Droughtbusters

Droughtbusting Aussie Bucketeers are taking matters into their own hands and recycling water from the house, to keep parched gardens alive. This potentially subversive activity is documented in the Age. And yes, I am one of them.

In related matters, the Prime Minister and Minister for Water have followed up their multi billion election bribe, with a promise that we will all be drinking sewage before too long. I am not opposed to it per se, I just think that there has to be a nicer way to say it. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth when I hear it verbalised. I really don't want to know. Just get on with it, the technology is proven and nature does a good job anyway over time. The vision of flushing the toilet and the water going straight into the water tank is the challenging image to dispel.

Here in South Australia, Premier Mike Rann was first to jump on the yuck factor, ruling out recycled sewage as an option. Ditto, Steve Bracks in Victoria, who despite a thumping election win last year still has it in the too hard basket.

The funny thing is that much of the water we drink in Adelaide has been through the bodies of many humans and animals all the way down the River Murray. We are all drinking recycled sewage every day. Even so, drinking poo poo and wee wee are just too difficult as political issues. Let's stick to law and order and stamp duty.

In other news, an Adelaide based scientist, who lead the development of Australia's Drinking Water Guidelines says he wouldn't touch the stuff. Don Bursill says that while the technology is there, the back up systems to ensure the reliability of the supply is not there yet.

In Queensland, recycled sewage will be on the menu next year because of the dire water supply situation there. A promised referendum has been poo pooed, to move the sewage drinking plans forward.

And finally, the State Opposition want to build a $400 million desalination plant, similar to the one in Perth, to meet up to 25 percent of urban water needs in Adelaide. They have even proposed locations, an abandoned refinery being one. The State Government is poo pooing that one, claiming it will be too expensive, require too much power and be a disposal option. This despite the fact that they are building one in conjunction with the developers of the huge new mining development in the north of the state. Good enough for construction workers and miners, but not good enough for the good citizens of Adelaide.