Not a drop to drink

I was thinking the other day about water use and how water in the dams in Australia just keep on getting lower. There seems to be a lot of ideas regarding how to fix this situation, recycled water, desalination plants, water restrictions and the like, but no one has really figured out a good solution yet.

Well, here at the goat, we also like putting together solutions. Here is one based on an economic supply and demand theory.

Have a sliding cost scale for water use.

When there are no restrictions, water is cheap, or the standard price. When it hits a certain capacity, it changes to be more expensive depending on the level of the drinking water supply.
The cost of water should be linked to capacity. If the dams are at 35% capacity, the cost per KiloLitre should reflect that. You shouldn’t pay the same price for a finite resource that is in demand as opposed to a resource in surplus.

If the normal price is $1.20 per KL when the dams are at 100%, then they should be higher (1.20+(1.20*0.5) = $1.80 when the dams are at 50% full. As the price is higher, demand will automatically be restricted when the dams are low. People will not like paying the increased water bill and will put themselves on restrictions to keep the water bill reasonable.

Every month the price of water should change depending on this Dam Capacity. This will also ensure there are more funds available for solutions when the water supplies hit crisis point. I don’t think I am the first person to have suggested this idea (Water in Australia is a lot cheaper than other countries), and it is definitely something that should be explored. Unfortunately, it will take an awfully brave politician to take the idea to the public. Increasing the price of water is not a vote winner.

Other alternatives regarding price could be penalties for greater than usual water use. Ie First 100 kL used cost $1.20 a kl, next 200, cost $1.50 etc. That way, heavier users of water will pay higher costs for water.

I also believe that water restrictions should be based on a quota system per residence, rather than a time period. You should get allocated a certain amount of water per quarter and if you go over it (Guys should be checking water meters every quarter anyway through Sydney Water), you get fined. This whole "Can only water your garden only on Wednesday’s and Sunday’s" theory still allows people to use copious amounts of water during those times.

And where is the international trade of drinking water? Oil is ferried between countries, so why isn’t drinking water? We should be able to buy water from countries/states that have a surplus. Obvious there must be safety controls and the like, but this situation won’t be going away anytime too soon. The sooner we start dealing with it the better.