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11 comments on The Bullroarer - Saturday 16 February 2008
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Nothing wrong with drinking recycled water - so long as you don't mind growing man-boobs due to all the hormones in it of course :-)
Many years ago I was living in London (with all expenses paid courtesy of my employer at the time) and along with my co-workers developed mild paranoia about (a) lead piping, and (b) recycled water (there is a widespread belief that on average London drinking water has passed through 7 other people before it gets to you) - as a result we used Perrier for almost everything - including cooking rice and pasta (but not showering).
On a serious note, I'd also add that rainwater tanks should be made mandatory for all new buildings - this would also do an immense amount for making our existing dam water supplies stretch a lot further.
Do you not see the irony in decrying new dams, then with the next breath advocating rainwater tanks? Why is one device for retaining rainfall bad, and the other good? Forestalling the obvious rejoinder, note that new-dam advocates are not saying they should be in already-tapped catchments: http://blogs.news.com.au/heraldsun/andrewbolt/index.php/heraldsun/commen...
The issue here is one of scale and circumstance.
Placing a (large) dam in the catchment (if there are available sites) removes that water from use further downstream. This is one of the issues regarding environmental flows... eg the Snowy River. Secondly, what is the point of said large dam if it doesn't rain OR if the climate changes rendering that investment moot?
RE Rainwater tanks.
Given that 80 - 90 % of Australians are urbanites and mostly located in the big capitals... rain falling in our cities by and large just goes straight down the drain and out to sea. Streams and rivers receiving stormwater run-off are degraded from the flashy flows. The rain caught in tanks in urban environments can serve a dual purpose. Relieving stress on the drinking water supply by using rainwater for the garden and toilet (if you don't feel like drinking it) and potentially leading to partial rehabilitation of urban streams by catching a portion of the runoff thus reducing the intensity of flash flows (which also periodically drown people).
All the paving and hard surfaces in cities has changed the local hydrology. In Melbourne the extensive dry period has led to drying of soils (which receive less infiltration from rain) which has led to cracking of walls.