W/O Strong Rainfall Totals, Melbourne Has Just Over 1 Year's Water In Reservoirs - Age

[hatrack]

MELBOURNE has just 63 weeks' of water left in its dams, based on zero rainfall during that time, according to forecasts by a leading water expert.

Professor Peter Cullen, a commissioner with the National Water Commission, calculated that while Melbourne's dams contained 63 weeks' supply, Sydney's had 101 weeks and Adelaide's had just 32 weeks. Brisbane's and Canberra's dams contained 68 weeks' supply, and Perth's 65 weeks.

Professor Cullen made the forecasts at a corporate water forum in Melbourne yesterday. The figures were based on the present levels of water restrictions in each state and assumed no rainfall over that period.

Melbourne's water stores yesterday remained at 28.5 per cent, holding nearly 505,000 million litres. This time last year, the city's dams were 48.6 per cent full, holding 862,000 million litres.

EDIT

http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/06/14/1181414466873.html?from=top5

[phantom power]

1. Melbourne: population 3.8 million

Sydney: population 4.2 million
Adelaide: 1.1 million
Brisbane+Canberra: 2.1 million
Perth: 1.5 million

I wonder if those 12.7 million people have a plan for a day they turn on the faucet and no water comes out. Sounds like that day might be a year or so from now.

[oscarmitre]

4. I live in Adelaide

We get much of our water from the River Murray and several rural towns in the state's arid north have water piped from the Murray to them. Rainfall has always been a problem for us. The Murray is being despoiled upstream by cotton farmers (!) and irrigators but our federal government has a coalition party which is held in thrall to these producers so nothing constructive is being done about it. We're about to get tighter water-usage restrictions but it's even worse in some areas in other States. It's naturally arid in most of our state but water is definitely a serious issue for us. I agree with the comment that Australia is the canary in the coal mine, problem is the owner of the canary (federal government) is deaf.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_australia

[phantom power]

6. Wow. So, what is the zeitgeist down there?

Are people really worried about this situation, or are they feeling like the rains will come? Are people getting angry with the govt?

I live in Arizona, and really the situation here in the American southwest isn't that different, except maybe we're 5-10 years behind your predicament. The governors of the "colorado river states" are talking about the issue, but very little action has been taken. And if the drought lasts long enough, I'm not sure how much could be done. Conservation only goes so far. Although we should be starting that now rather than later.

[XemaSab]

2. I'm assuming this includes calculated evaporation?

K&R

[Zodiak]

3. This is bad

We are about to find out how thin the line between civilization and anarchy are. No water means global panic, and Australia is just the canary in the coal mine.

Oh well, I always thought it would be nuclear war that did us in (still might be...we'll see when the situation starts to become desperate). Global warming is just another example of how humans are incapable of getting their shit together because we always listen to the wrong people.

[roguevalley]

5. awesome to ponder just how terrible this might turn out to be.

desalination. NOW!

[hogwyld]

7. Your nuclear war theory might come true

Considering the water troubles in China, and the sparseness of the population in eastern Russia, and the abundance of water there in Siberia, things could get real nasty.