Research reveals residents have no idea Sydney is going through a drought

Every nine months Greater Sydney uses enough water to fill Sydney Harbour, yet a shocking number of residents have no idea the city has been going through a year-long drought.

• Sydney three months away from tough water restrictions
• Major water-saving fix axed as drought reached crisis point

Every nine months Greater Sydney uses enough water to fill Sydney Harbour, yet nearly two-thirds of residents have no idea the city is in drought.

As dam levels dropped another 0.5 per cent in the past week to be at 54.7 per capacity, new research by Sydney Water has revealed the level of consumer ignorance.

Overall, 62 per cent of Sydneysiders are unaware of the year-long drought Sydney is currently experiencing.

Residents in Sydney’s north (75 per cent) and south (65 per cent) were the most unaware, while between 59 and 60 per cent of residents in western Sydney and far western Sydney did not know about the drought.

Rachel Zappia and her daughters Talia, 13, and Ava, 9, are always looking for ways to save water. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

MORE FROM BEN PIKE

‘I DIDN’T KNOW I HIT ANYONE, I DIDN’T SEE HIM’

SYDNEY THREE MONTHS FROM WATER RESTRICTIONS

BILLIONAIRE DEVELOPER “PISSED OFF” ABOUT $5M FINE

The Sunday Telegraph last week revealed Sydney Water believes the city will be back on water restrictions within three months if we don’t see a dramatic amount of rainfall and changes to people’s water habits.

Minister for Water, Melinda Pavey, said the condition of the city’s parks and sporting fields, which appear fairly lush, can be deceiving.

“But we’re experiencing some of the driest conditions on record and while we had some good rain in some areas during March, overall our dam levels continue to drop,” Ms Pavey said.

“That’s why it’s never been more important for all of the Greater Sydney, Blue Mountains and Illawarra communities to come together to help save water.”

According to WaterNSW figures, Sydney’s average dam levels are currently falling by around 13 Gigalitres week; the equivalent of one Sydney Harbour (500GL) every nine months.

Sydney Harbour holds 500GL. Sydney uses this much water every nine months.

The average weekly drop in dam levels during the current drought, which began in April 2017, is about 50 per cent greater than in the millennium drought which devastated NSW from 1997 until 2010.

This is despite the average person using 50L less water per day than the 250L peak used during the millennium drought.

Sydney’s population hit 5.1 million at June 2017. This was the first time on record Sydney’s population grew by more than 100,000 people in a year, according to the ABS.

However, executive drought lead at Sydney Water, Catherine Port, blamed a lack of rain rather than population increase as the main cause of our lack of water.

She has called on people to save water.

The first stage of water restrictions in Sydney will most likely ban hosing down hard surfaces outside.

“We know from previous droughts like the Millennium Drought that when we ask the community to start thinking about their water use, they listen and take action,” she said.

“That’s why we’re once again asking our customers to consider their water use inside and outside the home, because it’s the small changes that can make a big difference.”

Ms Port said if everyone shorten the shower by one minute that would save 9L of water per person, which equates to 45,000,000L of water saved every day.

Dam levels dropped below 60 per cent January 27, prompting the NSW Government to restart the desalination plant at Kurnell.

Kurnell desalination plant. Picture: Jeremy Piper

In the mid 2000s — when dam levels got to 33 per cent — consumers were placed on level two water restrictions.

This meant people were only allowed to water their garden two days per week and banned from filling pools over 10,000L without permit.

SYDNEY WATER RESEARCH

• Drought perceptions: People are more likely to believe we’re in drought when there is little or no rain over a long period of time (72 per cent), than when there is little or no rainfall across dams (49 per cent). This potentially indicates that it’s rainfall at an individual’s location that influences perceptions of drought

• City residents not concerned: Surrounded by green parks and gardens, over a quarter (26 per cent) of inner-city dwellers don’t think the drought will impact them and one in five (19 per cent) people believe the drought only impacts regional or rural areas.

• Water savings are underestimated: Drought is a big issue, affecting the entire state, but almost one in five people (18 per cent) don’t think their water saving efforts will make a difference, despite almost two thirds (60 per cent) of people knowing they could reduce their usage.

• Water doesn’t have a dollar value: Despite needing water as much as food to survive, more than one in 10 people don’t save water (12 per cent) because it’s not seen as a major household expense.

• Myth of the everlasting: Water has always flowed from the tap and more than one in 10 Greater Sydney residents (13 per cent) are not concerned about their usage because they think we’ll never run out.

Originally published as Research reveals residents have no idea Sydney is going through a drought