Front page in the Sydney Morning Herald today was the rather alarming statement that consumption of water in Australia was more than 1.2 million cubic metres per head population.
Fortunately there was a mistake. It should be 1.2 million cubic litres of water. (see Australian Bureau of Statistics www.abs.gov.au , search for water consumption).
By coincidence, we received our Sydney Water bill today. We are always somewhat self concious by our lack of participation in the water saving exercise being encouraged by right-minded people. We do not reuse our laundry water and do not have a water tank for our garden. A quick calculation revealed that our usage was 110 kilolitres per head last year, which turned out to be the average household water use.
Importantly, the figures show that household use is only 10% of the total water use. If the authorities want to get over the current serious drought, they should be looking elsewhere. Even if we can drastically cut down water usage in the households, we would make only a small dent in the total water consumption.
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On the subject of water, an interesting letter I found in the Age a while ago.
When it takes 5000 litres to make a Big Mac
October 12, 2006
I AM an irrigator. On our farm we normally use about 1,500,000,000 litres of irrigation water annually to supplement the 2,400,000,000 litres of rain that falls on our 600 hectares. More rain, less irrigation water needed, but overall water is absolutely essential for our farm system. With reasonable rain and availability of irrigation water we produce 3,000,000 litres of milk and about 30,000 kilograms of beef and veal annually. This output also depends on 800 tonnes of wheat we buy annually from neighbours who use about 180,000,000 litres of rain plus irrigation water to grow it. So overall it takes about 1500 litres of water to produce a litre of milk in our farming system. Trials have shown this to be at the top end of the water efficiency scale.
The picture for other efficient farming systems can be calculated easily and shows the litres of water to produce a kilogram of yearling beef is about 40,000; lamb, 60,000; rice, 1600; wheat, 2000; peaches 450. And rest assured that our farmers are among the best on the planet in achieving these water use efficiencies.
The water debate rarely, if ever, reflects on the water to produce food on farm. A simple Big Mac needs at least 5000 litres of farm water (and the meals in Epicure take many times more). If we restrict Melbourne's citizens to two Big Macs per day, total on-farm water used to grow the ingredients would be 3,500,000 people times 10,000 litres. This is about 36 gigalitres on farm from rain and irrigation water, or around 13,000 gigalitres annually.
Farmers, especially those who irrigate, ensure product quality and continuity of supply for incredibly low-price food in Melbourne. Supermarkets cannot understand why the suburban media dabbles in the water debate at such a trite level. The reported 300 litres a day to wash and toilet a Melburnian overwhelms the media's thinking — yet most people require well over 10,000 litres a day to grow their food. Moreover, they expect farmers to provide this food for a pittance: all our milk is sold as fresh milk in Melbourne and Sydney, and we receive 24 cents a litre; our beef is lucky to bring $2 a kilogram.
If I could buy "temporary trade" water for $200 per megalitre, under current conditions the water cost per litre of milk produced is about 30 cents. So it is no wonder that your economics editor, Tim Colebatch, believes there will be farmers prepared to sell their water to the city ("Living with the big dry", Opinion, 10/10). And banks will be coercing farmers to sell their water. After all, our governments see these types of farmers as "willing sellers".
Meanwhile, those of us remaining as irrigation farmers will face sharply increasing costs for the operation and maintenance of the irrigation infrastructure as the water goes urban. Then one day urbanites, while taking a shower, may contemplate the cause of availability and price problems with their food.
Barry Croke, Naringaningalook
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