MOST Australians are aware of the country's water crisis but few would know that the crisis was created by a strategy set in place at the 1992 United Nations Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro.
From that summit came a strategy to condemn dams and ocean outfalls while promoting the re-use of treated sewage effluent for human consumption.
No new dams have been built to supply urban areas since 1992 despite massive population increases. Prime Minister John Howard and parliamentary secretary for the environment Greg Hunt want us to drink treated sewage effluent, which they cunningly refer to as "water recycling".
The Federal Government was behind failed plans to introduce treated sewage effluent directly into Caboolture, Caloundra and Sydney water supply mains. Desperate to introduce this concept somewhere in Australia, the Government undoubtedly will support the plan in Toowoomba.
It makes one wonder why they're not drinking treated sewage effluent in Canberra.
The success of the strategy depends on two things: cities running out of water, which is inevitable, and public inaction.
—Laurence Jones, Buddina. July 28