6 October 2007

Hints of Stage 4 Water Restrictions

| Kramer
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Following more dry days and higher than average water usage, Stanhope is encouraging Canberrans to think before watering and according to the ABC, ACTEW are making subtle hints about stage 4 restrictions.

Although it has been dry (as per usual), according to ACTEW’s website dams levels don’t appear to be plummeting. There is a small downwards trend for Cotter and Bendora, but is this just the ACT Govt & ACTEW trying to give us a scare to reduce water consumption? Meanwhile everyone seems to have forgotten about water strategies. I guess if we can all live indefinitely under level 3 restrictions, who needs a water strategy?

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p.s. Mr Evil – you can drink your wee, I’ll take my chances with LBG first.

Maybe it’s time to get greedy and leave the ‘environmental flows’ up to nature.

**Disclaimer**
Personally I think that is a very stupid idea, but am taking a protect your own resources stance.

Looks like it’s at about 12% capacity actually. Remember that it might well be 25 metres deep next to the dam wall but it doesn’t have a flat bottom. A metre of water level when it’s 90% full represents far more water than a metre of water level when it’s 10% full.

When do we have to start drinking our own urine?

Snahons_scv6_berlina9:32 am 09 Oct 07

I’ll stick to my unfetted use of water 🙂
90K water tank for potable water and an estate funded recycling treatment plant for non potable water 🙂

Fair enough.

Yes well we do the old “fill the bucket whilst having a shower” thingy. The soil about Canberra is so dismal though :S Takes effort a bit of time and TLC – or something :S

I have inground sprinklers but I haven’t turned them on this year.

But I am hand watering my trees when I remember (about once a month..)

Just clarifying my previous post. I meant to say:

“I like most people have NOT turned on the outside taps in almost 10 months”.

So what I am saying is that most people DO care, and some just don’t.

*sepi*. To answer your question. The tree’s are barely surviving. Like many absurd European’s, we planted our fair share of Non-Native plants (which are now pretty much on their last breath). As well as that, I am busy being abused by my employer(s) whilst the garden dies. Some people are lucky enough to have wads of cash and in-ground sprinklers (and sneakily turn them on in the pumpkin-hour).

Ah well. What can one do.

I think the vast majority of people care.

Barney does your yard have any trees – are they surviving with no water?

I like most people have turned on the outside taps in almost 10 months. Some people just don’t care though …

I wash indvidual hankies on full loads using no detergent. Amazing how green my lawns are from grey (cough) water.

Yep – I vote for 3A too.

I’d add in a once a month sprinkler day.
(I have a watering system I can’t use).

And for office buildings to have a water tune-up program.

The leap between Stage three and Stage four is draconian and probably will be generally ignored if it is put in place.

Why not a 3A?
Rather than odds and evens, why not allow the 7 -10 am and pm watering on the garbage collection day. This would spread the load evenly across the city and provide sufficient water for our gardens. It would also become very clear who is not abiding by the rules. If necessary we could also go to stage 3B, watering only on recycling days.

Of course, none of this would be necessary if offices, government and private, were required to modernise their urinals and toilets. Water is wasted away from home not where it is paid for.

captainwhorebags8:15 am 07 Oct 07

WMC, let me fill in the blank for you…

1. Set up a business that sells water.
2. Scare people into not using water.
3a. Increase the cost of the water, thus making the same amount of money for supplying less.
3b. Continue the scaremongering so that more infrastructure (dams, recycling) can be built.
3c. Add on more charges to recover the cost of building said infrastructure.
3d. Lobby against increased rebates for rainwater tanks, thus ensuring the monopoly is intact.
4. Profit. Profit. Profit.
5. Sponsor sporting teams. WTF?

Googong is the fullest it has been in a long while. Look at the very sharp jump around early July. That is the dam that counts just because of its shear size.

The other thing to remember is that Corin and Bendora, despite being two seperate dams are in fact one system. Corin, the highest dam feeds Bendora.

Corin, Cotter and Bendora are the ones that fill up the quickest, not only because they are smaller, but because they are in a better catchement area.

To me looks like the usual scare mongering from the government who won’t do anything to properly address the water issue.

Woody Mann-Caruso10:49 pm 06 Oct 07

ACTEW trying to give us a scare to reduce water consumption?

They’re so devious, but I see through the conspiracy:

1. Set up a business that sells water.
2. Scare people into not using water.
3. ???
4. Profit!

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