Call on Premier Brumby and Minister Holding to give our rivers a drink before they ease Melbourne's water restrictions.
Premier Brumby has decided to relax water restrictions - again. And it's all bad news for our struggling rivers. And just as Melburnians were getting the hang of being water wise!
Let's face it, we Melburnians have done a great job of saving water. We're used to taking shorters showers and we're seriously water-wise gardeners. We've accepted it as part of our lives and it makes sense for our future. Most of us have stopped thinking about it as a burden or a chore. It's just the responsible thing to do. So why is Premier Brumby going backwards?
Premier Brumby's recent decision to peel back Melbourne's water restrictions, will undermine all our good work and spell serious trouble for our rivers.
Scroll down to sign our online petition today, and let Premier Brumby and Minister Holding know that you want water returned to our rivers before water restrictions are eased.
Here's the low-down...
Climate change is leading us to a drier future. And one winter of rain is not going to cut it. Our water catchments may be fuller than they've been in a while, but it's a pretty low benchmark.
Right now, fuller only means 40 percent! That's still one of the lowest levels we've had in fourteen years. It's clearly not the time to ease restrictions.
Not so long ago, these levels would have been cause for concern. They would have driven us to start saving water. In fact, when our dams hovered around 40 percent in 2007, Minister Holding increased the water restrictions from Stage 3 to 3A!
The Brumby Government can't have it both ways.
The environment still doesn't have it's fair share of water and our rivers are dying for a drink. And it's fairly certain that'll remain the case while the state government continues to ease restrictions and keeps taking even more water out of our rivers.
These are some of the reasons why we're calling for improvements to the Victorian Water Act. We want our rivers to have a legal right to water. We want a 'sustainable baseflow' for our rivers; a share of water that is set aside in a reserve before consumptive water allocations are made.
Until our dams have a sensible amount of water in them, and our rivers have their fair share of their own water, water restrictions must stay in place. Help us tell the state government that relaxing water restrictions for consumers, only increases the burden on our stressed and struggling rivers.
Sign our online petition below and let Premier Brumby and Minister Holding know that you want water put back in our rivers before water restrictions are reduced.
Visit our privacy page for more info on how we use your details.
Authorised by Kelly O'Shanassy, CEO, Environment Victoria, Level 2, 60 Leicester St, Carlton, 3053.
Comments
Mildura Region
I find it hard to believe Mildura has eased its water restrictions despite being so reliant on the River for local business. While the small vineyard owners suffer, the rich get richer. Obviously the "cream" of the local council and water authority are more interested in maintaining the "pristine" lawns and vegetation. They should also practice what they preach by not watering in the middle of the day!
Not a Vote Catcher
Easing water restrictions is NOT a vote catcher! Why let people wash cars when the very dirt we stand on needs all the help it can get from a good drink! Forget the grre green grass of home and start to think about the way we plant our gardens!
Cynical view
When you see Governments acting like this, it's so easy to become cynical about whether our elected officials are there to do the right thing by the people (and their environment) or do the right thing for themselves (responding to the vocal minority in order to keep voters happy). For many years, the 'save water' message had been chipping away at old habits and many people changed their behaviour, their houses and their gardens to conserve water. With all that hard work done, why should we suddenly decide that it's alright to ease the restrictions? We've shown we can do quite well with limited water supplies so let's keep the limits in place. Give the "extra" water back to the rivers so that nature can use it wisely to protect our flora and fauna.
what to do with water
It's time to give our rivers a drink - we need permanent water restrictions as part of efforts to become water wise
Give our rivers a drink, before easing water restrictions.
Our farmers need the water before we city people get spoilt. Where will we get our food and fibre from when we've ruined the country.
All you care about is city votes.