URBAN WATER SUSTAINABILITY
Sydney’s water supply is under threat from climate change and poor management. The Metropolitan Water Plan has been a failure with Sydney’s water demand going through the roof.
Sydney households use almost 50% more water than households in Melbourne. In the years since the drought, Melbourne has implemented permanent water saving rules and an aspirational target of 155 litres per person per day. They are currently at 161 while Sydneysiders are at 300.
In 2017 experts thought Sydney would only need 600 gigalitres per year for normal use by 2040 after a population increase. Instead Sydney hit 600 gigalitres in 2019, overshooting prediction by 50 gigalitres.
The government has failed to invest in water conservation initiatives to prepare Sydney for a hotter and drier future.
The Greens are calling on the government to invest in water efficiency measures like water and stormwater recycling rather than building new dams and desalination plants.
Greater Sydney’s water supply is also under threat from Longwall Mining in the catchment. A process which sees vast underground mining tunnels dug. These tunnels cause subsidence which can crack riverbeds, drain rivers and leak toxic metals into our catchment.