Antney

We live in Brisbane and as most of you are I'm sure are aware, moved to Level Five restrictions yesterday.

My major concern is that the state government doesn't seem to be tackling the water issue with any real urgency, but just keeps asking everybody to use less.

I could just be being thick, but with the Wivenhoe Dam at only 15% it's enevitable that water is eventually going to run out.

What are then general thoughts on this and have any of the newly to arrive migrants considered this major issue?

datamile

And I thought checking if the property had town water was the issue... and now town water is going to run out ?

UGLY BETTY

well I have just bucketed my washing machine water round the garden but agree we should be doing something.Can we divert the river?

themerlin

Yes I'm so glad we got our water tank, the way things are going I'm going to have to get a guard dog to stop people getting my water

yanH

Got to say that I've been amazed by the attitude that a lot of people have to the water shortage. For example in the area where I live in Sydney you are only allowed to water your garden on Tuesdays and Thursdays. However most of my neighbours seem to take this to mean that you 'have to' water your garden on Tuesdays and Thursdays. They are out there watering the grass even if there has been rain a few days previously How can people justify regularily pouring gallons of clean drinking water onto their lawn when there is a real risk that the water might run out Surely a green lawn should not be important when many of the major dams are heading towards being empty?

MartinLuther

What do you think the state government should do to tackle the problem?

DrWho

Here it's Wednesday and Sunday... and some idiot behind us waters his garden every other day regardless...

Though it does beat me slightly how somewhere with a much higher rainfall than London has a water shortage...

No doubt there's a perfectly logical answer...

yanH

Obviously more rain would help

However I think in the case of both London and Sydney one of the main problems is lack of investment and a huge increase in population.

In Sydney from what I can see the last major investment in water storage was in the 1970's. Since then the population must have increased hugely also due to changes in lifestyle the amount of water we each use has increased. It shouldn't therefore be a huge surprise that a system designed to cope with a smaller population consuming less should be struggling to cope with a larger population consuming more.

This is also true for London and probably the majority of other Australian cities suffering shortages. I would imagine that the population growth in south east Queensland over the last 20 years or so must have been huge.

themerlin

Yep, thats why we are at 15%
I think wivenhoe was the last dam build back in the 70's

hedgehog-girl

why don't you report him?? I have done this lots of time, I am outraged that people think they are safe because we live in sydney and it looks lush. These people (the ones who dont have water tanks or use grey water) have probably not ventured beyond Sydney recently so are unaware of the devastation that a drought can cause. I also cannot for the life of me understand why people think its ok to water the flippin grass when about 4 hours drive away they are struggling to water livestock!!!!

I am a bit of a water nerd, and if people waste it I report them.

*stepping off the soap box*

NedKelly

Down here the Hinze Dam is at 75% so I don't understand why we have to suffer with water restrictions when it's you lot up in Brisbane using it.

joho

Here here. We are on level 4 on the central coast. I have 5000 litre storage and use it for my washing machine and toilets and I have worked out that my next bill will be about 50 bucks it was 160 last time. We fill our pool from the bore if we need to which we have done 3 times this summer. But it makes me mad when you see someone with a sprinkler on and its bloody raining arrrgghh, I know its bore water but come on, even that wont last cause there gonna have to nick it soon.

Jo

TraceyW

I know it's low on the priority list but how do folks fill up their pools if they're not on bore when there's a water restriction? It will knacker the pump up if the waters not at the right level.

themerlin

You can still fill the pool.

TraceyW

What, when people can't water their cattle?