One thing about water that I would love to know is why people are opposed to drinking recycled sewage. Australians travel more than people of any other country, and most of us have drunk water in London, Paris etc. All this water contains recycled sewage. Again, if you think about our catchment areas and the water that flows over cow pats, kangaroo droppings, etc., it should be obvious that even catchment water has to be purified. Purification is not new technology, being over 100 years old. The media have not been full of reports of people in Europe dying from water poisoning. So what is the problem? Perhaps it is the basic distrust of government that pervades Australia.

GlenWriter said:
'What is the good of a rainwater tank when it doesn't rain?
You are left with a bill for an empty rainwater tank.
Should the townships of Goulburn and Toowoomba, the towns lacking in water buy rainwater tanks?'

Since last August, Goulburn has had over 550mm of rain. How many litres is that off a 100 square metre roof? Worth saving as much possible, isn't it? Rainwater tanks need to be heavily subsidised or made free and mandatory, right across Australia.

Ev,
How many litres?
Enough litres of water to increase the population another million that Australia would need more water and more rainwater tanks and more rain.
Decrease the population, don't increase it.

Having faith in a person like Turnbull, who may have bought their way into political power, showing he's incapable of being elected on merit, is a sociological death wish.

There'll be nothing done, bringing new dams on line will take years, the same with desalination, recycling. Whilst economic growth continues, requiring more and more people, commercial expansion and water. By the time they get around to doing something, the problem will probably double, as climate changes have effect, it'll get worse. Water problems are like other aspects of our society, their in crisis yet we have baboons running the country and brain dead clones administering it.

If you don't do something for yourself, no matter who you are, you'll become a victim of your own making. Who cares whether a 5 kl or 1 kl tank is best, or whether an in ground or above ground grey water recycler is best. If you don't have anything it doesn't matter.

Talk of 700 lt a day consumption, with recycling and proper use you can easily half that. In our two houses, we wouldn't use that much in a week maybe two. When you actually rely on the rain, you understand how precious water really is.

Lets hope those secure in their boxes on boxes surrounded by boxes, don't get too upset when they turn the tap on and nothing comes out. Still your free to argue and complain about it until your throats too parched to speak, in a worse case scenario. You can live on 5 lt a day if you just drink and cook with it, most people waste 5 lt when they turn on the tap.

Here's your real water villain.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/home-ownership-costello-blames-states/2006/08/13/1155407675039.html

This article shows that Peter Costello and John Howard want to screw Sydney and NSW by boosting land releases in and immigration into Sydney. Since Sydney gets about 100,000 of the Feral Government's 140,000 focused immigrants and over 50,000 of their bloody cars, every year, we KNOW that Sydney is being SECRETLY singled out for bastardisation here. Sydney's living standards are decreasing, NSW citizens are being forced to pay for it and the rest of Australia is laughing at us while their average living standards are increasing, particularly in Costello's Melbourne Liberal eyrie.

Costello needs to be politically crushed and recycled like our water (with or without an immigration program). I'm sure we can find a use for him where he can do no more harm .. outside of politics. And meanwhile, a stabilisation of the numbers of people living in Sydney will give NSW time to catch up on living standards with the rest of this great nation. THAT is only fair and that is proper JUSTICE.

If Sydney needs skills in 10 years time we can expand State Government sponsored education programs or like 'Barry' Iemma is doing, we can poach skills from Qld. We cannot rely on Federal Liberal to do anything for skills in Sydney other than lower our lliving standards and our EXPECTATIONS with focused political immigration schemas.

Let me tell you that if NSW puts up a "Sydney closed to immigrants" sign then in 10 years time SE Qld will be so debased, overcrowded and short of water that skilled people will be flocking to Sydney at our beck and call.

And Malclom Turnbull? .... Who?

Greg Cameron -

If you pay off the $3000 5kL rainwater tank system over 15 years at 7 per cent, the repayments are $330/year. If you get 75kL per year that is $4.40/kL. Add that to the $0.40/kL that Greg quotes (which I assume is for operation and maintenance, electricity for pumping, etc.) and you have $4.80/kL. That is not a bargain for the average householder. SEQ could probably get desalinated water for $2.50 to $3.00/kL, until energy prices go higher, and recycled water for $1.50 to $2.00/kL.

Second, the quality is not as good as town water (considering the birds on the roof, etc.), so it is not really fair to compare the prices. Town water, including desalinated or recycled, is a superior product, so we should expect to pay more for it.

Do you see it differently Greg?