Debnam’s Water Plan not good enough

Letter to the editor, Inner West Weekly:

Re: “Desalination is on the way”, p.9, Inner West Weekly, 15/2/7.

The big curiosity in the Iemma Government’s attitude is exactly why it is determined to block alternative methods and commit the State to a desalination plant.

Leadership is required to show the public the desirability of reducing, reusing and recycling water as the answer to conditions of drought. The Iemma Government is not providing this, instead it has has been engaging in scare campaigns about drinking toilet water.

The Greens, of course, reject the desalination plant. In addition to its high cost, water from a desalination plant is, as Premier Bob Carr originally remarked, ‘bottled electricity’. At a time when it is urgent to conserve energy due to global warming, the high energy consumption of a desalination plant rules it out of consideration.

Mr Debnam’s sewer recycling plan is better than a desalination plant, however just introducing Level IV water restrictions alone would deliver the same benefit as Mr Debnam’s plan.

The Greens are calling for:

* Doubling the current rebates on rainwater tanks
* Improving household water efficiency
* Enhancing BASIX
* Immediately introducing Level IV water restriction