ACT water supply plans

But I agree with JB that it is wrong that some notable corporations get water far cheaper than others.

I don’t see how extending the Cotter can be equated with building the Tennent we were supposed to have already, given that it would be sensible to get another catchment area . . .

Not to mention that

1. We *are* building a new dam.

2. Any extra water extracted from any catchment in the ACT through a new dam is water that would otherwise have flowed down the Murrumbidgee – the same place that the Tantangara water would have gone if we didn’t buy it. So there would be no difference to the water users of the lower Murrumbidgee!

What’s unethical is urbans gardens dying so cotton farming multinationals can keep storing water in turkeynest dams for virtually free.

Some sane water pricing might just give us sane agriculture in the interior.

miz said :

Seems unethical to take others’ water. I just wish they would spend the money on another dam, we clearly need one if we are having to cadge water from others.

Do you feel unethical when you go to the store and take that stores products?

Every resource is finite miz, the Government is trading with an organisation that feels that the money is worth more than the water rights. You do the same thing with Woolworths and Joe down at the Butchers shop.

Seems unethical to take others’ water. I just wish they would spend the money on another dam, we clearly need one if we are having to cadge water from others.

shauno said :

Not to much water in Tantangara. Any one been up there and seen how empty it is? Its usually around 4% or so because all the water is pumped into Ecumbene for use in the hydro scheme.

Tantangara was about 7% last I looked and Eucumbene is in the 20s. There aint much to be gained from pumping to/from either of these sources. Not to mention, if you start draining water from Eucumbene and Tantangara, the fisherfolk will start getting annoyed.

AG Canberra said :

No wonder ACTEWAGL are happy – they won’t have to convice us to drink our own wee.

You mean like every town down river between here and Adelaide drinks our wee ?
I wonder how many bodies the drinking water in Adelaide has passed through on it’s way down the Murray Darling River system.

shauno said :

Not to much water in Tantangara. Any one been up there and seen how empty it is? Its usually around 4% or so because all the water is pumped into Ecumbene for use in the hydro scheme.

From memory, you can see Tantangara from the top of Gingera. so people could pretty easily go and have a look.

johnboy said :

The point remains that the snowy scheme has *relatively* large amounts of water, which it sells for miniscule fractions of the cost of municipal water.

We can afford to outbid the farmers downstream and buy the water to wash our cars.

If this encourages rational water pricing in the interior then it is a positive benefit to the nation.

exactly. The other point to make is that the wastage from the flows into the MDB could easily be managed by a system whereby our flows from the treatment works and other inflows – stormwater etc could be redirected into the murrumbidgee, traveling down to nsw /vic / sa and providing water for sunrice, and other crops, whereas the extremely clean and pure snowy water which is highly potable could be used in the canberra drinking water supply.

The point remains that the snowy scheme has *relatively* large amounts of water, which it sells for miniscule fractions of the cost of municipal water.

We can afford to outbid the farmers downstream and buy the water to wash our cars.

If this encourages rational water pricing in the interior then it is a positive benefit to the nation.

p1 said :

Actually, I’m pretty sure that the flow through from Tantangara to Eucumbene is gravity only, and that they haven’t actually closed it in years (because even with the water coming through there isn’t enough to fill Eucumbene). If there is a pump on that pipe, it wouldn’t have been used much ever, since the only need for it would be if Eucumbene was full and Tantangara wasn’t.

That’s my understanding too. Tannie and Eucs are storage lakes for the Snowy scheme. Tannie feeds into Eucs at the Providence Portal, simply as Tannie is higher up in the air (gravity fed from Tannie to Eucs). Not a two-way water tunnel.

Of course, there’s plenty of water to go around. It’s just flowing down some river somewhere, and nobody else wants it. We just need to pipe it to Canberra.

monomania: Yeah, I’m not sure why we should pay for the first 30GL or so we pump from the Murrumbidgee, since it should just net off against the existing outflows from LMWQCC.

Not to much water in Tantangara. Any one been up there and seen how empty it is? Its usually around 4% or so because all the water is pumped into Ecumbene for use in the hydro scheme.

Actually, I’m pretty sure that the flow through from Tantangara to Eucumbene is gravity only, and that they haven’t actually closed it in years (because even with the water coming through there isn’t enough to fill Eucumbene). If there is a pump on that pipe, it wouldn’t have been used much ever, since the only need for it would be if Eucumbene was full and Tantangara wasn’t.

