Editor's note

Much of southern Australia is facing increasing water stress and capital city water supplies are falling, it’s scary stuff. However, expensive desalination plants are gearing up to supply more water and this week we took a look at why we shouldn’t be scared of treated wastewater and how well it’s working in places such as Perth and Adelaide.

I grew up in Toowoomba, and the mid-2000s were a time when my little Queensland town was dominated by debate over recycled waste. South-east Queensland was plagued by drought. At the height of the debate about treating sewage for drinking water, the three dams that supplied the town with water were less than 30% full. Level 4 water restrictions were in place, which meant The Garden City residents were allowed to water their flowers three days a week, with a bucket. Pretty tough when you’re home of The Carnival of Flowers. The Welcome to Toowoomba sign near my house was also vandalised to say Poo-woomba, and the catch-cry from the No campaigners was was a dangerous combo of alarmist medical myths and the insistence we wouldn’t be treated “like guineapigs”. Long story short, 62% of Toowoomba residents ended up voting against using recycled water and that was the end of the matter. Rain did eventually fall, dams were replenished and the carnival went on, but if it hadn’t I’ll be buggered knowing what would have happened to our parched little town.

But again, many capital city water storages are in steep decline. So what is the response of water authorities in the 2019, 13 years after Toowoomba’s ‘no’ vote? Not surprisingly, more desalination is their answer. In this piece Ian Wright and Jason Reynolds look at the best ways to ensure water security in the future.

Molly Glassey

Audience Development Manager

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The enthusiasm for recycling water that Australians had at the height of the drought little more than a decade ago has waned. Shaney Balcombe/AAP

When water is scarce, we can’t afford to neglect the alternatives to desalination

Ian Wright, Western Sydney University; Jason Reynolds, Western Sydney University

Cities relied entirely on conserving and recycling water to get through the last big drought. We now have desalination plants, but getting the most out of our water reserves still makes sense.

The largest desalination plant in Australia, Victoria’s A$3.5 billion ‘water factory’ can supply nearly a third of Melbourne’s needs. Nils Versemann/Shutterstock

Cities turn to desalination for water security, but at what cost?

Ian Wright, Western Sydney University; Jason Reynolds, Western Sydney University

Sydney and Melbourne are bringing desalination plants back on stream and Adelaide plans to increase its plant's output. Perth depends on desalination. But is it the best way to achieve water security?

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