'Water police' crack down in an ever-drier Australia

Profligate shower-takers may find their water supply cut to a trickle as country endures a long drought made worse by global warming.

from the April 5, 2007 edition

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"People are sometimes hostile, but the majority are understanding," says Brendan Elliott of Sydney Water, the utility that pipes water to 4 million people. "If they've done the wrong thing, most people will freely admit it."

By issuing 5,600 infringement notices and running an education campaign, Sydney's water consumption has been cut by 13 percent over the past three years.

In the neighboring state of Victoria, the attitude toward water-wasters is even tougher. The state's water authority recently threatened to reduce to a trickle the water supply of householders who repeatedly ignore water restrictions. Earlier this month a repeat offender was punished by cutting his supply from 10.5 to 0.5 gallons a minute – sufficient for drinking and cooking, but not enough for a shower.

The draconian measures lasted 48 hours. Dennis Cavagna, managing director of South East Water, admitted the punishment was harsh. "It's very tough, but I think it just shows we've got to be serious about this," he said.

Coercion is just one way Australia is reacting to its water crisis. Another is planning big new infrastructure projects. Sydney is due to start building its first desalination plant in July to convert seawater into drinking water. The A$1.9 billion project is controversial. Environmentalists call desalinated water "bottled electricity" because of the amount of coal-generated power needed to strip it of its salt.

Perth, in Western Australia, recently built a desalination plant, another is under consstruction on the Gold Coast of Queensland, and Adelaide and Melbourne are considering similar facilities.

Just as contentious is a plan by Brisbane to turn sewage into drinking water. The state government had planned to hold a A$10 million referendum on the subject, but in January said that the drought was so acute that it would forge ahead without public consultation.

The decision outraged some city inhabitants, concerned that recycled effluent could cause serious health problems.

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