The following is a guest blog from
by Andrew Tovey
Fresh water - most of us take it for granted. We turn on a tap, and the water gushes out. When it rains, the water rushes into drains and gurgles out to sea. Throughout every waking hour we mindlessly drink it, wash in it, cook with it, and play with it. Every day our gardens, parks and playing fields are quietly guzzling it. Water fuels our cities, our agriculture, and all the planet's ecosystems. Without water we would all be dead. Given the sheer ubiquity of water, and the absolute necessity of it, you'd think there was an infinite supply. But there is not.
Australia is the driest continent on earth. On top of this we have the unique El Nino / La Nina cycle which brings us the rotation of droughts across intervals of between two and seven years. This means that we cannot rely upon regular yearly replenishment of our ground and surface water. In times of drought we survive on reserves stored from years before. And when the drought breaks, it often does so all at once, overwhelming infrastructure and entire communities.
Now, as climate change becomes a present reality rather than a future proposition, the extremities of drought and flood are becoming more pronounced. We are seeing record breaking heat waves more often and though the drought that eased in 2010 is now fading into the back of people's minds, we have a new El Nino on the way and it is only a matter of time before the dry times return. The CSIRO, the Bureau of Meterology, the Climate Council and many other scientific bodies are all saying the same thing - be prepared for more extreme heat than ever before, for longer periods than ever before. Australia has a high public consciousness of water, arguably one of the best in world. Where else can the average taxi driver give you a fairly accurate reflection of dam levels? But we need to get much smarter about our approach to water.
Our final HotHouse of 2014 looks at how we water our cities. Specifically, we'll be exploring how we can work with water to reimagine cities of the future, ensuring security of supply, resilience to a warming climate, and healthy liveable communities.
Managing a water network for a city the size of Sydney is no simple matter. Vast centralised systems of pipes bring in fresh drinking water and remove dirty water and storm water. When we turn on a tap or empty the sink we are connecting with an incredible and gargantuan piece of engineering that stretches far beyond the boundaries of the city, up into the Hunter Valley, the Blue Mountains, the Southern Highlands and out to sea. Getting that water to you costs energy – literally. If you live up a hill, more energy is used to turn on your tap than it is at the bottom of the hill. There is also energy in waste water, in the form of complex molecules and heat, most of which is simply lost to the ocean.
The relationship between water and energy has come to the fore as a serious consideration at a time when we must reduce our carbon emissions and increase efficiencies wherever possible. Ideas about how we use water are also changing. The concept of water 'fit for purpose' is based on the fact that only a small amount of the water we use is for drinking. We do not need to invest money and energy in purifying water to drinkable quality if we are only going to flush it down a toilet or water the plants. There is a growing realisation that we need a more sophisticated water system that is able to deal with flows of different kinds of water, diverting it to the places it is needed whilst retaining energy and nutrients in more closed loop systems. In short, as demands upon our water system intensify, our water system needs a redesign.
In recent years, more decentralised approaches to water infrastructure have emerged. What this involves is localised networks of pipes, managing drinking water, non-drinking water, grey water, sewerage and storm water, together with small-scale water recycling plants as well as biological filtration systems. Imagine the water that goes down your sink being sent straight into the green wall on the side of your apartment block. The wall gets water and nutrients, yet also filters the water so that the outflow at the bottom can be pumped back to the roof and used to flush your toilet. At the end of your block a small recycling plant might mine the sewer for water that goes into your washing machine or waters the oval. With some of the new technology in the pipeline (no pun intended), this recycling will soon be down to a tiny fraction of the current cost, powered by solar panels on the roof. When it rains, instead of rushing off into storm drains and out to sea, that water could hydrate edible landscapes along your street, feed an artificial wetland habitat, bringing wildlife to your neighbourhood, and create a cool microclimate to help you beat those scorching summer days.
As this kind of water-sensitive urban design becomes more embedded and visible in the landscape of the places we live, our connections to it will grow and our communities will be healthier and more vibrant for it.
At HotHouse on the 12th of November we will explore the future of urban water and how, with a bit of innovative thinking and design, it can help to make all of our lives more enjoyable. Join us and our superb line-up of speakers, and share your own ideas about how creative approaches to water might transform your own neighbourhood or favourite place in the city.
HotHouse is a quick-fire event series about creative solutions for positive change. Each quarterly event at Sydney's Powerhouse Museum mixes superb speakers with audience participation to inspire and engage you on big topical issues. Meet like-minded folk, enjoy local organic food and drink and experience a relaxed, fun and utterly unique style of event.