The way forward
The Australian Academy of Science High Flyers Think Tank 2006 Report,Innovative technical solutions for water management in Australia is an important report to government that is timely, well received and should be instrumental in influencing policy development.
“The Think Tank participants suggested that Australia should gradually abandon the more expensive, vulnerable and non-sustainable approaches to waste treatment in favour of technological and social innovations that are based on relatively simple and highly sustainable concepts. With some careful choices, there is much to be gained from greater integration of the water supply, stormwater, and wastewater components of the urban water cycle.
Australians place a high value on the natural landscape, and scientific investigations into the principles of natural resource management indicate that preventative action for challenges like salinity can be far less costly than repairing a system left to degrade. For example, dredging rivers clogged with silt that have not been allowed to flush during high flow events can be a very expensive and substantial task.” continue reading » »