this charming man

whatever next? phones that you can use outdoors?

joho

Ok so which lucky drought state and areas would get this water seeing as most of bottom half of the country has a problem with water shortage, then there's the digging up of peoples property/land to think about for the pipes to run through, the amount of time it would take.

We have a missing link in our damn system which still hasnt been fixed and thats only about 100 miles.

Nice in theroy but financially what government woud want to start something thats unlikely to be completed in their term.

Jo

hoofie2002

Because there are more votes in spending money on faster porn downloads and handing out cash than spending it on infrastructure projects that will secure Australia's future.

lastere

the guy in pic 8 is da bomb. that's what i'm talking about baby!
yeehawww!

ExKiwilass

This thread is making me giggle.

anyway, I thought the drought was the worst in recorded history??? I mean, it (the rural drought) was going on when I was there 7 years ago. How long has it been now??

my 2 cents: necessity is the mother of invention. if it comes to that, I bet the australian government will find a way to get water from north to south.

ExKiwilass

now I"ve actually read the article and it's no laughing matter. That is heartbreaking. I'm from a rural background and I really feel for these farmers because there's nothing they can do except pray that it rains soon.

Seriously, how much longer can this go on before it affects the cities?

slipshot

How? By a pipe is the only way and in my view, exactly what they should be doing.

Look at some of the massive pipelines in the world - some travel easily this distance although most carry oil rather than water. But it is certainly feasible, would be a long term project since there's nothing that says it HAS to be finished by x-date and would be a massive help to those in the south.

The facts rae that the south has little water, the north has too much. A couple of massive pipelines, following the existing roads, would be feasible and practicle.

Sure, it's long term but something has to be started.

What's the volume of a desalination plant and the cost - and the upkeep and power usage versus a pipeline and pumping stations - and quantity!

joho

It amazes me though how many Australians have little regard for water, they water their gardens with tap water, some of them just dont care cause it wont affect their life time. I am an avid saver of water, we have tanks that flush our toilets and wash are clothes. When running water for washing up (not often cause we have dishwasher our only naughty) I run the water into an old milk container until the hot starts to come through, then use that to cool it down again or fill our water filter in fridge or the dogs drinking bowl or kettle. I have a big container outside under a gutter that collects water that I use to water my pot plants etc. My water bill is only $80 (gonna be more this time cause our pump broke and we had to go back to mains for a couple of months). Most of my neighbours bills are around the $200+ mark and water is cheap up here and we are a family of 5.

Water savings can start in the home and to blame it all on lack of rain or the government is not always fair, after all the ones in now never put the damns in the wrong place did they.

One day they may have to look at piping water down but I cant see that happening for a long while yet.

Jo

ExKiwilass

Yes, there's an oil pipe near where I live.

ExKiwilass

You think it's bad in Australia, it's worse in Canada. the amount of water wasted here is nauseating. Of course, we still have plenty of rain, so it doesn't matter yet.

Wol

Yes.

If you get right down to fundamentals, we *all* live by the grace of the farming community, ever since the agricultural revolution.

Before agriculture began to be able to produce in excess of what each worker needed, everyone had to grow their own food. The industrial revolution, and our standard of living now, wouldn't be remotely possible without farming and its excess capacity.

Wol

True - but it's also a fact that the population here has been brainwashed into feeling guilty about water use.

Sydney, for example, has almost twice the annual rainfall of London (which is often mocked by Australians for being wet and gloomy). Since the Warragamba was built some thirty years or more ago, the population has tripled and there has been absolutely no political effort to increase the storage of the catchment. All the emphasis has been on making people feel bad about using water and to forget that the government has totally failed to provide the infrastructure.

By luck and several massagings of the available levels in the dams, they (we) have got away with it by the skins of our teeth. But come the predicted drought, there WILL be serious and critical shortages even where there's more rainfall per year than we could possibly use.

sonlymewalter

It's called smoke screening the real issue and blame culture. Happens all the time. There's little if any accountability and often solutions are found based on effect rather than cause. It's also hindered by *jobs for mates*

There's lots about Aus that's great and lucky - but dealing with real issues is not one of them

bcworld

Which is especially interesting when you consider the origins of the phrase, 'the lucky country' from Donald Horne's book of the same name:

'Australia is a lucky country, run by second-rate people who share its luck.'

sonlymewalter

I wouldn't say Aussies were "second rate people" in fact I reckon most are first class and have welcomed us with open arms [speaking from our personal experience] - however I would say their work practices certainly are pretty *ordinary*