Tap Water in Australia

[Pippa]

Hi There,

Someone at the Coffee Club mentioned to me that one cannot drink tap water everywhere in Australia… How true is this? We are planning on settling in Melbourne / Adelaide and it is very important for me to know if one can drink the tap water in Melbourne / Adelaide.

I am a H2O addict and I can’t imagine not being able to drink water from a tap…!

Please help!!!

Pippa

[Dreamcatcher]

Hi Pippa,

I really don't think tap water is a problem in Aus. I actually heard a talk on the radio the other day where health professionals were urging people to drink more tap water. It was said that one of the reasons why people here have bad teeth, is because they don't drink the fluoridated tap water.

From my perspective I have noticed that the Aussies love to drink water. There are several "water companies" aropund. Most people I know have a water cooler in their house. You buy yourself one for about $150 (the fancy ones), and then you order your water bottles at around $8 for 20 litres. It gets delivered to your front door. You can also buy huge containers (up to 25l) of spring water at places like Woolies ($4.99 for 15l) and it even has a handy little tap. You just prop it up on the counter, and there you go!

I live in the boendoes, and these are the choices that we have. I am sure there would be more options in the cities. Personally I don't drink much water, but if I have to, I'll drink tap water. No problems so far!

Greetings,

Dreamy

[Mara]

Hi Pippa

I think it all depends where you are. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the tap water in Melbourne.

I do not like the water in Adelaide. The water in Brisbane was fine. As for the rest of the country, no idea, I am sure the others will let you know.

Mara

[kangaroo]

Hi Pippa

We could drink tap water everywhere on our LSD trip (Sydney, Adelaide, Melbourne). Melbourne's water is yummy - tastes real clean!

Adelaide's water was fine for me, but the locals (even our bus driver on the Adelaide tour) commented on the strange taste. South Australia (Adelaide's province) is the driest province in Oz, and as the bus driver explained, the water in the River Murray, from where Adelaide gets the majority of its water supply, goes through quite a process to save water. The locals refuse to drink tap water because of the taste.

I think it's a question of one being ABLE to drink the tap water in Adelaide, but some (most) locals choosing not to. Bottled water is available everywhere though.

Adelaide has strict water restrictions in place (bathing, showering, watering the garden, washing clothes etc.), due to water being a valuable commodity and South Australia being the 'driest' province in Oz.

See this 2003 extract from www.waterproofingadelaide.sa.gov.au

"Increasingly severe water restrictions will become part of everyday life well into the future unless a sustainable solution to Adelaide's water supply problems is found, a forum in the city will hear today.

Leaders of industry, Government and the wider community will take part in the forum run by Water Proofing Adelaide titled Adelaide's Water Supply -Beyond the Drought.

The forum will hear that by the year 2025, Adelaide's total water demand is estimated to be approaching 350,000 megalitres of water per year - the equivalent of 350,000 Olympic-size swimming pools.

Left unchecked, this forecast demand will not be quenched by the available water supply.

Water Proofing Adelaide is a State Government-initiated body charged with developing a strategy to tackle the water supply challenges facing Adelaide and its surrounding semi-rural areas up to the year 2025.

The forum's keynote speaker and a leading authority on water treatment and quality issues, Emeritus Professor Nancy Millis, said a community-wide commitment was essential to ensuring Adelaide’s water supply did not run dry in the years ahead.

"I cannot over-emphasise how critical it is that the community understands the seriousness of the challenges surrounding Adelaide's water supply and what needs to be done in order to manage the resources effectively,"Professor Millis said.

"We cannot go on using the large amount of water we do with the water supplies we currently have. We are facing the prospect of increasingly severe restrictions unless an alternative solution is found."

Chairman of Water Proofing Adelaide's strategy advisory committee, Dr Don Hopgood, said the water supply challenges facing Adelaide and its environs did not just centre on the concerns for the future of the River Murray.

"The River Murray has been the focus of considerable concern in recent years and there is no doubting the importance of this vital water supply," Dr Hopgood said.

However, the quality and quantity of the equally vital water supply from the Adelaide Hills catchments is also under threat and the State's ground water resources are already stretched.

