16 December 2008

Water use signs in perfect harmony

| johnboy
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There’s been a rumour going around that the roadside water usage signs are presenting different results at any given time. If true that would do little to enhance community confidence in the water conservation message.

Between 11am and midday today I made a study of the signs on the Barton Highway, Barry Drive, and the Tuggeranong Parkway.

I am happy to report that the rumours are completely untrue.

All three signs are reporting yesterday’s usage to be 129 megalitres, 10 under the target (yay us!).

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How does it suit the government to p.ss off voters? How does it suit Actew to sell less of its product at a fixed price? Please, enlighten us all, oh insightful angry one.

Just got out of the straight jacket Woody. Hardly any foam. The Government has a target to reduce unrestricted water use by 25%. They originally came up with this policy before any water problems. Purpose, to delay the need to build a new dam until 2023 or after. The longer Actew can keep the perception of water scarcity the more likely the targets will be reached even if they have to build the dam 15 years early. Every one still gets paid regardless of Actew’s profit. VY, at present we take about 45GL out of the system and return 27GL or so through the treatment works plus some storm water runoff. Environmental flows, that is deliberate releases from dams are necessary. We reached 31% because for several years before that these releases were significantly higher than they needed to be. Actew did have the capacity to pull water levels from 31% to 52% even with below average rainfall. However we have been sitting at about 52% for 5 months without excessive water demand. The snow job is so effective that reducing restrictions is likely to have more fallout than keeping them up.

VY,
I think last year it was about 15GL. Which is 25% of a years consumption.
There is always the argument about environmental flows, but do we let the rivers die?
Anyway the information about the reasons for the releases are in the Government’s guidelines on the TAMS website.

“One in seven plants at the botanic gardens have died under these water restrictions – a very shortsighted decision to treat a national treasure so strictly.”

I heard this on an interview with ABC radio quite a while ago.
They don’t have any exemptions to the water restrictions, unlike builders etc, despite trying to maintain rare plants and rainforest zones full of birds etc.

They also lost money in the efficiency dividend debacle, and cut staff. It sounded like a really depressing place to work right now.

Still nice for a visit though!
Best visit soon while there’s still any plants left.
I really don’t understand why people have it in for gardens, in the nane of saving the environment – gardens are the environment.

VYBerlinaV8_the_one_they_all_copy9:47 am 18 Dec 08

Thanks for that. How much water are we talking? Wouldn’t it be better to fill the dams first?

VY,
The water being released is set by the ACT Government’s Guidelines for Environmental flows.
There would be no point in Actew trying to keep the dams low because their profit is pretty much guaranteed.
If they wanted to keep the dams low they wouldn’t have been pumping water out of the Murrumbidgee and putting it in Googong dam. This is pretty much what kept us from going into stage 4 restrictions this year and last.

VYBerlinaV8_the_one_they_all_copy9:09 am 18 Dec 08

How much water is Actew releasing at the moment? Are they trying to fill the dams up?

Just curious.

tylersmayhem8:59 am 18 Dec 08

One in seven plants at the botanic gardens have died under these water restrictions – a very shortsighted decision to treat a national treasure so strictly.

Are you sure Sepi?! Surely there would have been an exception made for the botanical gardens if the grass over the Parly House can stay green?!

Woody Mann-Caruso8:56 am 18 Dec 08

It suits the government to maintain this water scare, and what suits the government suits Actew.

How does it suit the government to p.ss off voters? How does it suit Actew to sell less of its product at a fixed price? Please, enlighten us all, oh insightful angry one.

I really think it is time to start watering local ovals and parks, and the botanic gardens.

One in seven plants at the botanic gardens have died under these water restrictions – a very shortsighted decision to treat a national treasure so strictly.

What are you, a pack of school kids wanting encouragement from the teacher. The targets are arbitary figures dreamed up by Actew. They take no account of temperatures, how hard evaporative coolers are working in homes offices and shopping centres or how long since it rained. Of course there are days when they will be exceeded. Now people want instructions from nanny about how long to shower and don’t mind being treated as fools with the don’t water, it rained yesterday type of message. There is no chance of not having water to drink. There may have been a short period when there was the threat of stage 4. Preceeding that Actew released more water than it needed to. How hard are they really trying to get the dam levels up now. How much water reserve is enough, 108GL like now or won’t Actew be happy until all the dams are full. It suits the government to maintain this water scare, and what suits the government suits Actew.

