20190410-2918-622izo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=652&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/268515/original/file-20190410-2918-622izo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=652&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/268515/original/file-20190410-2918-622izo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=652&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A water kiosks.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Supplied by author</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<ul>
<li><p>Construction of a rapid filtration water treatment plant, </p></li>
<li><p>Rehabilitation of existing standpipes and construction of water kiosks for small-scale private water enterprises, and</p></li>
<li><p>Provision of taps to households, businesses, and public services (hospital, local government, and the local council).</p></li>
</ul>
<h2>What we found</h2>
<p>To assess the short-term impact of the project researchers surveyed households. We also interviewed businesses, private operators in the piped water industry and local NGOs. </p>
<p>Using data from the interviews and from a pre-intervention baseline survey, the research found a 2.5-fold increase in the use of yard taps and a 3-fold increase in the use of water kiosks. The use of water from unprotected wells fell 2.5-fold. Unprotected wells are considered unimproved water sources. That’s because of the potential water contamination and health risks, such as cholera. </p>
<p>Household water consumption increased by approximately 40L per day. And the treatment of water by households members nearly tripled.</p>
<p>The availability of piped water led to some local entrepreneurs securing lucrative contracts and expanding their businesses. This was particularly true in the hospitality sector. Accommodation establishments had to adhere to stringent contract requirements related to the water supply.</p>
<p>These findings and the water supply intervention show the importance of decision making informed by verifiable data.</p>
<h2>Data-driven decision making</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://iwaponline.com/washdev/article-abstract/4/3/410/30047/Using-baseline-surveys-to-inform-interventions-and?redirectedFrom=fulltext">baseline survey results</a> published in 2012 found that most respondents (84%) were willing to pay for access to piped water. This is important because investors (government and the business sector) are often hesitant to put money in piped water infrastructure in peri-urban areas due to questions about whether households are willing – and able – to pay. </p>
<p>By the end of 2014, the uptake of yard taps exceeded the private operator’s expectations. This showed that households were willing and had the capacity to pay for piped water. </p>
<p>The findings of our research address the big gap in verifiable and publicly available data when it comes to decision making in water supply initiatives in peri-urban areas. This aligns with decision-making increasingly being informed by evidence-based research, particularly in the <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-big-datasets-can-help-solve-south-africas-environmental-health-ills-56384">health</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-policymaking-in-south-africa-has-become-more-adversarial-46960">environment sciences</a>. </p>
<p>Our findings demonstrate what quantifiable and short-term effects an intervention can have. This may help inform what sort of outcomes can reasonably be expected for similar water supply interventions in other comparable peri-urban areas. </p>
<p><em>Fraydson Conceição, Amélia Monguela and David Doepel also contributed to this article.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/115171/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dr Ana Rita Sousa Sequeira receives funding from the Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade through the Australian Development Research Awards Scheme under an award titled ‘Using Mozambique’s natural resource wealth to improve access to water and sanitation'. The views expressed in the publication are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the Commonwealth of Australia. The Commonwealth of Australia accepts no responsibility for any loss, damage, or injury resulting from reliance on any of the information or views contained in this publication. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lário L. M. Herculano, works inEduardo Mondlane Universty. Receives funding from the Austrialian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade through the Australian Development Research Awards Scheme under an award titled "Using Mozambiques natural resource wealth to improve access to water and sanitation". The views expressed in the publication are those of authors and not necessarily for any loss, damage, or injury resulting from reliance on any of the information or views contained in this publication </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mark P McHenry receives funding from the Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade through the Australian Development Research Awards Scheme under an award titled ‘Using Mozambique’s natural resource wealth to improve access to water and sanitation'. The views expressed in the publication are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the Commonwealth of Australia. The Commonwealth of Australia accepts no responsibility for any loss, damage, or injury resulting from reliance on any of the information or views contained in this publication.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ryan Admiraal received funding from the Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade through the Australian Development Research Awards Scheme under an award titled ‘Using Mozambique’s natural resource wealth to improve access to water and sanitation'. The views expressed in the publication are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the Commonwealth of Australia. The Commonwealth of Australia accepts no responsibility for any loss, damage, or injury resulting from reliance on any of the information or views contained in this publication.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Halina Kobryn does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Decision making on water infrastructure in peri-urban areas is challenging. But lessons have been learnt from a water project in Mozambique.
