Next time it's too wet to work on the car...........

alan s · Post by **alan s** » 04 Jan 2007, 18:01

Think about the opposite situation:

http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/stor ... 52,00.html

Sobering sight isn't it?

Alan S

jeremy · Post by **jeremy** » 04 Jan 2007, 18:10

We've got the same problem here - believe it or not parts of London Kent and Sussex have had (and still have) hosepipe bans since June last year.

Most of the reason would seem to be poor regulation of the water industry - who prefer to loose 25 - 30% of the water in leaks (probably more if someone looked hard.) Climate change has provided everyone with the perfect excuse and no-one seems bothered.

alan s · Post by **alan s** » 04 Jan 2007, 18:29

We have some dams down to just over 10% capacity but we also have the added drama of evaporation.
It has to be the coolest Summer I can remember where I am and whilst I'm not complaining about that (it's usually so bloody hot it's unbearable) it also means that there is little chance of significant rain as we usually have long, hot, high humid periods for sometimes weeks before the rains come. At present the only forecast is a "maybe" around March.
Meantime, our mentally deficient Government is on a permanent campaign to get people to move here (they claim 1500 a week are arriving) and we look like having most of them die of thirst when they get here the way it's looking.
The only conclusion that we can draw from this mentality, is that they'll probably all be stuck in gridlocks on the over congested roads so won't be home to use the water.

Alan S

AndersDK · Post by **AndersDK** » 04 Jan 2007, 21:17

weird

here abouts we had absolutely record high warm summer - the complete year in fact - during 2006.
also this autumn has been record warm - and still the winter has not come in yet !. result was/is loads of rain water - also in record figures.
usually we have frost (average some -2) now this time in january, but the average is around +6, not a sign of frost or snow, but wet, wet, wet & windy.

alan s · Post by **alan s** » 04 Jan 2007, 22:40

We had an almost green Winter this year, about the only thing that stopped it was the drought, but to put it into perspective, we have deciduous trees that didn't lose their leaves in fact one that even flowered at the time it should have been looking like a big skeleton.
We did have a green winter a couple of years back, which is a dangerous thing as it allows grasses to grow a bit rampant and as soon as the hot and dry weather starts, it all dies and becomes a major fire hazard. A couple of weeks ago, it was reported that 1,000,000 acres was alight in one huge fire down in Victoria......that's one big fire!
At present, we are still sleeping with a blanket on the bed whereas usually it's full on air/con. A couple of years back, we ran the air/cons non stop 24/7 for almost 2 months.
Kidding that didn't do wonders for the electricity bill.

Alan S

mezuk04 · Post by **mezuk04** » 04 Jan 2007, 23:11

Its disgusting how the customers are penalised for the waste, yet the majority of wasting water comes from knackered and old pipes that are to expensive to repair, that never makes it to the taps to get wasted.

Johnno · Post by **Johnno** » 05 Jan 2007, 14:03

Things certainly look bad down in Oz. Perhaps the English Cricket Team could use the drought as an excuse?

I have to declare my interest here and state that I work for one of the major water companies. Without excusing under-investment, I believe one of the problems is that water has historically been too cheap (pause, wait for screaming and abuse!). When I was living in ChCh, NZ, very few households had meters and thus paid only a fixed amount per year - ditto the UK. As a consequence, water wastage was rife and the wonderfully pure aquifers under the city were put at serious risk. Perhaps a sliding scale is required in order to give everyone a basic allowance but penalises heavy use. Let's face it; around a £1 to deliver a thousand litres of drinking water to your house and remove the waste for treatment ain't bad. Especially when a pint of beer can set you back £2.50 (at those prices, you can guess where I live!).

UFO · Post by **UFO** » 06 Jan 2007, 06:21

In the area serviced by Sydney Water, which is the Sydney basin. Blue Mountains and Illawarra, we now do pay on a sliding scale. Use more and you pay more. You are right though that it is still cheap.

We do however pay additional costs for standard provision of services plus sewerage costs. Of course the sewerage costs are unmeterd, but...

What is most frustrating is that major agricultural concerns that draw their water from the inland Murray/Darling basin, pay about 1% of the price to pull water from the river system, while we in cities are made to feel like environmental vandals for even thinking about washing our cars once a month on the lawn.

There is another catch too. Because the previously mentioned Sydney Water is a govt enterprise, they do not want to reduce their return to the coffers because the customers are using less water. So as we all use less water the price per kl gradually creeps up and up every few months. Our home water use has gone down in the past three years but the bills haven't.

Clogzz · Post by **Clogzz** » 06 Jan 2007, 14:53

parts of London Kent and Sussex have had (and still have) hosepipe bans since June last year.

