Australians will have to get used to drinking recycled water

Drinking treated sewage has always been on the nose in Australia.

Experts say demand for water as our population grows
 means more recycled water will have to be used for drinking.

The "ick" factor has led successive state governments across the country to rule it out as an option and was a key reason desalination plants were built in many capital cities.

But you're going to have to get over it because once population booms and climate change bites, most Australians will be drinking recycled water, according to urban water experts.

"I believe it will happen in the next decade for one of our capital cities on the east coast," Water Services Association of Australia executive director Adam Lovell said.

Read Jessica Longbottom’s story from The Age -“Australians will have to get used to drinking recycled water.”

Toxic waste could endanger drinking water if Santos CSG project goes ahead – report

Up to 130 spills of toxic waste could occur if the Santos Narrabri coal seam gas project goes ahead, potentially endangering high-quality drinking and irrigation water, according to a leading academic.

An area of bushland being rejuvenated after a spill at
 Santos’ Bibblewindi water treatment facility which is
part of Santos’s Narrabri gas project. 

In a damning report obtained by Guardian Australia, RMIT hydrologist Matthew Currell said he found basic scientific gaps in the 7,000-page Narrabri gas project environmental impact statement (EIS).

Currell, a senior lecturer in environmental engineering, said the EIS was missing analysis of waste water from existing gas wells and contains conflicting information on whether the project area was part of the recharge zone for the Great Artesian Basin.

He said neither Santos nor the New South Wales government had enough monitoring wells to ensure groundwater was properly monitored.

Read Gabrielle Chan’s story on The Guardian - “Toxic waste could endanger drinking water if Santos CSG project goes ahead – report.”