Together, this means actions must be taken to manage and prepare for water-insecure times. This means that it requires much more intensive treatment, which not every facility has the capacity to manage.īeyond this, climate change has multiplied the unpredictability of rainfall, and we know there are likely to be plenty more droughts and extreme weather events that will compromise the availability of water. When heavy rains fill up rivers, the water flows with a high velocity and dislodges and carries significantly more debris with it. On the other hand, flooding doesn’t guarantee a good supply of usable water, either. Droughts are frequent, which often leads to water restrictions, and there is little guarantee as to when the rains will come. Instead of putting all our eggs in one basket, we’ll use other diverse methods of supplying water to ensure there’s an adequate amount in the system under unpredictable conditions.įor example, desalination plants and water recycling are the sorts of things we’ll do to become climate resilient if there isn’t water passively coming into the system, we’ll need to make it ourselves or reuse what we’ve got.Īustralia is a dry country for the most part, and each state has different water accessibility and needs. That means it will be harder to rely on that source. But as the climate shifts and weather events become more extreme, the supply of rain will become significantly more sporadic. Water supplies in Australia rely on rain. The problem here is that rain is unpredictable beyond a few days, so there’s no guarantee of long term, sustainable rains. Some countries with cooler climates collect snow- and ice-melt that runs down from mountains, but this is far less common in Australia. Our water largely comes from rainwater that enters our major water ways (ie, in South Australia’s case, the river Murray). Water is constantly monitored through the year to ensure continued, safe standards.
Water retrieved directly from private bores or rainwater tanks will not have been. This helps inform when water is chemically considered safe enough to drink by guiding what types of molecules should and should not be present in the water, what types of disinfectants are used, as well as the impact such water has on health.Īll the water that comes through your tap from a “town water” system will have been subjected to these guidelines. In Australia, standards for potable water are dictated by the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines. Not all water can be used for these purposes, and individual countries and states manage provision of potable (safe enough to drink) water in different ways.īeyond this, climate change impacts the amount of usable water we can collect, as well as the processes that go into cleaning that water up for use. However, we could run out of usable water, or at least see a drop to very low reserves.Īs populations grow, more water is needed to sustain industries, households, and the environment.
Join our Cosmos Briefing – Water: Our most precious resource, Thursday 6 May The amount of water the world has is the same amount of water we’ve always had. Water does not leave Earth, nor does it come from space. In reality, the world won’t run out of water. What happens when water runs out? How do we ensure water security in the future? Yet, still we hear that there’s not enough water and that there’s a water crisis threatening our health and environment. Water is our most precious resource it underpins all aspects of life.
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