Ana Rita Sequeira, Lecturer in Health Policy, Murdoch University
Halina Kobryn, Senior Lecturer, Murdoch University
Lário L. M. Herculano, Lecture, water and sanitation, Universidade Eduardo Mondlane
Mark P McHenry, Researcher, Murdoch University
Ryan Admiraal, Senior Lecturer in Statistics and Data Science, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/111249
2019-02-12T19:15:59Z
2019-02-12T19:15:59Z
When water is scarce, we can’t afford to neglect the alternatives to desalination
<p><em>This is the second of two articles looking at the increasing reliance of Australian cities on desalination plants to supply drinking water, with less emphasis on the alternatives of water recycling and demand management. So what is the best way forward to achieve urban water security?</em> </p>
<hr>
<p>An important lesson from the <a href="http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/updates/articles/a010-southern-rainfall-decline.shtml">Millennium Drought</a> in Australia was the power of individuals to curb their own water use. This was achieved through public education campaigns and water restrictions. It was a popular topic in the media and in daily conversations before the focus turned to desalination for water security. </p>
<p>Water authorities were also expanding the use of treated wastewater – often a polite term for sewage – for “non-potable” uses. These included flushing toilets, watering gardens, and washing cars and laundry. </p>
<p>Today, the <a href="http://www.bom.gov.au/water/npr/docs/2016-17/national_performance_report_2016_17_urban_water_utilities_lowRes_update.pdf">emphasis on recycling wastewater in some locations is declining</a>. The arguments for increased water recycling appear to be falling away now that desalinated water is available. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/cities-turn-to-desalination-for-water-security-but-at-what-cost-110972">Cities turn to desalination for water security, but at what cost?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>This trend ignores the fact that the potential supply of recycled water increases as populations grow. </p>
<p>Today most Australian wastewater is treated then disposed into local streams, rivers, estuaries and the ocean. In Sydney, for example, the city’s big three outfalls <a href="https://www.sydneywater.com.au/SW/water-the-environment/how-we-manage-sydney-s-water/wastewater-network/wastewater-treatment-plants/index.htm">dump nearly 1 billion litres (1,000 megalitres, ML) a day into the ocean</a>.</p>
<h2>Where has recycling succeeded?</h2>
<p>Australia has several highly successful water recycling projects. </p>
<p>Sydney introduced the <a href="https://www.sydneywater.com.au/SW/education/Wastewater-recycling/Water-recycling/rouse-hill-water-recycling-plant/index.htm">Rouse Hill recycled water scheme</a> in 2001. Highly treated wastewater is piped into 32,000 suburban properties in distinct purple pipes. Each property also has the normal “potable” drinking water supply. </p>
<p>Rouse Hill is considered a world-leading urban recycling scheme. South Australia (<a href="https://www.environment.sa.gov.au/about-us/our-plans">Mawsons Lakes</a>) and Victoria (<a href="https://www.yvw.com.au/help-advice/recycled-water">Yarra Valley Water</a>, <a href="https://southeastwater.com.au/LearnAboutWater/TypesWater/Pages/RecycledWater.aspx">South East Water</a>) have similar projects. </p>
<p>Our farmers often struggle to secure water for irrigation. <a href="https://theconversation.com/damning-royal-commission-report-leaves-no-doubt-that-we-all-lose-if-the-murray-darling-basin-plan-fails-110908">Chronic water shortages across the Murray-Darling river system</a> vividly demonstrate this. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/damning-royal-commission-report-leaves-no-doubt-that-we-all-lose-if-the-murray-darling-basin-plan-fails-110908">Damning royal commission report leaves no doubt that we all lose if the Murray-Darling Basin Plan fails</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Recycled water can play an important role in agricultural schemes. There are successful examples in South Australia (<a href="http://www.recycledwater.com.au/index.php?id=84">Virginia Irrigation Scheme</a>), Victoria (<a href="https://www.melbournewater.com.au/community-and-education/about-our-water/recycled-water">Werribee</a>) and New South Wales (<a href="https://www.sydneywater.com.au/SW/water-the-environment/what-we-re-doing/current-projects/improving-our-wastewater-system/picton-water-recycling-plant/index.htm">Picton</a>). </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/it-takes-a-lot-of-water-to-feed-us-but-recycled-water-could-help-55502">It takes a lot of water to feed us, but recycled water could help</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/more-of-us-are-drinking-recycled-sewage-water-than-most-people-realise-92420">Perth has gone further by embracing water recycling</a> for urban use with plans to treat it to a drinking water standard. Part of the extensive treatment process involves <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reverse_osmosis">reverse osmosis</a>, which is also used in desalination. The treated <a href="https://www.watercorporation.com.au/water-supply/our-water-sources/groundwater-replenishment">water is then pumped into groundwater aquifers</a> and stored. </p>
<p>This “groundwater replenishment” adds to the groundwater that contributes about half of the city’s water supply. The Water Corporation of Perth has a long-term <a href="https://www.watercorporation.com.au/water-supply/our-water-sources/recycled-water">aim to recycle 30% of its wastewater</a>. </p>
<p>Southeast Queensland, too, has developed an extensive recycled water system. The <a href="https://www.seqwater.com.au/water-supply/water-treatment/purified-recycled-water">Western Corridor Recycled Water Scheme</a> also uses reverse osmosis and can supplement drinking water supplies during droughts.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/more-of-us-are-drinking-recycled-sewage-water-than-most-people-realise-92420">More of us are drinking recycled sewage water than most people realise</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Demand management works too</h2>
<p>Past campaigns to get people to reduce water use achieved significant results. </p>