VYBerlinaV8_the_one_they_all_copy10:34 am 17 Dec 08

I’d like to see something more interesting written on the signs:

“You in the Prado – use the left lane”
“Watch out for speed cameras – duh”
“Try indicating – enjoy the difference”
“Your lawn sux anyway – save water”

etc…

tylersmayhem9:21 am 17 Dec 08

I take the read-outs on these signs with a grain of salt. They could put whatever T F they want up there. How would we know anyway. Can’t even get access to the dams anymore I hear, so they can do and say what they want…or until ACTEW are running a little short of cash flow, and announce another water wastage weekend.

Clearly I can pronounce, but not count.

Global Warming comes
Do not use water today
Please turn off your taps

The one on Barry drive at 7pm said 100ml…. explain that one!

I like niftydog’s idea – sounds great and would make people think twice over and over!

But that would make your first line 6 syllables?

Your way = 6 – 7 – 5
Other way = 5 – 7 – 5

I was using the Nipponese pronunciation of Can-Ber-Ra [like Yu-Gi-Oh, Dra-Gon-Ball, Po-Ka-Mon]

poptop said :

I would like water-saving haiku.

Summer in Canberra
We need our water to drink
No sprinklers for you!

Beautiful.

(I note only two syllables for Can-bruh. 😉 )

I always pay attention to these signs. I am always happy when it is reported we are under target. 🙂

Yay us.

Though it probably isn’t the best idea to use sign encouragement though. Just in case you accidentally get the percentage of the population who over-used the water that day thinking, “Yay! Go me. I’ll do that again, it was simple.”

I would like water-saving haiku.

Summer in Canberra
We need our water to drink
No sprinklers for you!

I would have no idea how much water was consumed if it weren’t for these signs. And if agree with the posts above – a bit of variety in the message could be worthwhile.

At 1pm today the sign on the Monaro Highway said yesterday’s usage was 130ML. Not 129.

I think if they’re going to tell us not to be stupid and use water when it’s rained, they could also say ”under target yay” or “good work guys” or something if we are actually under target for once (like yesterday, whichever figure you use).

Vic Bitterman5:47 pm 16 Dec 08

Now to somehow find out what their mobile number is, and use it the purposes of evil. Such as inserting other messages like “For a good time, call Thumper on….”.

chewy14 said :

OzPhoenix,
They are updated via mobile phone. They just have a sim card in them and the message can be changed by upload from a data program.

Ahhh, nice. Someone further up also mentioned an antenna on top, I’ll have to keep an eye out for that on the way home tonight as I have previously not noticed them – guess too busy reading the text.

OzPhoenix,
They are updated via mobile phone. They just have a sim card in them and the message can be changed by upload from a data program.

All this proves is that RiotAct is part of the conspiracy. The “drought” is a hoax just like global warming and the moon landing.

Genie said :

On Sunday evening the signs commanded “IT RAINED YESTERDAY SO DON’T WATER”

I thought it was awesome it was programmed to say this !!! I had a nice giggle about it too…

Me too. I have great hopes for other directives from the Borg Collective.

On Sunday evening the signs commanded “IT RAINED YESTERDAY SO DON’T WATER”

I thought it was awesome it was programmed to say this !!! I had a nice giggle about it too…

Always good to see a baseless rumour debunked.

Water use signs in perfect harmony = slow news day in the capital

“the-riotact.com sitting on the side of the road staring at relocatable information signs so you don’t have to” since 2001

I always pay them attention, and I think they’re a great way for the government to get messages out to the people.

Given how much the Gubb’mint must be paying to hire these things, why don’t they just install permanent versions on poles?

Re: updating, I would assume they have a mobile phone inside, and you just call them up and upload the message, or probably just SMS them a message. The aerial on top supports this theory.

On Sunday evening the signs commanded “IT RAINED YESTERDAY SO DON’T WATER”

Wifey pointed one out the other day that said “It rained so don’t water”. This got me thinking about the effectiveness of the message; Dunno about you guys, but I no longer pay them any attention. Perhaps the message format should change every so often to keep people noticing them?

I think they should just say “YESTERDAY 12Ml OVER” or something more direct. Saves you taking your eyes off the road then doing the mental arithmetic just to get the message.

I was pondering the same thing on the week-end, and then noticed on Saturday night that both the Parkway and the Adelaide Ave. ones seemed to be in sync.

I do wonder though, how are they programmed? Remotely or does some poor soul have to go around and manually update them all?

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