Water restrictions: Where's all the warda?

God politicians are crap. And it's a universal disease.

So after years of encouraging every Tom, Dick and Johnny Foreigner to move to Queensland, particularly Brisbane, because of the skills shortage, years of banning rainwater tanks in the city because they look unsightly, years of not receiving enough rain in the dam they accidentally made in the wrong place for Brisbane, and years of passing the potential problem onto the next government, lo and behold! Brisbane's running out of warda - duh!

Yes folks, it is a catalogue of blunders and not-giving-a-monkeys by a succession of rubbish state governments that has led Brisbane and the Gold Coast to start panicking (finally) over their depleting water levels. Here are some facts I have gathered from tinternet: The Wivenhoe dam is Brisbane's major source of water. Completed in 1985, it has a water capacity of two and a half times that of Sydney Harbour (wikipedia!). The rain clouds have since stopped bothering to cross the mountain ranges inland to drop their load there (Greg Roberts, The Australian, 25.10.2006) and consequently this dam level is currently at 15.85% of its capacity (SEQ Water 12.12.2007).

Brisbane and the Gold Coast are now on level 6 (out of 8) water restrictions which means you are only allowed to water some of the garden with a watering can between certain times and you are only allowed to wash parts of your car with a bucket. It does not specify how many times you can refill your watering can/bucket, you can still top up that all important swimming pool and if you're an OAP you can still use a hose anyway. Residents are being encouraged to have 4 minute showers and to only use 140 litres per person per day (http://www.target140.com.au/). In a reversal of previous policy, Brisbane City Council is now encouraging its residents to buy rainwater tanks with a government rebate as long as all the household services use tank rather than mains water. Household using more than 800 litres per day will be fined up to $1050. Presumably if you use 799 litres per day you don't incur any penalty? Although households are connected to water meters, they do not pay for the amount they use, they only pay a flat water rate. Australians are surprised by the idea that water restrictions are in place in the UK.

Nobody yet knows what level 7 and 8 restrictions will involve.

Short of drinking your own urine, my advice is to stay/live somewhere that doesn't have all this messing about with water: Northern Territory, Tasmania, parts of New South Wales and the Sunshine Coast for example. At the moment on the Sunny Coast it seems to be raining at least once a day, usually at night though which is more convenient. As a result our rainwater tank is overflowing. Our property's not on mains water - cuts rates by about half. If we're desperate we can order more water to be delivered (probably from someone else's mains water). Apparently Noosa is on level 2 restrictions (you can still water your garden and wash your car) but, from what I can gather from Noosa residents, it's a grudging concession to some idiot politician's declaration that Noosa residents are unAustralian in their attitude to saving water while the rest of the country is struggling. Noosa's currently got more water than you can shake a stick at - if you so wanted - so most Noosa residents would probably happily tell that man to bog off, or the equivalent in Australianese.

Live somewhere wet. Get a tank. Simple as (as they say in oz).