<p>In Sydney, <a href="http://www.sydneywater.com.au/web/groups/publicwebcontent/documents/document/zgrf/mdq3/%7Eedisp/dd_047419.pdf">water use fell steeply under water restrictions</a> (2003-2009). Since the restrictions have ended, consumption has increased under the softer “water wise rules”. Regional centres including (<a href="http://www.tamworth.nsw.gov.au/Water-and-Sewerage/Water-Restrictions/Current-Water-Restrictions/Current-Water-Restrictions">Tamworth</a>) outside of Sydney are under significant water restrictions currently with limited relief in sight. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/257668/original/file-20190207-174883-1srhgp8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/257668/original/file-20190207-174883-1srhgp8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/257668/original/file-20190207-174883-1srhgp8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=359&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/257668/original/file-20190207-174883-1srhgp8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=359&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/257668/original/file-20190207-174883-1srhgp8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=359&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/257668/original/file-20190207-174883-1srhgp8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/257668/original/file-20190207-174883-1srhgp8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/257668/original/file-20190207-174883-1srhgp8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Despite a 25% increase in Sydney’s population, total demand for drinking water remains lower than before mandatory restrictions were introduced in late 2003.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.sydneywater.com.au/web/groups/publicwebcontent/documents/document/zgrf/mdq3/~edisp/dd_047419.pdf">© Sydney Water, used with permission</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The Victorian government appears to be the Australian <a href="https://marketing.conference-services.net/resources/327/2958/pdf/AM2012_0124_paper.pdf">leader in encouraging urban water conservation</a>. Across Melbourne water use per person averaged <a href="https://www.water.vic.gov.au/liveable-cities-and-towns/using-water-wisely/target-155-target-your-water-use">161 litres a day over 2016-18</a>. Victoria’s “<a href="https://www.water.vic.gov.au/liveable-cities-and-towns/using-water-wisely/t155">Target 155</a>” program, first <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/environment/sustainability/dumped-target-155-water-scheme-was-working-20110302-1bewe.html">launched in late 2008</a> and <a href="https://clearwatervic.com.au/news/victorian-government-reactivates-target-155-water-efficiency-program.php">revived in 2016</a>, aims for average use of 155 litres a day. </p>
<p>In a <a href="http://www.bom.gov.au/water/npr/docs/2016-17/02_Comparison-of_major_urban_centres.pdf">comparison of mainland capitals</a> Melbourne used the least water per residential property, 25% less than the average. Southeast Queensland residents had the second-lowest use, followed by Adelaide. Sydney, Perth and Darwin had the highest use. </p>
<p>Although Melbourne water prices are among the highest of the major cities, lower annual water use meant the city’s households had the lowest water bills in 2016-17, <a href="http://www.bom.gov.au/water/npr/">analysis by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology</a> found.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/258422/original/file-20190212-174861-4illbp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/258422/original/file-20190212-174861-4illbp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/258422/original/file-20190212-174861-4illbp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=380&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/258422/original/file-20190212-174861-4illbp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=380&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/258422/original/file-20190212-174861-4illbp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=380&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/258422/original/file-20190212-174861-4illbp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=477&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/258422/original/file-20190212-174861-4illbp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=477&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/258422/original/file-20190212-174861-4illbp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=477&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.bom.gov.au/water/npr/docs/2016-17/nationalPerformanceReport2016_17UrbanWaterUtilitiesHigherRes.pdf">Calculated from Bureau of Meteorology data</a>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What impact do water prices have?</h2>
<p>Clearly, water pricing can be an effective tool to get people to reduce demand. This could partly explain why water use is lower in some cities.</p>
<p>Water bills have several components. Domestic customers pay a service fee to be connected. They then pay for the volume of water they use, plus wastewater charges on top of that. Depending on where you live, you might be charged a flat rate, or a rate that increases as you use more water.</p>
<p>The chart below shows the pricing range in our major cities.</p>
<hr>
<p><iframe id="xIJQR" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/xIJQR/3/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<hr>
<p>Flat charges for water per kilolitre (where a kL equals 1,000 litres) apply in Sydney (<a href="https://www.sydneywater.com.au/SW/accounts-billing/understanding-your-bill/prices-for-your-home/index.htm">$2.08/kL)</a>), Darwin (<a href="https://www.powerwater.com.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/165198/Water,_sewerage_and_power_tariffs_-_Effective_from_1_July_2018.pdf">$1.95/kL</a>) and Hobart (<a href="https://www.taswater.com.au/Your-Account/Water-and-Sewerage-Charges">$1.06/kL</a>. </p>
<p>However, most water authorities charge low water users a cheaper rate, and increased prices apply for higher consumption. The most expensive water in Australia is for Canberra residents – <a href="https://www.iconwater.com.au/about/our-pricing.aspx">$4.88</a> for each kL customers use over 50kL per quarter. The cheapest water is Hobart (<a href="https://www.taswater.com.au/Your-Account/Water-and-Sewerage-Charges">$1.06/kL</a>).</p>
