Infrastructure Australia has warned of soaring water costs and supply pressures ahead.Credit:Brook Mitchell
Despite the country having the highest per-capita surface water storage capacity in the world,Infrastructure Australia said poor pricing policies,a failure to plan for surging population growth,ageing pipes and climate change were all putting at risk the supply of water to urban areas.
Both Sydney and Melbourne have been forced to boost supplies from their desalination plants this year due to the drought across eastern Australia. The Bureau of Meteorology this month revealed the dry hitting the Murray-Darling basin is the worst since the 1900-02 drought.
Infrastructure Australia said the drought highlighted the failure of authorities across the country to learn from previous dry periods.
"Despite undergoing an extended period of drought at the beginning of the century,known as the Millennium Drought,Australia’s urban water sector has largely failed to embed the lessons from this experience into planning and decision-making frameworks,"the agency said.
"With large parts of the country drought-declared and the onset of another El-Nino phase,this presents major issues for governments and utilities to manage over coming years."
Water consumption per person dropped 16 per cent in the immediate wake of the Millennium Drought,but improvements in water efficiency"tapered off"as public interest and awareness waned.