Queensland growth draining our water away (APR)
Monday 30 April 2007
The Queensland Government’s South East Queensland Regional Plan
suggests each of us should be consuming only 270 litres per person per day by
2010, 30L/person/day down on the current rate. However, this is only a small
fraction of the water we consume say conservationists.
Mr Simon Baltais, President of Sustainable Population Australia SEQ
Branch, said that the State Government neglects to highlight just how much
water is required to support a resident in SEQ.
“By way of estimation (see attached) under the current growth rate in SEQ
the savings made by reducing our consumption by 30L/person/day will be
whittled away in 6 months after just one year of growth,” said Baltais. “Even half
this estimation and the savings made are gone in 12 months.”
“In reality, thousands of litres more are required per individual per day,”
said Baltais, “and our growing unsustainable population growth is consuming
Mega Litres more in a time of diminishing rainfall and failing water supply
systems.”
Household consumption rate represents the direct use of water but is only
a small proportion of the water that is required to support a person living in South
East Queensland. It does not indicate the true use of water as it fails to identify
the indirect use, the quantity of embodied water content of the goods and
services we consume, import and export.
“While it is difficult to calculate the exact SEQ water embodied in the
goods and services required to support a resident it SEQ, it is clearly thousands
of litres more than the 270L/person/day quoted by the State Government,” said
Baltais. “The water issue is more than just about household consumption, every
time 1200 people arrive in SEQ we are losing Mega Litres of water a day before
they even turn on a tap or flush a toilet.”
For more information about this important issue:
Simon Baltais, President, SPA-SEQ, Mob: 0412 075 334
Sustainable Population Australia – SEQ Branch, Box 199, Mudgeeraba Qld 4213