<p>Higher fees for higher residential consumption are charged in Canberra, Perth, Southeast Queensland, across South Australia and in Melbourne. In effect, most major water providers penalise high-water-using customers. This creates an incentive to use less. </p>
<p>For example, <a href="https://www.yvw.com.au/help-advice/help-my-account/understand-my-bill/fees-and-charges">Yarra Valley Water customers in Melbourne</a> using less than 440 litres a day pay $2.64/kL. From 441-880L/day they are charged $3.11/kL. For more than 881L/day they pay $4.62/kL – 75% more than the lowest rate.</p>
<h2>Is recycled water getting priced out of business?</h2>
<p>Recycling water <a href="http://www.sydneywater.com.au/web/groups/publicwebcontent/documents/document/zgrf/mdu3/%7Eedisp/dd_057020.pdf">may not be viable for Sydney Water</a>. It can cost over $5 per 1kL to produce, but the state pricing regulator, <a href="https://www.ipart.nsw.gov.au/Home/Industries/Water/Setting-water-prices/Current-water-prices">IPART</a>, sets the cost of recycled water to Sydney customers at <a href="http://www.sydneywater.com.au/SW/accounts-billing/understanding-your-bill/our-prices/index.htm">just under $2 per kL</a>. That’s probably well below the cost of production. </p>
<p>Recycled water, where available, is a little bit more expensive ($2.12/kL) in South Australia. </p>
<p>Subsidies are probably essential for future large recycling schemes. This was the case for a 2017 plan to expand the Virginia Irrigation Scheme. South Australia <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-04-10/recycled-water-extension-proposed-in-adelaides-north/8430522">sought 30% of the capital funding</a> from the Commonwealth. </p>
<h2>Where to from here?</h2>
<p>Much of southern Australia is facing increasing water stress and <a href="http://www.bom.gov.au/water/dashboards/#/water-storages/summary/state">capital city water supplies are falling</a>. Expensive desalination plants are gearing up to supply more water. Will they insulate urban residents from the disruption many others are feeling in drought-affected inland and regional locations? Should we be increasing the capacity of our desalination plants? </p>
<p>We recommend that urban Australia should make further use of recycled water. This will also reduce the environmental impact of disposing wastewater in our rivers, estuaries and ocean. All new developments should have recycled water made available, saving our precious potable water for human consumption. </p>
<p>Water conservation should be given the highest priority. Pricing of water that encourages recycling and water conservation should be a national priority. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/this-is-what-australias-growing-cities-need-to-do-to-avoid-running-dry-86301">This is what Australia's growing cities need to do to avoid running dry</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p><em>You can read the first article, on cities’ increasing reliance on desalination, <a href="http://theconversation.com/cities-turn-to-desalination-for-water-security-but-at-what-cost-110972">here</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/111249/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Cities relied entirely on conserving and recycling water to get through the last big drought. We now have desalination plants, but getting the most out of our water reserves still makes sense.
Ian A. Wright, Associate Professor in Environmental Science, Western Sydney University
Jason Reynolds, Senior Lecturer, Western Sydney University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/91724
2018-02-20T14:37:28Z
2018-02-20T14:37:28Z
Why your tourist toilet habits are bad for locals – and the environment
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/206809/original/file-20180216-50550-1yppnws.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>While many prospective holidaymakers actively seek a change in cuisine or climate when choosing their destination, standardised sanitation usually remains a must.</p>
<p>You might think that the preference for a porcelain pew is harmless, but in reality it can put a serious strain on both the local population and the environment. In fact, many of the most pervasive problems associated with tourism can be seen through the toilet bowl.</p>
<p>Research suggests that in some locations <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0261517711000793">up to 40% of water is consumed by tourists</a>. Tourists tend to splash out <a href="https://www.tourismconcern.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Unit2-Resource-A-1.pdf">far more per day on average</a> than local residents, who are often <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160738312000047">outcompeted</a> by industry for water access. Using limited freshwater supplies to flush tourists’ toilets means less for residents’ drinking, cleaning and cooking needs.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/207106/original/file-20180220-116360-1g3sdxp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/207106/original/file-20180220-116360-1g3sdxp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/207106/original/file-20180220-116360-1g3sdxp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/207106/original/file-20180220-116360-1g3sdxp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/207106/original/file-20180220-116360-1g3sdxp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/207106/original/file-20180220-116360-1g3sdxp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/207106/original/file-20180220-116360-1g3sdxp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Don’t be scared.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/old-style-japan-toilet-415484425?src=dQP67N10AKsBsw_E8TjrIg-1-3">Heemsuhree/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Environmentally, the sheer volume of incoming tourists can come at a high price. Local sewage facilities often struggle to cope with the influx of human waste. Many small islands with limited infrastructure, <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Michelle_Mycoo/publication/249023794_Sustainable_Tourism_Using_Regulations_Market_Mechanisms_and_Green_Certification_A_Case_Study_of_Barbados/links/5591255108aed6ec4bf69627.pdf">such as Barbados</a>, have no choice but to pump raw sewage straight into the sea, putting vast swathes of the Caribbean’s coral reefs at risk.</p>