"Developing and implementing a successful strategy that considers all the social, environmental, economic and agricultural uses of water is pivotal to the state’s growth and survival."

Dr Hopgood said while most South Australians were aware of the current problems concerning water, and were doing their best to address them, the real challenge was to develop longer-term solutions.

"We need to identify and deliver imaginative and resourceful strategies to better manage our water," he said.

Among the possible solutions to be explored at the forum range from encouraging wiser water management around the home such as widespread use of water efficient showerheads and washing machines.

Far more costly proposals will also be discussed such as pumping water from Lake Argyle in Western Australia, placing floating covers over reservoirs to reduce evaporation losses or even towing icebergs from the South Pole.

However, detailed review of the iceberg proposal has shown the practical volume that could transported was limited to less than a week's summer demand.

The forum involves an afternoon session to be attended by industry representatives and opened by Hon Jay Weatherill, Minister for Administrative Services and Urban Development and Planning.

An evening session, to be opened by Hon John Hill, Minister for Environment and Conservation, will be held for the general public.

The forum marks the first step in Water Proofing Adelaide's extensive consultation process for its creation of a 20-year water management blueprint."

[Bob]

Perth, Sydney and Adelaide all have future water scarcity problems looming in the next decade or two, so if you love tap water and want to drink gallons each day, my advice is to put a water tank on your land near your house to catch the water off your roof.

Rain water is "soft", has hardly any minerals in it and lathers up well in the shower and washing machine, doesn't scale your toilet over a long period of time, and your hot water tanks in the roof last much longer, since there are less minerals and chemicals in the water to permeate your water tank lining causing it to leak eventually.

So . . . . the verdict is out in lots of different ways that rain water is a good commodity to "tap" into ('scuse the pun!)

On building a new house, you can plumb the rain water from your tank/s into your kitchen (for cooking and drinking), hot water (to make your hot water tank last longer) and laundry (only use half the detergent in your machine to wash your clothing).

Melbourne or Adelaide tap water is alright to drink, by the way, but Adelaide folk are not too keen on their water supply, although it is getting better.

[Riekie]

Ek het self maar bietjie gesukkel om aan die smaak vd water in Aus gewoond te raak - maar nou is ek MAL daaroor (dit is asof dit "soeter" is....) Die kraanwater in Aus is 100% veilig - om die waarheid te sê is daar 'n wyle terug 'n toets gedoen op die bakterie vlakke van verskillende gebottelde waters en kraanwater was steeds die wenner!!! (Moeilik om te glo né!) Wees dus gerus, jou waterverslawing sal jou nie 'n sent kos nie.....

Hier is die "link" na die verslag vd water toetse: http://aca.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=112476

[Michelle]

Die water in Perth is glad nie sleg nie. Toe ek hier aangekom het en nog nie gewerk het nie het ek heeldag bottels water gevries en uitgedrink want dit was elke dag in die hoe 30s! ek het nou een van daai Britta bottels gekoop wat die water filter en dan is die water eers lekker, koop nes gekoopte water.

[Olly]

We can smell the chlorine in our Perth water and it makes our tea and coffee taste funny so we put a water filter on the tap. The parks have drinking water fountains and the kids drink from those whenever they see them. There is no health risk, we are just being fussy.

[DesertDaisy]

It will be interesting for us! We currently use bottled water for drinking. The water in Abu Dhabi is perfectly safe.... it just tastes terrible. Its desalinated sea water, and its got a hard chemical taste to it.

Water is more expensive than petrol in Abu Dhabi!

[ExASP]

Water in Alice Springs is baie lekker ek moet se..geen probleme nie en dit is vir my lekkerder as gebottelde water. Ten spyte daarvan dat Alice nie reen kry nie is daar n reuse ondeaardse meer waar ons die water vandaan kry. Die water is net baie hard, maar daaraan het ons nou ook al gewoond geraak

[Pippa]

Hi Everyone,

Thanks so much for all the information. I really needed confirmation on this, as I can't imagine not being able to drink tap water!

Many thanks!

Pippa