Picture and story by James Woodford
The pumping of water from the Shoalhaven River to top up Sydney’s supply is to be stopped for at least three years, signalling a further easing of the city’s water crisis.
The NSW Water Minister, Phillip Costa, will announce today a moratorium on the massive transfers of water from the Shoalhaven to Sydney’s Metropolitan dams and will also put measures in place to ensure Southern Highland platypus populations have enough water to breed.
Since 2003 over 810 billion litres of water has been taken from the Shoalhaven River in order to drought-proof Sydney.
Without the transfers, NSW Premier Nathan Rees, recently revealed, Sydney would have run out of water.
Last month Premier Rees said: “We transferred roughly half of our water supply each day up from Shoalhaven in the south,” he said.
“If we hadn’t been transporting water from that river and we hadn’t had water restrictions in place, our water supply would have been down to seven per cent … that essentially means people are drinking mud.”
But Shoalhaven locals regarded the pumping policy as the theft of water from their river and have been appalled at the environmental damage caused.
The policy has effectively meant that several intermediate Southern Highlands waterways have been treated like canals and kept in a state of constant flood. This has meant major impacts for the ecology of these streams and rivers.
In the Shoalhaven estuary, near Nowra, the lack of flushing has also had environmental impacts including an increase in salinity.
Minister Costa has acknowledged the transfers have caused significant erosion problems.
Although the minister cited a meeting last week with concerned locals as contributing to his decision to impose a moratorium, it was made easy by the fact Metropolitan water storages are at 65 per cent of capacity.
Also, the desalination plant is on track for completion in the summer of 2009/10.
“Because of this boost to dam levels, the great effort by water users of Sydney, massive recycling projects and the commissioning of the new desalination plant in summer
2009/10 I am able to take this action,” Minister Costa said.
Until the current platypus breeding season is over the minister has authorised a flow of 100 megalitres a day to ensure water levels remain high in the Wingecarribee River.
The long term future of the policy will now also be under consideration as part of a new Metropolitan Water Strategy.
Director of the Total Environment Centre, Jeff Angel, said the transfers from the Shoalhaven were never a good idea as they extended Sydney’s environmental impact.
“The Shoalhaven and the intermediate rivers used as channels to get the water to Sydney need a long rest,” Mr Angel said.
“It’s unfortunate the start of the desal plant is the trigger for this. It would be far preferable if we had built up recycling infrastructure instead.”
FIRST PUBLISHED SMH 7/11/08
You’ve helped raise enough public awareness to make this matter, James.
Well done!
For those in an untenable dilemma, Sydney resdidents have done a remarkable job in cutting the average daily consumption from a early 80s peak of almost 2000 ML pd to low 1700s by the end of the century, despite increased population.
Incidentally, the Shoalhaven transfer scheme was originally planned to use the Snowy Hydro technology of recovering some of the energy used to lift water in the downward phase. At a time of energy profligacy (80/90 cusp) there was a drive toabandon the dynamos as a COST, not an asset.
Similarly, in another stunning waste of resources, the MWSDB determination to extend the three (four actually, or five to be technically accurate) Sydney sewage outfalls in the 80s was an engineering solution to an environmental question – rarely a good fit.
Part of the justification was that marine disposal ” mimics the natural run-off patterns” and “makes a significant contribution to the marine food cycle..”.
Imagine instead if those flows had been turned inland, for silvivulture if nothing else.
I found a couple of sources that suggest 17% of Sydney households have rainwater tanks. That’s about all I have to say about that….
This is what they are now doing in country victoria stealing the water from the country to water melbourne.This is because of 200 years of mismanagement by water authorities.The city people will have themselves to blame when they have nothing to eat except fruit and vegies grown in the sewers of china.Australia should be the food bowl of the world not the quarry of the world.Farmers before mines,farmers put food on the tables.Corporate fools just don’t get it do they.You must remember a city cannot be allowed to run out of water pretty soon we’ll have pipe lines running all over the place the government don’t care about water they care about how much they can sell it for.Imagine how many millions the government lost on water restrictions the amount would have been astronomical.Rainwater tanks should be compulsory for every home it just makes common sense.Free water for every one with a lesson to go along with it look after your water or run out.Quick money never works it always has a cost sustainable money of course is better,lasts longer…