<p>This defecatory deluge also depletes limited water reserves. In Cape Town, hotels are having to <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/cape-town-drought-water-shortage-luxury-five-star-hotels-day-zero-laundry-showers-toilet-flush-pool-a8191966.html">abruptly limit guests’ water usage</a> as the city suffers drought. In Bali, fast-growing tourism demand is linked to <a href="http://www.idepfoundation.org/en/bwp/summary">rapid depletion of the island’s water resources</a>.</p>
<h2>Sanitation solutions</h2>
<p>These economic and environmental harms often stem from a misplaced sense of cultural superiority that accompanies us to the bathroom. The internet is awash with travellers’ <a href="https://thetravelmanuel.com/why-malaysia-has-the-worst-toilets-in-the-world/">toilet horror stories</a>, written with apparently little social sensitivity or willingness to compromise.</p>
<p>Those fortunate enough to be able to travel might want to remind themselves of UN estimates for 2017, which suggest that <a href="http://www.unwater.org/new-publication-whounicef-joint-monitoring-programme-2017-report/">61% of the global population</a> – roughly 4.5 billion people – lack access to a toilet or latrine that disposes of waste safely. Westerners tend to judge other cultures harshly, when really they should be judging global inequality, poverty and politics.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/xtn21JwhPiE?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>Perhaps some judgement should be reserved for people in rich countries themselves, where bathroom norms aren’t exactly perfect. For example, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/may/18/truth-about-poo-doing-it-wrong-giulia-enders-squatting">squatting</a> rather than sitting is better for the colon. Rather than a sight to be avoided, a glance at one’s waste before flushing can in fact be a <a href="https://www.cnwl.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/Healthy_Bowel-_Patient_Information_leaflet.pdf">quick and easy health check</a>. Embarrassment about bodily functions is inhibiting when holidays are meant to be liberating.</p>
<p>Different sanitation solutions suit different situations. The <a href="http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2017/11/17/world-toilet-day-2017">World Bank</a> and the <a href="https://www.worldwildlife.org/magazine/issues/fall-2016/articles/sustainable-toilets-and-their-role-in-freshwater-conservation">WWF</a> have both worked to celebrate toilet innovations across the world that challenge preconceptions and improve sustainability. For instance, <a href="http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2017/11/17/world-toilet-day-2017">urine-diverting privies in Bolivia</a> are an integral link in a chain that converts waste into fertiliser for growing crops. Cranfield University is developing the <a href="http://www.nanomembranetoilet.org/">Nano Membrane Toilet</a>, which converts waste into clean water and energy, without the need for external power or water.</p>
<p>Some Western tourist locations are already rethinking their taste in toilets. Composting toilets introduced in various Scottish nature reserves have proved <a href="https://www.fvl.org.uk/files/2314/5933/7417/Eco-loo_Case_Studies.pdf">highly popular with visitors</a>. Melbourne Zoo and other attractions have implemented <a href="https://www.zoo.org.au/about-us/vision-and-mission/environmental-sustainability/saving-water">water conservation and recycling measures</a> in restrooms, including waterless urinals. The increasing use of such practices by authorities and businesses will only help to challenge harmful expectations when people travel further afield.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jGPpXF7y9Rg?wmode=transparent&start=37" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<h2>Potty training</h2>
<p>There are also simple changes that tourists can make when going to the bathroom that will have a positive impact on the environment and local communities, and possibly even lead to more interesting holiday experiences.</p>
<p>Remember that different ecological settings require different bathroom styles. Always avoid flushing wipes and other non-biodegradables. In water stressed areas, be conscious of your water usage. Don’t demand what local people don’t have. The threat of extreme drought has forced Cape Town luxury hotels to ask guests to limit the length of showers, turn off the tap while brushing their teeth, and <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/cape-town-drought-water-shortage-luxury-five-star-hotels-day-zero-laundry-showers-toilet-flush-pool-a8191966.html">let it mellow if its yellow</a>, but actions like these could benefit locals in tourist destinations across the developing world.</p>
<p>Support small businesses. Their toilets may not always be gleaming, but the experience might be more memorable. While luxury tourism in developing countries <a href="https://theconversation.com/is-it-ethical-to-take-a-luxury-holiday-in-a-developing-country-80984">rarely benefits those in need</a>, going local is one way to contribute. </p>
<p>Lastly, nurture your sense of adventure. If you want to live like a local, you should defecate like one. Pack your hand sanitiser and spare toilet roll, and immerse yourself in local culture. Get ready to try out new facilities, not just whatever commode is à la mode. There are <a href="http://www.traveller.com.au/traveller-10-the-worlds-top-toilets-gzs1l0">toilet attractions</a> dotted all over the globe that are well worth a visit. For example, why not try the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/nov/09/south-korea-toilet-theme-park">Haewoojae Museum</a> in South Korea, solely dedicated to celebrating the lavatory.</p>
<p>We shouldn’t expect all toilets to look the same. Tourism is about challenging expectations, exploring alternatives and expanding horizons. For the sake of the environment and the vulnerable, it is high time that we became more open-minded and adventurous with our toilette when travelling. After all, when in Rome, wipe as the Romans wiped (using a <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2016/01/ancient-roman-toilets-gross/423072/">wet sponge on a stick</a>, apparently).</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/91724/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Brendan Canavan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
If you want to live like a local when on holiday, you should defecate like one.
