Last week was Drinking Water Week in El Paso in the US, where, like here and in other parts of the world, drought, declining rainfall and the supply of clean drinking water is becoming a serious issue.
According to Municipal Sewer & Water it is “a time when many utilities do some public outreach and educate their customers on what it takes to bring clean water to the tap.” See – Engaging the public on drinking water issues.
Perth Local Governments are being warned about diminishing water levels, but not enough being done to save and harvest rain and storm water. Around 2 gigalitres for storm water in the City of Stirling goes out to the ocean through the Osborne drain system, from as far away as Balcatta.
To see what we can do about it, see this video by the TreePeople in LA – Capture the Rain and Rebuild the Economy: It Can Happen Here!
To help Local Governments to address the looming water crisis, the Commonwealth Government fully funds the CRC for Water Sensitive Cities at UWA, “to help change the way we design, build and manage our cities and towns by valuing the contribution water makes to economic development and growth, our quality of life, and the ecosystems of which cities are a part”.
