Water restrictions, amazing attitudes

@hollow_man

Most renters *do* pay for water consumption – especially those living in detached or semi-detached houses.

I think only renters living in multiple occupancy properties (without separate metering) get by without having to pay for water. Those types of properties usually don’t have extensive gardens – certainly not many trees or lawns to tend to.

Personally, I think the water restrictions are a bit arbitrary even though there is common sense in not watering gardens during the day. Perhaps if water cost more (across Australia) people might think twice before wasting it.

Of course, sustainable water usage doesn’t stop with residents. Industry and businesses have a lot of improving to do too.

cranky said :

Are Govco still peeing megalitres down the river for fish flows?

what sort of facile comment is this? like, biodiversity isn’t anything important for you? me me me, don’t give a bugger about the greater system, which includes the the down river community, and all its attendant fish…

and btw, pandy – it’s pig’s arse?, not ‘ass’… can anyone imagine john elliot saying ‘ass’? what sort of donkey would he look! i know obama’s coming and you’re all excited, but this is strylya and we say, and write, ‘arse’…

25 cranky asks the very pertinent question, “Are Govco still peeing megalitres down the river for fish flows?”. If you go to this ACTEW webpage;
http://www.actewagl.com.au/water/facts/damCapacity.aspx
and scroll down to the graphic “Dam capacity”.
Is the sawtooth pattern of three sharp decreases in the Cotter volume line due to sudden releases for fish experiments ?
Then notice how the Cotter volume stays near 100% on and off for six fortnightly periods, 3 Sep to just after 8 Dec. I take that to mean there would have been overflows (or water to Wagga Wagga) but I am not aware the amount is recorded.
Now the really puzzling part.
In this three month period of Cotter being at or v near 100% we see there was a sudden release of 34% of Bendora volume = ~3.9GL – in just over a month from 5th Oct. Can anyone suggest why Bendora should have had 34% dumped out of it at a time Cotter was intermittently at 100% full until mid Dec ?
IMHO ACTEW (as cranky says, Govco) need to publish much more to account for what they do with our water.

Hey – replace the old street trees with – here is a rdical thought – trees native to the conditions, that do not drop humumgous tree limbs randomly, and do not have pestilential nuts (Oak trees – argh) and leaves (deciduous trees actually make their own mulch – but no one EVER uses it as such!).

My money is on: River Oaks; Silky Oak; Blueberry Ash; River Banksia; Mallee Gums… I could go on, but there are the most amazing hybrids available these days, and you do NOT have to have boring old gum trees that drop limbs with no warning.

I don’t entirely disagree with the City News correspondent, but I’m curious about the phrase “built into our verdant land”. The OP presents this as a paraphrase, but it still worries me. My memory of my Australian History lessons at the ANU tells me that prior to European settlement, the Limestone Plains were treeless, like the Monaro, so if my memory is correct, I hardly think that the presence of large trees on the plains, as we have now, can be described as natural. Surely trees in Canberra (apart from the odd scraggy gum) should be thought of as part of the built environment, not part of the natural environment?

Just because we want to water our gardens doesn’t mean we don’t understand that water is precious.

I have family with properties and tank water, and they still water their vegie gardens most days, and not just at dusk/dinner time either.

What they don’t do is have spa baths, pools, wash towels after one use, or any of the other wasteful indoor uses of water that are still allowed under our stupid garden-hating restrictions.

After an inch of rain yesterday, Canberra airport/BBP still have the sprinklers on this morning. Even if this isn’t mains water, surely it would be better to save it for a non-rainy day?

TheVirulentOne said :

The real issue here is about the increase in Canebrra’s population. No one wants to acknowledge that we have a limited water supply that can barely meet the needs of the current population, yet the government keeps building new suburbs and spruiking for people to move here. They don’t care about the future quality of life, all they care about is the short term tax revenue from land sales so they can fund tv ads for the next election, parrotting on about their “achievements”.

+1 well said.

I agree completely with the letter writer to City News, and it doesn’t make me myopic or selfish. As other Rioters have pointed out, maintaining our trees and gardens is a positive for the urban enviironment, which the government refuses to concede.

I don’t waste water on washing the car or hosing down the driveway, and I use grey water for my garden. But I use tap water for my vege patch, and I’m unapolegetic about this. Growing my own veges costs the environment far less than buying veges from a supermarket.

The real issue here is about the increase in Canebrra’s population. No one wants to acknowledge that we have a limited water supply that can barely meet the needs of the current population, yet the government keeps building new suburbs and spruiking for people to move here. They don’t care about the future quality of life, all they care about is the short term tax revenue from land sales so they can fund tv ads for the next election, parrotting on about their “achievements”.