Brendan Canavan, Senior Lecturer in Marketing, University of Huddersfield
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/84738
2017-10-10T14:59:20Z
2017-10-10T14:59:20Z
How Cape Town can win support for the next round of water cuts
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/189019/original/file-20171005-9774-qqpgb6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">In Cape Town, slowing down residential water use is hugely important, residents consume 65%.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">EPA/Kim Ludbrook</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Dams in South Africa’s Cape Town are half of what they were this time <a href="http://www.capetown.gov.za/Media-and-news/Drought%20crisis%20rain%20does%20not%20mean%20we%20can%20go%20back%20to%20normal">last year</a> as the city continues to battle drought. Last year’s shortage gave the city the driest summer in <a href="http://www.capetown.gov.za/media-and-news/Building%20water%20resilience%20City%20releases%20Request%20for%20Information%20to%20industry%20on%20possible%20temporary%20water%20solutions">100 years</a>. Unless Cape Town has a miraculously wet spring, the summer of 2018 seems set to achieve some unfortunate new records.</p>
<p>Slowing down residential water use is obviously hugely important – <a href="https://africacheck.org/reports/do-formal-residents-use-65-of-cape-towns-water-with-half-going-to-gardens-pools/">residents consume 65%</a> of the city’s water. But to get residents to use less, the city’s management must get residents’ <a href="https://www.ircwash.org/sites/default/files/Howarth-2004-Communicating.pdf">buy-in</a>. This can only be achieved if <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Bradley_Jorgensen/publication/26855793_Household_water_use_behavior_An_integrated_model/links/55b95f6408ae9289a08fff44/Household-water-use-behavior-An-integrated-model.pdf">there is trust</a> and trust will only be developed when residents believe that the water authority is handling restrictions in a way that is necessary, effective and fair.</p>
<p>Australian researchers studying household water use found that people’s willingness to save water relates directly to the trust they feel in the local authority <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Bradley_Jorgensen/publication/26855793_Household_water_use_behavior_An_integrated_model/links/55b95f6408ae9289a08fff44/Household-water-use-behavior-An-integrated-model.pdf">promoting water savings</a>. The researchers also drew on a Mexican case study which found that residents who trusted the local authority in a town called Sonora during an eight-year drought were much more likely to <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0013916505282272">save water</a>. </p>
<p>These, and other studies, show that trust is built: when restrictions are equal to the <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/nvsm.421/full">severity of the drought</a>; when no one gets away with <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0013916505282272">wasting water</a>; and when there is no favouritism towards <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Victor_Corral-Verdugo/publication/10990924_Residential_Water_Consumption_Motivation_for_Conserving_Water_and_the_Continuing_Tragedy_of_the_Commons/links/55e9bf9e08ae3e121843e0f4.pdf">certain sectors or users</a>.</p>
<h2>Necessary, effective and fair</h2>
<p>To build trust, the public needs to believe that restrictions are:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Necessary:</strong> people must believe that the appropriate restrictions have been introduced at the correct time. </li>
</ul>
<p>Queensland, Australia, for example, ran a campaign called “Target 140” during their <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/nvsm.421/full">worst drought in 100 years</a>.
The aim of the campaign was to reduce water use to 140 litres per person per day. One of the greatest hindrances was that people had already endured two years of water restrictions. So they felt despondent that their best water saving efforts hadn’t been good enough and were reluctant to save <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/nvsm.421/full">even more</a>.</p>
<p>But the campaign became a success after the Queensland water commission began showing residents how dam levels were dropping. It was able to convince customers that intensified water restrictions <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/nvsm.421/full">were absolutely necessary</a>.</p>
<ul>
<li><p><strong>Effective:</strong> Residents can lose interest in conserving water if they believe that others are getting away with <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0013916505282272">wasting water</a>. A study on water restriction effectiveness in Los Angeles found that hardly any water was saved as long as water restrictions <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Stephanie_Pincetl2/publication/280262134_The_effectiveness_of_water_conservation_measures_on_summer_residential_water_use_in_Los_Angeles_California/links/56cc6c1e08ae96cdd071b4f0.pdf">were not enforced</a>. People need to know that water restrictions are going to be <a href="http://128.138.136.233/admin/publication_files/resource-296-water_restrictions_jawra.pdf">effective</a>.</p></li>
<li><p><strong>Fair:</strong> Customers must trust that restrictions are applied appropriately to all water users. Case studies show that one of the most common complaints by residents is that others – particular groups or other residents – are the real <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Victor_Corral-Verdugo/publication/10990924_Residential_Water_Consumption_Motivation_for_Conserving_Water_and_the_Continuing_Tragedy_of_the_Commons/links/55e9bf9e08ae3e121843e0f4.pdf">water wasters</a>. Queensland’s Target 140 Campaign managed to convince customers that severe restrictions on the residential sector, which used 70% of the water, <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/nvsm.421/full">were fair</a>. Reassuring residents of the <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Bradley_Jorgensen/publication/26855793_Household_water_use_behavior_An_integrated_model/links/55b95f6408ae9289a08fff44/Household-water-use-behavior-An-integrated-model.pdf">fairness of restrictions</a> is vital to sustain buy-in.</p></li>
</ul>
<h2>Is Cape Town building trust?</h2>
<p>The City of Cape Town has done a good job in covering the bases when it comes to explaining water restrictions in terms of their necessity and their effectiveness. But it hasn’t done that well in explaining that water restrictions are being done fairly. </p>
<p>On the positive end of the scale, the city has done a good job in demonstrating that those who waste water are <a href="http://www.capetown.gov.za/media-and-news/Water%20use%20climbs%20again">held accountable</a>. This has been achieved through the naming and shaming of <a href="http://www.capetown.gov.za/media-and-news/Drought%20crisis%20121%20days%20of%20useable%20water%20left">top water users</a>. And water management devices were installed on private properties that hadn’t curtailed <a href="http://www.capetown.gov.za/Media-and-news/Advancing%20water%20resilience%20getting%20to%20an%20additional%20500%20million%20litres%20of%20new%20water%20a%20day">excessive use</a>. </p>