The Cotter dam not only adds to storage, it enables more water to be collected from the 200 square kilometre lower Cotter catchment.

The poo factory would cost a fortune and use heaps of electricity. And simply diverts water heading downstream to be naturally purified and reused. Recycling.

Starscream @ work said :

Becasue we should be sensible with our resources and setr good examples for our children and future generations. IMO

Sensible yes, frugal to the point of losing our urban environment no.

Yes we have a form of scarcity pricing. Abstraction tax and $3.70/KL ensure that. Real scarcity pricing involves ramping up the price for even the first KL of water in times of scarcity and reducing it when water is not scarce.

In normal times ACT water consumers use 30GL nett. Irrigators take ground and river water averaging 2500GL before the Murrumbidgee reaches the Murray. The example you want us to set our kids Starscreamer is that we’re stupid.

caf said :

The idea would be that if we buy water from Tantangara, the operators will divert our purchase into the Murrumbidgee instead of pumping it into Eucumbene (the Tantangara-Eucumbene pipeline also works both ways).

Considering that over 2,100 GL per annum are pumped through to the murray darling basin, it probably wouldn’t be hard to redirect some of the hydro water back to the snowy. How about utilising some of the hydro water via pipelines to create a self sustaining dam system? the remainder of the water could be used to be split 50/50 with MDB and the ACT / NSW water issues.

More like a “use all the water you choose to pay for” week.

I wonder, will this be celebrated with a “Use all the water you want weekend?”

The idea would be that if we buy water from Tantangara, the operators will divert our purchase into the Murrumbidgee instead of pumping it into Eucumbene (the Tantangara-Eucumbene pipeline also works both ways).

The long answer to “why enlarge the Cotter Dam” is in this report here.

(When the water recycling plant was on the agenda, the output from it would have been stored in Cotter Dam).

shauno said :

Not to much water in Tantangara. Any one been up there and seen how empty it is? Its usually around 4% or so because all the water is pumped into Ecumbene for use in the hydro scheme.

sounds like a “wanna buy a bridge” scam….

Hasn’t ACTEW already set up a form of scarcity pricing – we now get a base amount at x cents per kL – then pay a higher rate if we use more…..?

Not to much water in Tantangara. Any one been up there and seen how empty it is? Its usually around 4% or so because all the water is pumped into Ecumbene for use in the hydro scheme.

it is essential the Government acts now to ensure adequate supply down the track,

I had to laugh at this.

Now?

What’s so funny about it?

frontrow said :

Why are they enlarging the Cotter Dam? Isn’t that like putting a second condom in your wallet for a night out at Tilleys?

Perhaps they feel the clouds just haven’t met the right Government before?

yeah, lets buy water from Tantangara Reservoir. probably could get far more if we:
drained the lakes (not completely – just enough to top up our dams) subsidised a water tank per household, and I bet it would be cheaper…

Why are they enlarging the Cotter Dam? Isn’t that like putting a second condom in your wallet for a night out at Tilleys?

Sweet. I hereby predict my front lawn will be lush by winter!

So we’re buying in more water rather than reusing what we’ve got. Bring on the receycled tinkle!

Was clearly stated on the radio this morning.

up to 20GL per year.
Obviously will be dependent on how much water is actually needed.

http://www.actew.com.au/WaterSecurity/MajorProjects/murrumbidgee_googong.aspx

Press release doesn’t mention ending water restrictions.

“The Murrumbidgee to Googong pipeline project is a major initiative that will deliver up to 20Gl of water to the ACT and help provide future water security to the ACT.”

Gotta love meaningless numbers. 20Gl per day? Per month? Per year? In its entire life? Help me out here, Jon.

That would be fine AG if we actually had scarcity pricing, which we don’t

Becasue we should be sensible with our resources and setr good examples for our children and future generations. IMO

Why no restrictions?…because if I pay for it I should be able to decide how I use it.

No wonder ACTEWAGL are happy – they won’t have to convice us to drink our own wee. After trying to convince us that a power station over our back fence was a good thing I think they should stick to providing the goods not changing our minds.

Thats all fine and good, but why not keep water retrictions anyway?