Instead of putting in annoying rules where you can only water in certain ways on certain days, make it more expensive. I agree with with watering between certain hours but that’s just common sense (as is preferring drippers over walking around with a hose without a on/off nozzle) If people need to be told to do these simple things then they should be penalised.

Also I think a high percentage of ACTians are renters (myself included) who don’t have to spend a cent on water. The original idea of this was, I’m guessing, to make sure renters didn’t let gardens die. They gardens are dying now anyway due to restrictions so make us pay (reducing our rent at the same time of course). I know I have no incentive to save water whatsoever. I’m guessing this would be too hard to police in an apartment complex though as they wouldn’t have separate metres?

They also need to do something with some of the new hot water systems, I know it takes at least 4 litres before our temperature and flow limited gas heated water gets to luke warm. Its a massive waste, I capture it when I need to water my pots but there is still a lot that goes down the drain.

Do any of the larger new apartment buildings being built (i.e Bruce) capture their own water for land upkeep?

Increasing the size of our damns isn’t going to help a bit if it doesn’t rain, it will only make matters worse as there is a higher surface area for evaporation.

Water is now $4 a kilolitre. Thats fine, because don’t they want us to spend a mere 155 per person per day? Pigs ass!!!

I can tell you now. I use more than 155L per day having 2 10 minute showers.

The reaction of many RA-ers here is a well-documented phenomenon known as ‘[water] restriction fatigue’. It an early sign of a public policy failure.

Water restrictions can kiss my arse. I think this hand watering and day-on day-off thing is a load of dog crap. The amount of water I don’t use in a household sense (ie. washing clothes, washing dishes, washing me ) beause there is just me and the two furries should mean that I can use it on my garden instead.

I believe people should just pay for the water they use but be able to use it for what they choose and at times they choose. The more you use, the more you pay. This day/time restriction sucks dogs balls and I will keep my beautiful garden alive if I want to. I have put too much money, blood, sweat, and tears into this garden to let some toe-rag tell me I have to just watch it slowly die. I need my garden…

I still think a large section of the Australian population and businesses don’t really understand just how precious water is. A lifetime spent within the confines of a city may be to blame: food comes with a barcode. The same people that want eat red or white meat 5 days a week. You’d be suprised by the vast quantities of water that goes into bringing a steak or chicken breast to the supermarket. It goes far beyond what a cow or chicken needs to drink to stay alive.

I love the old trees that line my street. It ties in perfectly with the street names cast into the gutters at every corner and the 40/50’s architecture.

If only people would educate themselves a little more into the consequences of excessive water usage, they might come to the realisation that whatever intrinsic values they have for European trees are overshadowed by the need to be able to eat and have affordable food.

I’m with the letter writer.
Green grass and trees provide shade and cool our homes.

Once we are reduced to a concrete jungle in a dustbucket, more and more homes will have to have evaporative aircon – using more water.

Every time my kids play outside at home or daycare they grind dirt into their clothes, as our grass is no more – meaning more and more clothes washing – I’d rather be watering the trees than pouring washing water down the drain.

New trees and plants need a lot more water than established trees, so it is a totally false economy to let large trees die, then plant scrappy little ones, and either water them a lot, or watch them die too.

The govt is also currently running ads in the paper saying ‘spend 30 minutes a day in the garden’ (for our health) – doing what then – watching the plants crisp up before our eyes?

It is sad that people can have swimming pools, but we aren’t allowed to water vegies during the day.

The dry dusty former gardens all over the place are just so depressing.
Definitely time to make businesses cut back a bit, and let the home gardeners have some water.

Are Govco still peeing megalitres down the river for fish flows?

I have a discussion paper somewhere about the new dam we were going to need even before the drought. Maybe no-one saw the drought coming, maybe Canberra’s population growth slowed, but considering dams don’t get built/filled overnight I always thought it’s a shame nothing came of it.

The Jerrabomberra Greensmart village was open when the voluntary restrictions came in. No-one there knew anything about that when I asked how they were keeping the lawns looking so good. Prior to the restrictions we went shopping for a replacement tap and expressed interest in getting one with a water rating. The salesperson shrugged and said that ratings only came with some European taps because we don’t need such a thing in Australia. I always thought it a shame that those who are in a position to educate and lead the way can be so behind.

A certain department store had a leaking tap in the women’s toilets for years after the restrictions became compulsory. I always thought it was a shame that they weren’t being better corporate citizens, and I couldn’t help but wonder what other public/commercial buildings were in a similar state.

