Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Project update - Just Add Water

(c) Kim V. Goldsmith, 2009, Little River Dreaming 02, digital photograph
All has been quiet on the blog front this past month as the new media works that are a part of this project have started to take shape. More video interviews have been conducted and the edited versions will be available for viewing on the blog in coming weeks.

Two videos have now been produced as part of the project, one of which is focused very much on water use in the Central West, particularly in Dubbo. Some interesting stats came to light during my research for this work:

  • On 18 March, Dubbo residential water usage was 497 litres/person/day. This equates to about 3.3 bathtubs of water per person (based on an average 150 litre bathtub).

  • The Central West catchment target for water use per person is 155 litres per person - a little more than 1 bathtub per person). This is based on high level water restrictions, however, it raises some interesting questions about our capabilities under these restrictions.

  • On 29 March the water usage in Dubbo was 713 litres/ person/day (4.75 bathtubs)...obviously not a water restriction in sight in this town.

At the Western Plains Cultural Centre hosted public forum, "Just Add Water", held in Dubbo on 26 February, Dubbo's relationship with water was explored through the eyes a Dubbo City Council representative. The following is a transcript of some of what was said on the night:

Dubbo values water very highly...I think we grow up expecting a reliable water supply in Dubbo. People like their green lawns; people enjoy seeing green playing fields...they (people outside of Dubbo) don't begrudge Dubbo having access to water and using it keep our town green...Dubbo uses about 1 gigalitre of water every year. The average flow in the Murray (River) is nearly 5,000 GL, so even if Dubbo was to reduce its usage by half and if we only used half a gigalitre instead of a gigalitre, that would be 0.01% of the flow in the Murray. What effect is 0.01% going to have on whether Lake Alexandrina has water in it or not?

Does Dubbo exist in a green bubble - isolated from its responsibilities within the wider catchment? How much are residents really prepared to pay to maintain their European style gardens in this semi-arid environment?