Quite a task to provide water for such a large population.
How about this for mismanagement in the land of wide-open spaces:
Where we live, the ‘Gold Coast’, about 60 miles south of Brisbane, rainfall is over 1,5 metres per year, more than double what the South-East of England gets, but we also have water restrictions.
The area has about 500,000 inhabitants, is the size of an English county, but hosepipes are allowed only every second day to water gardens before 8:00AM and after 4:00PM.
No hosing of cars, pavements or buildings.

our mentally deficient Government is on a permanent campaign to get people to move here (they claim 1500 a week are arriving)

Claim that can’t be substantiated, of course.
And no talk of those leaving or returning south in disgust, as I would like to do.
Story here, hoping it won’t get censored:

http://www.rightsatwork.com.au:81/commu ... .php?t=418

they'll probably all be stuck in gridlocks on the over congested roads

The car detector at Queensland traffic lights is planted about 30 metres before the stop line.
As you get closer to the equator, the sun sets faster, and a few months ago I stopped at a traffic light that had just turned red under my nose at dusk.
By the time it turned green, it had got noticeably darker.

Sydney has more chance to solve its traffic problems than this place.

alan s · Post by **alan s** » 06 Jan 2007, 21:30

Clogzz wrote:
The car detector at Queensland traffic lights is planted about 30 metres before the stop line.
As you get closer to the equator, the sun sets faster, and a few months ago I stopped at a traffic light that had just turned red under my nose at dusk.
By the time it turned green, it had got noticeably darker.
Sydney has more chance to solve its traffic problems than this place.

That was possibly the shadows from all those 30/50 story highrises they've built wall to wall down there.

I always reckoned my best view of the Gold Coast was through the rear view mirror as I drove the Pantec with all our furniture in it out of there almost 20 years ago. Never seen any place so beautiful turned into such ah ugly mess as quickly as it was. Warren Mitchell (Alf Garnrtt) upset them when I was there by describing the place as an eyesore and suggested it should be all knocked down, start again and this time get it right. That was aound 1980 so wonder what he'd say now?
It hasn't seen a tidal surge since 1974 and I was there for that, so the next one should be "interesting." I was involved in search and rescue work on that one and houses down Monaco street had roofs 20 foot below the surface of the water; that should put it into perspective, and that wasn't a tsunami as such, but a tidal surge from a cyclone way off the coast.

Alan S

PS: Interesting forum in that link; my thoughts exactly.

alan s · Post by **alan s** » 07 Jan 2007, 01:54

Well Clogzz, it looks like Real Estate sales are going down judging on the beat up in todays paper.

http://www.news.com.au/sundaymail/story ... 02,00.html

Alan S

Clogzz · Post by **Clogzz** » 08 Jan 2007, 12:51

Hi Alan,

Many thanks for that.
I told HER that I didn’t want to live in a flood zone, but she badly wanted this house.
We’re at the southern end of Laguna Avenue, very near Currumbin Creek.
The street’s residents of long standing told us that the downpour of 18 months ago was worse than the 1974 flood, even though we weren’t affected, but our turn will come.

On the way home from work, Ferry Road and Bundall Road at a firm standstill.
Easiest on the nerves, but not on the eyes, is the drive home over the chintzy seafront, along the turrets and kitsch built mostly in the era of Joh Bananas and the white shoe brigade.
They should pull the place down and not rebuild it, tell everyone to return ‘home’, and let the crows and bats repossess the place.

House prices should sink to their rightful bottom.
At our end of the street they’re still dreaming of $450,000 for a late 60’s yellow brick veneer.
Next door been for sale for well over a year … still no takers.

alan s · Post by **alan s** » 08 Jan 2007, 20:41

I was there in '74 (bottom end of 7th avenue) and Laguna went close but didn't go under due to its proximity to Currumbin Creek mouth.
Prices are outrageous even up here. A neighbour of mine shifted a chmphorboard place onto a block and before he could even get a fence up, he was approached by an agent asking if he wanted to sell.
Price? "A$600K with a bullet" when asked by him about my place it was guesstimated at $800K to $1 million which is absolutely stoopid.
Neighbour over the back sold out; had $540K on it, took an offer of around $460 and by the time they'd paid agents commisiion and legals to sell and then to buy, ended up living in one of those 'Ghetto' developments they're doing up here which was a far cry from living on 5 acres with 180 sea views.
Problem was, they sold early in the "boom" then decided they'd have a holiday and screwed around for 12 months by which time prices had gotten out of control.
BTW, this might look a bit O/T but with the number always talking of heading to "the promised land" it doesn't do them any harm to see the dark side IMO.

Alan S