<p>But, on fairness, the city has only sporadically communicated the breakdown of water distribution from the 14 dams that supply <a href="http://www.capetown.gov.za/media-and-news/City%20and%20The%20Nature%20Conservancy%20to%20establish%20SA's%20first%20water%20fund">its water</a>, it’s rarely shown the breakdown of <a href="http://www.capetown.gov.za/media-and-news/Drought%20crisis%20bad%20apples%20ruining%20the%20efforts%20of%20the%20many%20water-savers%20%5B24%20Feb%202017%5D">water use per sector</a> and scant mention has been made of restrictions placed on <a href="http://www.capetown.gov.za/media-and-news/City%20warns%20high%20domestic%20water%20users,%20government%20and%20business">other sectors</a>.</p>
<h2>What can the city do differently?</h2>
<p>Cape Town is emulating some of the best elements of a <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/nvsm.421/full">save-water campaign</a>. Cape Town’s water saving target is close on half of Queensland’s, which was considered one of the most water-efficient communities in <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/nvsm.421/full">the western world</a>.</p>
<p>If Cape Town wants to beat Queensland’s target, it needs to spend the spring season convincing the public that restrictions are applied appropriately for all water users.</p>
<p>This means changing tack in its messaging. Up until now the dominant message has been aimed at convincing the public that restrictions are necessary and effective. Now it’s time to show that restrictions are fair.</p>
<p>This means showing exactly how water is allocated in the region, breaking down the distribution of water to various sectors and demonstrating that nonresidential sectors are also carrying their responsibility. This information is already in the public domain, but it needs greater emphasis.</p>
<p>A chain is as strong as its weakest link. Building trust, and getting the public to buy in to severely reduced water use over 2018, will be best achieved if the city can communicate the fairness of restrictions to fortify an otherwise robust campaign.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/84738/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David W. Olivier does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
It’s important for the city of Cape Town to inspire residential trust in water restrictions. Without this, the harsh effects of the drought will be exacerbated.
David W. Olivier, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Global Change Institute, University of the Witwatersrand
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/55300
2016-02-25T19:04:16Z
2016-02-25T19:04:16Z
What California can learn from Australia’s 15-year millennium drought
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/112839/original/image-20160225-15614-1sgguzy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Oroville Dam in California, where water levels had fallen 30% by 2014. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Dam image from www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>California has experienced, over the past few years, its most severe drought on record. In response to worsening conditions, Governor Jerry Brown announced the <a href="http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/waterrights/water_issues/programs/drought/docs/040115_executive_order.pdf">first ever statewide mandatory reduction in urban water use</a> in April 2015. This calls on Californians to reduce their use of potable (safe for drinking and food preparation) urban water by 25% from pre-drought levels. <a href="http://ca.gov/drought/topstory/top-story-53.html">Californians are meeting the mandate</a>.</p>
<p>California is entering its fifth consecutive year of drought, with <a href="http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/Home/StateDroughtMonitor.aspx?CA">many areas experiencing “exceptional” drought levels</a>. While rain and snowfall have improved recently, <a href="http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/MapsAndData/NarrativeArchive.aspx">water storages remain low</a> and the <a href="http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/el-nino-is-here-but-california-is-still-in-drought/">long-term drought signal has not changed</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/112834/original/image-20160225-32745-1mq4ozq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/112834/original/image-20160225-32745-1mq4ozq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/112834/original/image-20160225-32745-1mq4ozq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=464&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/112834/original/image-20160225-32745-1mq4ozq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=464&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/112834/original/image-20160225-32745-1mq4ozq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=464&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/112834/original/image-20160225-32745-1mq4ozq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=583&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/112834/original/image-20160225-32745-1mq4ozq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=583&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/112834/original/image-20160225-32745-1mq4ozq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=583&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The California drought is continuing into its fifth year.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/data/jpg/20160216/20160216_west_trd.jpg">US Drought Monitor</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>US agencies have turned to Australia to learn how urban water utilities and water agencies might best respond to drought. In particular, there is keen interest in the experience of Australian cities during the worst drought on record: the “millennium” drought that lasted 15 years from 1997 until it officially ended in 2012.</p>
<p>In a <a href="http://www.allianceforwaterefficiency.org/AWE-Australia-Drought-Report.aspx">report</a> prepared for Californian water agencies, we have reflected on some of the key lessons from the millennium drought experience to assess opportunities for California. </p>
<h2>Water efficiency, the quiet achiever</h2>
<p>The millennium drought affected mostly southeastern Australia, producing major declines in winter rainfall. <a href="http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/updates/articles/a010-southern-rainfall-decline.shtml">Many areas had their driest period on record</a>. Melbourne, for instance, saw water storages fall from 97% to 33% over the drought. <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/wrcr.20123/full">River flows fell by nearly half</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/112836/original/image-20160225-16416-bpcyq4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/112836/original/image-20160225-16416-bpcyq4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/112836/original/image-20160225-16416-bpcyq4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=412&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/112836/original/image-20160225-16416-bpcyq4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=412&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/112836/original/image-20160225-16416-bpcyq4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=412&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/112836/original/image-20160225-16416-bpcyq4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=518&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/112836/original/image-20160225-16416-bpcyq4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=518&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/112836/original/image-20160225-16416-bpcyq4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=518&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">South-east Australia during the peak of the millennium drought (2001-2009)</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/updates/articles/a010-southern-rainfall-decline.shtml">Australian Bureau of Meteorology</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Overall, Australia’s cities and towns survived the millennium drought, demonstrating world-leading innovation and exceptional examples of urban water planning and management driven by crisis. Yet there are also several initiatives and decisions that did not work so well. </p>
