O/T What BS .. 1years water supply left!

OzJavelin · 03-04-2006, 09:49 AM

In the last year I moved back to my home town of Bendigo in Victoria. Being on acrage with my own water I've only been vaguely listening to a water debate which has been raging. Finally I realised that what the big who-har was about is that Bendigo only has one years water supply left! WTF??!! I find it almost criminally negligent that it has been allowed to get this bad. Sure, people can't make it rain, but what about far stricter water restrictions, creation of new catchments, water transfers, grey water processing, etc. Looks like people have just been sitting about on their hands hoping it will rain. What is this .. a third world country??!! Stupid!

Rod.

ON_DUBS · 03-04-2006, 11:22 AM

i've got some u can have

Lukeyson · 03-04-2006, 11:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OzJavelin

What is this .. a third world country??!!

No, Victoria

jk, i have high respect for VIC, 2 great things come from there, Ford, and some fine a$$ chicks

rst2000 · 03-04-2006, 12:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OzJavelin

In the last year I moved back to my home town of Bendigo in Victoria. Being on acrage with my own water I've only been vaguely listening to a water debate which has been raging. Finally I realised that what the big who-har was about is that Bendigo only has one years water supply left! WTF??!! I find it almost criminally negligent that it has been allowed to get this bad. Sure, people can't make it rain, but what about far stricter water restrictions, creation of new catchments, water transfers, grey water processing, etc. Looks like people have just been sitting about on their hands hoping it will rain. What is this .. a third world country??!! Stupid!

Rod.

i live on acerage in riddells creek and until recently we had less than 10% water storage (rosslyn reservoir) and had been on stage 4 restictions for a long while. there has been a slight softening of restrictions lately due being connected to melb water.

but things were getting pretty desperate there for awhile.

OzJavelin · 03-04-2006, 12:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rst2000

i live on acerage in riddells creek and until recently we had less than 10% water storage (rosslyn reservoir) and had been on stage 4 restictions for a long while. there has been a slight softening of restrictions lately due being connected to melb water.

but things were getting pretty desperate there for awhile.

Yep .. I moved from Riddell to Bendigo. I know about the restrictions there .. :(

rst2000 · 03-04-2006, 12:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OzJavelin

Yep .. I moved from Riddell to Bendigo. I know about the restrictions there .. :(

here's me thinking i'd have to explain where riddell was..what part of town did you live?

nobbystang · 03-04-2006, 01:24 PM

Think from memory when i frist shifted to perth they were down to about 17%(2001) last i heard they were around50%, could be wrong.

Since shifting to Newcastle were the dam here is around 90% and no restrictions to speak of, just ads reminding us to be water wise, you find yourself still in the same habit of watering less and at more ideal hours. only thing that changers is washing the car, can do it on your lawn anytime you feel like it.

eb_5litre · 03-04-2006, 04:29 PM

We dont need to wash the cars as much now that the BHP is gone. hehe

(Good to see another Novacastrian)

Tote · 03-04-2006, 04:48 PM

This is happening everywhere with the excuses being that the climate is changing etc etc.. The town I live in has only 9 months water supply when the dam is full, there are the usual bleats about water conservation and how it is a limited resource but at the end of the day tha dam was built in the 30s to support a town of 1000, now it is supplying 3 times that number and noone has done anything aboutimproving the infrastructure. (except increase water rates to "encourage conservation" )
Regards
Tote

GOLDIE · 03-04-2006, 04:53 PM

On the gold coast last year we got down to about 8 months supply.
We now have full dams but still on water restrictions because the other local area's including brisbane are down to about 18 months supply some even less.

The goverment had a chance to make our main dam bigger but said they did not have the 80 millon dollars to do it now we are wasting water over the spill way wtf.

Ian

ClevlndStemer · 03-04-2006, 04:58 PM

obviously we're not going to get decent rain falls for a while so they need to look at alternative ways of getting water. i.e de-salination plants. Sure expensive but in the long term it may prove to be a viable option. the middle east have used this for years and it works fine.

Tote · 03-04-2006, 05:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ClevlndStemer

obviously we're not going to get decent rain falls for a while so they need to look at alternative ways of getting water. i.e de-salination plants. Sure expensive but in the long term it may prove to be a viable option. the middle east have used this for years and it works fine.