We’ve had water quality issues for years. On one occasion it turned out that the problem was so massive and widespread that they had to open hydrants even in an adjoining suburb to clear it, so running our garden tap as we had been advised was a waste of time That was just one of a number of occasions when one part of ACTEW didn’t know what another was doing. When I once expressed surprise that the old run a garden tap advice is still being given, and they seemed incapable of identifying and doing something about the problems, they said they’ve reduced the recommended duration. If a shorter time clears the dirty water why was a longer time ever recommended? The only suggestion of a possible cause was someone filling up at a hydrant in the street and doing so at maximum flow rate. If that’s going to cause people to have to rewash a load of washing then why not limit the flow of standpipes (except for bushfire vehicles in which case filling the tank fast would be justified). I always thought it a shame that ACTEW had a seemingly huge budget for those annoyingly cheerful tv ads but not the resources to attend to the details they should be attending to, or even have adequate communication within their organisation.

astrojax said :

the restrictions are blanket bans/limitations – which is always a silly thing as there are those folk who would like to keep alive a healthy vege patch and use their own resources (saving a lot of water en route) to feed themselves rather than use the excessive water required in having produce shipped to a convenient location and having all and sundry expend energy/water getting to and from said convenient location to purchase it.

but governments are rarely subtle thinkers, are they?

Agree. Letting my carefully tended garden, which has already taken a certain amount of water by the nurseries and then myself to reach this point, suffer and giving up pn my veggie patch because I am trying to obey the rules seems rather wasteful to me on deeper analysis, especially while water is still being wasted by neighbours who water their messy properties whenever they feel like it and old buildings with leaky taps and large cisterns and government sprinklers that water the roads.
On the one hand I do see the need to utilise our limited resources wisely but on the other I find it hard to take the restrictions seriously any more.

grump said :

sorry, can’t share your hurt “concerned and upset of Gordon” – “Mypoic. Parochial. Nimby. Selfish. Narrow-minded. are some of the descriptors I give people like him” don’t throw stones in glass houses!

trees are important part of water cycle – moisture trasnspired helps the rain process. If we become a dustbowl it won’t help. Agree we need to conserve but I don’t see the gubment reducing development either.

No real answers but we can’t afford to lose our trees and need to manage them better as well.

Never debunked the evap argument. All true. Sustainable? No.

I’m with the Krusty Murderer #1.

If something needs watering – water it.

Just because some hippies decree that you can’t because it will deplete all our water supplies is reason enough to leave the sprinklers on for hours.

Stuff this hand held hose rubbish.

sloppery said :

At a friend’s house in Campbell recently I overheard the following:

“Everyone in Campbell waters whenever they want. We pay more rates than anyone else, and if the ACT govt can’t get it’s act toegther with supply, that’s not our problem…”

True story.

They said “it’s” not “its”? Ignorant parochialists, more money than education.

There was a business in Canberra using a considerable amount of water. It was sold, and the new owners did what they could to cut the usage. Over their first year of ownership, they cut it by 13%, then another 6% the following year. Did ACTEW congratulate them?
No. ACTEW sent out a salesman to try and sell them more.
Did they buy more? No. Instead, they told all their staff at the next Christmas party, and made it clear that ACTEW were the butt of the joke.
If ACTEW aren’t really interested in saving water, why should anyone else be?
When we turn utilities into profit-seeking companies, this is what happens.

The letter writer in the “City News” actually knows his stuff and is somewhat of a water expert. I agree that it is a nonsense for the Government to be spending millions on the Arboretum whilst allowing trees to die in the city and suburbs for lack of water and some TLC.

the restrictions are blanket bans/limitations – which is always a silly thing as there are those folk who would like to keep alive a healthy vege patch and use their own resources (saving a lot of water en route) to feed themselves rather than use the excessive water required in having produce shipped to a convenient location and having all and sundry expend energy/water getting to and from said convenient location to purchase it.

but governments are rarely subtle thinkers, are they?

I think Clown Killer may be a tad older than ‘Generation Me’ … unless that’s a Baby Boomer reference that I’m not getting.

Funnily enough, due to our ( mostly ) observation of the restrictions, there is not enough “environmental flow” for ACTEW to process our waste.
To combat this they, ACTEW, are pumping drinking water through the sh*t works to keep things moving.
There’s not enough for the trees, but……..

Clown Killer – the troll’s troll.

And Clownie – note the apostrophe usage – there is no apostrophe in “petunia’s” when used in the non-possessive plural.

Or are you over grammar and punctuation as well?

In terms of watering there is nothing hair shirt about being responsible or even forward thinking. A plastic sink tub works great in the kitchen. It is child’s play to rig your washing machine up to pump into the garden (unless you are asking water to run up hill) and for a modest outlay you can rig up watertanks and there are many models that don’t take up a lot of room.

And that way you can be over as many water restrictions as you like without the Generation Me attitude of Clown Killer and keep your garden going through the hot dry periods.

Meh, I’m over water restrictions. If I want to water, I water. There’s enough of the do-gooder hair-shirt bigade out there dilligently saving their bath water for the petunia’s. Thanks for that.

