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https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/aug/09/sydneys-drinking-water-quality-under-threat-from-climate-crisis-report-finds>
"Sydney’s drinking water is unlikely to remain healthy unless the effects of
the climate crisis are mitigated, according to a report handed to the New South
Wales government.
After a three-year audit, the scathing assessment of the city’s water supply
also found seven of the 18 key indicators for the water system’s health were
worsening.
The audit found climate change posed a risk to the city’s main water catchment
providing adequate, good quality water to the greater Sydney area in the
future.
Undertaken by Eco Logical Australia and Restore Environmental Consultants for
the water minister, Rose Jackson, the audit looked at the health of the
catchment between 2019 and 2022.
It found climate change was the “greatest driver of the overall health of the
catchment”, noting the severe impact of events including the black summer
bushfires, which burned about a third of the catchment area.
The catchment, which takes in several major river systems including the
Hawkesbury-Nepean, covers more than 160,000 sq kms and collects and stores
drinking water for Sydney and the surrounding regions.
“It is unlikely that good land management practices and pollution regulation
will maintain catchment health in future unless substantial effort is also made
to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and limit climate change impacts,” the
report read.
The audit found the catchment’s macroinvertebrate communities were in decline
due in part to habitat degradation and deteriorating wetlands. “Further decline
is likely due to climate change and increasing bushfires, especially in
wetlands already under stress from impacts such as longwall mining or urban
development,” the audit found.
The report concluded two of three indicators of water quality – raw water
quality and nutrient concentrations – were worsening in many waterways.
Auditors found ash and debris from the 2019 and 2020 fires had affected water
quality and the ecology of many parts of the landscape."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
