I think all are agreed, household rainwater tanks are a very fine idea. For over a year, I've been pushing that 20,000 litre tanks be made both compulsory, whereever they can be fitted into gardens or yards, and "free." That is, the state or councils borrow the money on the capital market and recover it from the rates over 20 years, or sooner. The minimum rain here is about 500 mm pa, I think the average roof area is something like 200 square metres, so we can catch at least 100,000 litres annually and need about 40,000 litres storage per household (as the folk around Samford are all finding).

We use about 280 litres per person per day, so 100,000 litres per person annually, a world record. So we do have to learn to cut back. Houses here all approximate to small palaces. My Dad went to North Africa to argue with Rommel's men. They had two litres per day for quite a while. We can economise yet

But, there remain some problems. Someone has estimated that, when you consider all the cars and packets of chips, we use about a million litres per person, for this grand lifestyle of ours. Some of that water we of course import by buying goods from China made with their scarce water. But we are still probably using five to ten times what we can catch from the roofs. The total area covered by the roofs in SEQ is small, maybe five percent, probably less, I do not know. So it is better to catch the storm runoff via groundwater wells and weirs on the creeks. But where does that leave the wildlife, or the huge amount of life underground in the rocks, so often forgotten, but probably critical to the biosphere? That was partly why I suggested drilling near the shoreline.

We have a problem with under-city groundwater. You get a free sterilization program, from the xeno-estrogens, effective at parts per trillion and so unfilterable except by distillation. Never mind the asbestos from the roofs and the brakes.

Hence the Burdekin pipeline.

"My dad went to North Africa to argue with Rommel's men. They had two litres per day for quite a while. We can economise yet."
Yes, indeed we can:
Divide the current average individual's water useage by two litres, and we can multiply the present population by that same factor?
It will take time, but if the population keeps going continuously, they will get there eventually. One per cent growth rate has a doubling time of 70 years, two per cent about 35, --- make your choice for the arrival time of that two litres.
Don't disturb that sacred and everlasting growth. Bung in a Burdekin-Brisbane pipeline as a patch for present problems.
When the future residents complain about their two litres ration of water, let them all drink beer.

The cost of Burdekin piped water is $5-$6/Kl wholesale. But this is based on the continual use of the water from the pipe as prime supply. And that will destroy the economics of the existing Wivenhoe system ($400 million at 1975 prices).

If the Wivenhoe system continues to supply even half the market then the cost of the Burdekin water will go up even further. At the moment Wivenhoe water produces a profit when sold at $0.17/Kl wholesale and $0.96/Kl retail. It will produce even greater profits when the retail price goes up to $2.40/Kl as recently announced. That profit will completely disappear if the volume sold is halved.

So we will be left with a Wivenhoe system operating at a loss and paying $6 to $10/Kl for a Burdekin pipeline operating at half capacity. Toss in recycling and a stack of other high cost and long term supply options that are also costed on a full capacity assumption and the economics of water will be completely stuffed.

And Beattie will go down in history as one of the most incompetent morons to ever hold public office.

Yeah but Perseus no-one’s doubting that the economics don't stack up. That’s not the issue. The urgency of addressing the water crisis in SEQ is the issue.

Colinsett: Can we make “Let them drink beer” our joint motto? May I have your permission to print the tee shirts, if you do not want that for yourself?

I share your nightmare about unending growth and have frothed at the mouth about the current surfeit of manic-depressive monkeys since about '74, when FOE paid me to do. Take any six people, look around, guess which five will volunteer for euthanasia in the best interests of the environment? Not me, Jack. I’m alright I tell ya, back off with that thing!

Any growth economy is carcinogenic, seems to me, to all except the tumour cells. So, as a card-caeeying tumour cell myself, I am for winding it all down slowly, till the inevitable cuts in. Populations of animals that explode exponentially tend to plunge almost vertically, it is generally not a gentle Bell Curve descent, ecology repeatedly records. That lot seems to be able too care for itself.

Perseus: Thanks for the cost figures, they're a help. But, the dams may run dry in 18 months, did I mention?

So I am not overly desperate about how much who in SEQ has to pay for a kilolitre, or for the shot economics of the Wivenhoe project. Just want enough kilolitres to be here, so that most folks keep their jobs and can water their kids. And so the old age homes and hospitals and post offices and kindergartens and such can operate. Most folks and most industries are tightening their belts without whingeing, have you noticed?

But there are limits. My old man did not say 2 litres was much fun, just that they survived. Have run dry on long traverses, don’t recommend it, much. It gets difficult to think. As you see. On another trivial note, I used to sell trees from here, it was for a few years my main income. Down a bit now, made about 20 bucks, this last six months, Dunno why, I’m just getting slack. I guess. Not entirely academic, here.

We need the Burdekin popeline. And we need itt to start yesterday/

Peter.

Peter,
I view the Burdekin-Brisbane pipeline proposal as marginally better than digging a 3X3X3 hole in order to bury the dirt previously excavated from a 2X2X2 hole.
"Let them drink beer" is all yours. I have spent enough time north and west of the line which carries the old title "the OP Rum belt" to be able to get by with an alternative.
Colin