To be fair – I was trolling just a tad.

We almost never water anything in our yard which is dominated by local south Canberra native species. Occasionally – maybe every 4-6 weeks we’ll see somthing in the yard that’s really doing it tough and could do with a water – when that happens I water it regardless of what day or time or whatever – the plant gets a couple of hours of water trickling from th end of the hose. Do I lose sleep over it? Not at all.

#7 How is it exactly that we’re stealing water from NSW, when NSW is actually stealing water from SA?

I too dispute the government’s claim that our trees are dying due to old age. Exotic trees and eucalyptus natural life span is many hundreds of years. Very few trees in Canberra’s urban areas are anything close being at the end of their natural lifecycle.

The govt’s opposing to mature trees is about liability and maintenance. They’d much rather rip ’em out than have to bear the cost or litigation that may be inccured by maintaining a mature urban forest management plan.

Grump’s right – trees are an important part of water cycle – moisture transpired helps the rain process. The drought, as the government also concludes is having an impact, you only need to drive down a few country roads to see the impact the droughts having on mature trees – massive numbers across Austraila are dying because of lack of water. Australia is becoming more desertified now than ever before. Now is not the time to be culling perfectly healthy mature trees. The govt can’t look after the new ones we’ve already got. I see stands of tree plantings across ACT now looking like sad graveyards with only the stakes and plastic covers left to mark their passing.

Responsible water allocation to maintaining urban vegetation such trees is not a waste of water. Did anyone see the sprinklers along Northbourne Ave a few nights ago? Most of them sprayed straight out onto the road not on the grass at all – now that’s a total waste of water.

At a friend’s house in Campbell recently I overheard the following:

“Everyone in Campbell waters whenever they want. We pay more rates than anyone else, and if the ACT govt can’t get it’s act toegther with supply, that’s not our problem…”

True story.

Riot is a strange little place 😉

Btw Thumper; whenever I read your rank of ‘demagogue’ my brain converts it to demi-god

Clown Killer said :

Meh, I’m over water restrictions. If I want to water, I water. There’s enough of the do-gooder hair-shirt bigade out there dilligently saving their bath water for the petunia’s. Thanks for that.

Do you also smoke at restaurants because you’re “over smoking restrictions”, or take a piss in the middle of public places because you’re “over public urination restrictions”?

MsCheeky said :

…down to 37-38% a year or so back, and are now hovering around 50%.

The overall dam capacity rose steadily once Actew started pumping/stealing water from NSW. Not through good management or increased rainfall.

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

I’d like to see water usage detail by Actew based on residential vs commercial vs industrial. I’d also like to see the residential usage broken down by suburb as I feel that some of the “lower-to-middle class” suburbs are saving more water than the more affluent ones.

Clown Killer said :

Meh, I’m over water restrictions. If I want to water, I water. There’s enough of the do-gooder hair-shirt bigade out there dilligently saving their bath water for the petunia’s. Thanks for that.

You don’t happen to live around the corner from me do you?

What a wonderful attitude you have, I wish we were all as cool as you.

Thinking about this further, I believe that this says more about the OP than it does shed any negative light on the concerned correspondent to City News.

Imagine other people having a differnt view? Imagine people have priorities other than yours? What a bizzare world we would live in if everyone didn’t queue up to form a conga-line of blandness.

sorry, can’t share your hurt “concerned and upset of Gordon” – “Mypoic. Parochial. Nimby. Selfish. Narrow-minded. are some of the descriptors I give people like him” don’t throw stones in glass houses!

trees are important part of water cycle – moisture trasnspired helps the rain process. If we become a dustbowl it won’t help. Agree we need to conserve but I don’t see the gubment reducing development either.

No real answers but we can’t afford to lose our trees and need to manage them better as well.

The problem with people like him is that the moment we get a little bit of rain, he thinks the drought is over.

While I haven’t read the letter in question, I share the sentiment summarised by Ms/Mr Concerned. That is, I lament the trees and bushes dropping dead in my garden, and that my grass is a dustbowl. That does not however make me “Mypoic. Parochial. Nimby. Selfish. Narrow-minded”. It just means I’m sad that my garden is dying.

I don’t like the water restrictions either, but I go along with them. I look at the advisory signs around the highways that tell us dam percentages, and correct me if I’m wrong, but weren’t they down to 37-38% a year or so back, and are now hovering around 50%.

Maybe we should ask Pastor Danny to go back up Mt Ainslie and ask the big fella in the sky for some rain?

Meh, I’m over water restrictions. If I want to water, I water. There’s enough of the do-gooder hair-shirt bigade out there dilligently saving their bath water for the petunia’s. Thanks for that.