On the contrary, forecasts are for better than average falls this winter due to La Nina (the opposite of El Nino)
Desalinistaion plants are a nice way to aviod the difficult questions for Sydney like the fact that all the rainfall in the Sydney basin goes straight into the sea.

Regards,
Tote

nobbystang · 03-04-2006, 05:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tote

This is happening everywhere with the excuses being that the climate is changing etc etc..

Sounds alot like oil prices, Cyclones in America, something in Iran, obviously the Iraq conflict, any excuse to keep the oil barrel price high

Dodge · 03-04-2006, 06:11 PM

they droped the water pressure in brisbane, their reason is to reduce the amount of useage , the real reason, the pipes keep bursting and thats their way of fixing them, everyone knows that a reduction in pressure doesnt save on the amount used, only the time it takes to use. anyway if u go to straddie or harvey bay u can see clean spring water gushing into the ocean 24/7. atleast beer is cheaper than bottled water

DanXR6T · 03-04-2006, 06:28 PM

For those that complain about water going over the spillways, etc - its called environmental flows, all pretty important stuff.

The reason why we have this problem is that most infrastruture for water was developed/designed in the 1960's/70's, which is now recognised as a period of above average rainfall. Now we are in the opposite, below average rainfall.

If everyone in the city was given a 5000gallon tank and told "thats it, no more unless it rains" you'd find that once everyone stopped crying that their lawn was dying, they would manage quite well.

Dan.

Photonic · 03-04-2006, 08:23 PM

I'm a Bendigo Boy at heart, and the last I heard was that there are plans to put a 45km pipeline from a channel connected the the Murray and pump into lake Eppalock. I think it is a great idea, but they better make sure no carp get through and that some restrictions stay in place

Ultimate · 03-04-2006, 09:05 PM

Install a rain water tank. This fixes the problem of saving water and you use your own water for what you want

qwigybo · 04-04-2006, 04:42 AM

i heard the same thing photonic seems like a good plan in theory, but they do need to keep resrictions in place if they do it, my in-laws live in axedale on the river and because the pump straight out of the river they have a 12 gigalitre water allowance per year or something like that.. seems pretty high to me but they never use anywhere near that much

galaxy xr8 · 04-04-2006, 07:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ultimate

Install a rain water tank. This fixes the problem of saving water and you use your own water for what you want

That's all good in theory mate, BUT it just doesn't rain, so if there's no rain how do the tank's fill up.

galaxy xr8 · 04-04-2006, 08:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Photonic

I'm a Bendigo Boy at heart, and the last I heard was that there are plans to put a 45km pipeline from a channel connected the the Murray and pump into lake Eppalock. I think it is a great idea, but they better make sure no carp get through and that some restrictions stay in place

They plan to connect us up to the Warranga Basin which is almost near capacity, but this is going to cost us a lot off money as Tax payer's, unfourtunetly they sold the water right's yr's ago so Coliban water have to release the water from Eppolock, but we are in need off some decent rain in our catchment area's FAST.

OzJavelin · 05-04-2006, 08:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Axeman82

The reason why we have this problem is that most infrastruture for water was developed/designed in the 1960's/70's, which is now recognised as a period of above average rainfall. Now we are in the opposite, below average rainfall.Dan.

I know we all have selective memory, but when I was a kid in the seventies I can remember it "seemed" to rain a LOT more than it does now ..but being a kid I probably just thought that 'cos it meant I couldn't go outside (unlike today when kids don't want to go outside)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Axeman82

If everyone in the city was given a 5000gallon tank and told "thats it, no more unless it rains" you'd find that once everyone stopped crying that their lawn was dying, they would manage quite well.

I agree entirely .. and the govt should be providing REAL incentives for EVERYONE to install decent watertanks for domestic use (where possible), not just watering stupid lawns..

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ultimate

Install a rain water tank. This fixes the problem of saving water and you use your own water for what you want

Got one .. 100,000litres (half full at the moment) .. and a dam (almost empty). But that only helps me. If Bendigo runs dry but I've got water, its not really a consolation as I live and work in that community.