<p>In Australia, urban water efficiency was the quiet achiever. These measures included changing washing machines, toilets, cooling towers, shower heads, taps and industrial processes to do more with less. In many locations in Australia, water efficiency provided the cheapest, quickest and most effective contribution to managing demand during the drought. Without it, many cities and towns would have run out of water.</p>
<p>California could benefit from long-term structural changes in water use by implementing similar efficiency measures.</p>
<h2>World-leading innovation</h2>
<p>Australia survived the drought by demonstrating world-leading innovation and water planning and management. An important factor in the success was government and utility programs that rallied community support for lowering household water demand. </p>
<p>Southeast Queensland, for example, set a target to reduce each person’s water use to 140 litres (37 US gallons) per day. Queensland residents did even better.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/112847/original/image-20160225-15182-1rdmfe1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/112847/original/image-20160225-15182-1rdmfe1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/112847/original/image-20160225-15182-1rdmfe1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/112847/original/image-20160225-15182-1rdmfe1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/112847/original/image-20160225-15182-1rdmfe1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/112847/original/image-20160225-15182-1rdmfe1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/112847/original/image-20160225-15182-1rdmfe1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/112847/original/image-20160225-15182-1rdmfe1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Australia successfully inspired community support for water saving.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.waterrating.gov.au/consumers">Balázs Suhajda/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>California has made significant progress in advancing water conservation and efficiency to cope with the drought. The state has also set conservation targets and communities have implemented short-term water conservation measures, such as restrictions on outdoor watering. </p>
<p>However, more can be done in California, as shown by our research. Australia made much larger, comprehensive investments in water conservation and efficiency involving households, businesses and local governments. These investments helped cities cope with the millennium drought and also reduce vulnerability to future droughts.</p>
<p>Another strategy for California is to ensure any infrastructure options - dams, desalination plants or recycling capacity - are flexible. </p>
<p>This means applying a strategy of “readiness to construct”, which involves identifying the best options and putting in place the arrangements to start at short notice, but stopping short of contractually committing to construct until needed. This has the potential to save a lot of money and prevent “stranded assets”. </p>
<p>The New South Wales government <a href="http://www.metrowater.nsw.gov.au/sites/default/files/publication-documents/isf_acil_review_april06_final.pdf">adopted this strategy</a> for its proposed Sydney desalination plant on Botany Bay. However, that was overturned and the contract signed when dam levels were above 50% and rising. The result was a A$1.9 billion (US$1.4 billion) stranded asset and a plant that is still in mothballs.</p>
<h2>Missed opportunities</h2>
<p>During Australia’s millennium drought, there were many innovations but also missed opportunities. Examples include recycling waste water from commercial buildings, factories and sports fields, and recovering water from the sewage system for recycling.</p>
<p>Such systems can provide immediate savings, with smaller increments of investment, and also a lasting benefit after the drought ends. They can also provide experience and support to an emerging industry.</p>
<p>Other key findings in the report include:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Broad community involvement across sectors – households, business, industry and government – fosters a sense of fairness and collaboration in saving water</p></li>
<li><p>Clear, credible communication about the drought and reasoning for the response is needed to maximize public participation and support</p></li>
<li><p>Innovative water-pricing mechanisms, although not employed during Australia’s millennium drought, could be used to encourage water savings in California.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>In Australia, we emerged from the drought with surplus water supply capacity thanks to spending on infrastructure. Although attention to innovative and cost-effective water solutions and water efficiency quickly subsided after the drought, the technical and practical knowledge from the Australian water industry’s response to drought provides many key lessons for California’s response. </p>
<p><em>This research was conducted in collaboration with the <a href="http://www.allianceforwaterefficiency.org/">US Alliance for Water Efficiency</a> and the <a href="http://pacinst.org/">Pacific Institute</a> and several Australian urban water utilities and agencies.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/55300/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stuart White receives funding from a number of Australian and overseas water agencies. He is affiliated with the International Water Association. This work was funded by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission and the Water Research Foundation.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>
Andrea Turner receives funding from a number of Australian and overseas water agencies. She is affiliated with the International Water Association. This work was funded by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission and the Water Research Foundation.
</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Joanne Chong receives funding from various Australian and overseas water agencies. Joanne is affiliated with the Australian Water Partnership for Development.
This work was funded by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission and the Water Research Foundation.
</span></em></p>
California’s drought is dragging on into its fifth year. What can the state learn from Australia’s 15-year millennium drought?
Stuart White, Director, Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology Sydney
Andrea Turner, Research Director, Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology Sydney
Joanne Chong, Research Director, Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology Sydney
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.