The vision of "a desalination plant for every capital city" as mooted recently by Treasurer Peter Costello will not solve the water crisis or the climate crisis, the Australian Conservation Foundation said this week.
"A one-size-fits-all approach is not the answer to the urban water crisis," said the Australian Conservation Foundation's Kate Noble.
"Governments should be investing much more in water efficiency and water recycling - desalination should be an option of last resort.
"While 11 per cent of urban water is lost through leaky pipes and the Federal Government's own research shows households would reduce water use by 50-70 per cent if a rainwater tank was connected to the toilet and laundry, there are clearly better options than desalination."
A recent ACF study found 65 per cent of the houses in Sydney, 73 per cent of the houses in South-East Queensland and 72 per cent of the houses in Melbourne have potential for a rainwater tank.
"One of the main reasons we have a water crisis at all is because of our spiralling greenhouse gas emissions, so an energy intensive desalination plant for every capital city is not a constructive, far-sighted solution to the problem," she said.
"Once you take into account the emissions generated from converting saltwater to fresh and from pumping water long distances, energy-guzzling desalination plants simply do not pass the sustainability test.
"A combination of water recycling, rainwater tanks and water efficiency measures would be a more appropriate option for our cities," Ms Noble said.
This coincides nicely with the publication this week of the Rainwater Consumer Guide by the Australian Rainwater Development Industry Group (ARID), in association with the Master Plumbers Association (MPMSAA) and Green Plumbers.
The guide, which provides consumers with existing homes or people building new homes with simple clear information on how to use rainwater and rain water products, is available for downloading (free) from ARID's website and/or greenplumbers.com.au.
