Irrigator water swap - sounds like 'water trading' ...
Prime Minister Howard has announced that permanent water trading will commence in 2007 to ensure that towns and cities do not run out of water.
Excerpt from ABC News:
Thirsty states agree to water trading
by Sabra Lane and reporters
7 November 2006
The Prime Minister, John Howard, has announced that permanent water trading will start next year after emergency talks with the leaders of New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Queensland this morning.
Mr Howard and the four premiers have been talking about solutions to the major shortage of water facing the nation, including predictions that the Murray Darling Basin could be dry within six months and the long-term security of Adelaide's water supply.
Mr Howard says they have also decided that a group of public servants will look at ways to ensure that towns and cities do not run out of water.
"We've quite specifically asked a group of officials to be convened by my department to report by the December 15, by which [they will] commence on the June 1 next year," he said.
"We've also agreed to accelerate the implementation of proposals under the national water initiative and specifically permanent interstate trading in the southern states on the first of January 2007.
"We've asked the CSIRO to report progressively by the end of next year on sustainable yields of surface and ground water systems within the basin.
"The Commonwealth will speedily process the projects presented to us by the states for assessment under our national water fund," Mr Howard said.
...
The Victorian Premier, Steve Bracks, says the trading system will ensure the water is used in the most efficient way.
"I'm obviously very pleased that as part of the decisions that we've made today that the water market will be a feature of how water is treated in the future," he said.
"Its very important that water goes to its highest value and of course resuming water trading which will happen this Friday and also the complete water trading system which will happen by the first of January next year will enable that to happen and that's a significant outcome from today and I'm very pleased."
See - Water trading gets Federal priority.
One of the options available to Toowoomba is the Norwin irrigator water swap - the irrigators have offered to either swap near-potable water for recycled water or, as an interim step, sell the near-potable water to Toowoomba.
Their proposal is something the Toowoomba City Council has studiously ignored.
It's interesting how history is repeating itself.
Earlier this year, Toowoomba City Council 'Yes' campaigners ridiculed the coal seam gas water option, saying the water was harmful. Shortly thereafter, the Federal government announced funding for Dalby to use coal seam gas water for its town water supply. Major 'egg on the face' for the Council.
The Toowoomba City Council has continually ignored the irrigators' proposals. Now the Federal government makes water trading a priority.
Toowoomba City Council should take note - if the irrigators' proposal looks and sounds like water trading (which is now a preferred option of the Federal government), it probably is ...
posted by Concerned Ratepayer at 3:32 PM
1 Comments:
Not everyone is in favour of water trading.
Interesting comments at the end re recycled water. No-one disputes what is in the Murray River and some of its end uses but those who use examples of unplanned indirect potable reuse as justification for things such as the failed Toowoomba proposal must cringe at what he has said.
From news.com.au
Water trading an evil nonsense - expert
8 November 2006
Water trading is an "evil nonsense" that is not environmentally or economically viable, a professor of meteorology says.
Peter Schwerdtfeger, from the Flinders University's Airborne Research Centre in Adelaide, said he was in favour of stopping the over-allocation of water, but agreed with little else from yesterday's crisis summit on the Murray-Darling Basin.
"Water trading as it stands now is an evil nonsense,'' he said.
"It has allowed the fallacious belief to develop that water can be sold either upstream or downstream without any consequences.
"It is not environmentally or economically viable. Water trading only works if you have a surplus of water.''
Instead, Prof Schwerdtfeger said people should be encouraged to use water more efficiently.
"Rainwater must also become to be regarded as a truly valuable resource,'' he said.
"Cities like Adelaide waste almost all of their storm-water run-off yet, in the case of Adelaide, the total rainwater that falls is nearly twice as much as it uses.''
Prof Schwerdtfeger said Australians were also reluctant to use recycled water.
But he said cities relying on the Murray should be reminded that it contained the treated waste of over half a million people and a veritable cocktail of agricultural chemicals.
Yesterday's summit brought an agreement between the federal government and states of Victoria, NSW, Queensland and South Australia to accelerate interstate water trading.
State and federal bureaucrats were also asked to draw up contingency plans for measures to deal with the drought in the short-term and report back by December 15.
9:11 PM, November 08, 2006
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