Sydney Water Crisis Intensifies - Reuters

[hatrack]

SYDNEY - "More than 200 years after the first English settlers dropped anchor in Sydney Harbour to take on drinking water, Australia's largest city is running out of the stuff. As one of the country's worst droughts drags on with little hope of relief, capacity at Sydney's main dam is at a record low, with fresh water supplies assured for only about three years.

At present consumption levels, the city will face an annual water shortage of 200 billion litres (53 billion gallons) by 2030. "Sydney is using more water than is sustainable," the New South Wales (NSW) state government's "Water for Life Plan" said.

The city's 1.5 million households used over 500 billion litres (132 billion gallons) of water in the year to June 30, 2004 -- equivalent to the contents of Sydney Harbour. But now capacity at Warragamba Dam, which supplies about 80 percent of Sydney's fresh water, has dwindled to just 37.2 percent. "There would have been about three and a half years of water left in the water storage system," said Marion Bennett, head of Sydney's water directorate."

EDIT

http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/30713/story.htm

[phantom power]

1. Interesting. 70% is residential consumption.

Figures I usually see from the US put residential at around 10%. I suppose it depends a lot on what the local industries are.

It's amusing when people say things like this: "any rise in the price of water will be politically sensitive". Nobody ever mentions the political repercussions of running out of water, as the relevant comparison.

[amandabeech]

2. Shades of things to come in the U.S.,

particularly in the Southwest.