THERE is not the amount of water in the Murray-Darling Basin the authorities claim there is.
There is, in fact, 20 per cent less, the equivalent four Sydney Harbors. This is the conclusion of the modelling commissioned by the Wentworth Group of Scientists, who are concerned about the state of the basin.
It is now up to the Murray-Darling Basin Authority to produce its modelling to compare with the latest claim.
I believe that the MBDA has refused to release its modelling, so these claims and counter-claims are not exposed to the public.
Many people have always suspected that information on water in general is dodgy. Various federal ministers have failed to bring clarity, others have actually added to the murkiness.
State ministers have been notoriously biased – some would say outright dishonest.
Mildura depends entirely on water. There are subdivisions upon subdivisions going up and there are many more to come.
With diminishing water and climate change – which is probably one of the contributing factors to the disappearance of precious water – communities like Sunraysia can be placed in a dicey position.
Local government is not responsible for water management, but it is a community voice that has the duty to express clearly the demand to have real, up-to-date information.
We have the technology to measure water use in the entire basin in real time. Only self-interest is opposing this idea.
Local government is above single individuals, be they irrigators or conservationists – this is about survival, not politics.
And thinking about diminishing water, it is worth asking why local government does not enter the water market to buy, over time, more water to keep in reserve for future city needs, be they parks and gardens or trees, median strips and so on.
If anyone thinks that it is too expensive, think again.
Water prices go up, rarely down, and when they do, they go up again.
There will be tweaking of rules and regulations, but water trading is here to stay and it is stupid for a city the size of Mildura, so exposed to drought, not to participate in the water market.
Here is an instance where I do not mind my rates being used for the acquisition of tangible assets.
Just imagine if we had purchased a few thousand megalitres when permanent water was at $2000 per megalitre. It is now at $6000 in zone 7.
People have made a lot of money out of water trading – people, but not communities.
It is not too late to wake up to the facts.
Stefano de Pieri is a candidate for the October Mildura Council election
