Australia – very dry but water everywhere

Australia is a continent of extremes. Despite surrounded by water the lowest rainfalls of the last 20 years were reported in 2018. According to the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM), climate change is causing above-average temperatures and drier conditions in many parts of Australia. Year after year, new records are reached for drought and heat.

“These changes affect many Australians, especially the changes associated with increases in the frequency or intensity of heat events, fire weather and drought. Australia wants to adapt to some level of climate change.

Australia is projected to experience:

• Further increases in sea and air temperatures, with more hot days and marine heat waves, and fewer cool extremes.
• Further sea level rise and ocean acidification.
• Decreases in rainfall across southern Australia with more time in drought, but increasing in intense heavy rainfall throughout Australia. “

Bureau of Meteorology (BOM): State of the Climate 2018.

But Australia has always been a dry country. 80 percent of Australia’s area is semi-arid and desert areas with less than 250 mm of precipitation per year. The centre of the country remains largely dry throughout the year. Thus, Australians are used to periods of drought and water scarcity. Almost always and everywhere you are advised to drink enough water. And that is made easy here …

Public water fountains

If you walk in Australian cities or parks, you will find a public water fountain every few hundred meters. This can be a simple faucet or even a flash state-of-the-art dispenser, where you can fill up your bottle at different levels (for kids and adults) and also the omnipresent dogs (see article “Dogland“) have their own permanently installed water bowl.

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These water dispensers are very handy as you hardly have to carry your own water around or just in small bottles that you can refill again and again. When I go for a run in parks or along water promenades, the many water fountains come in very handy.

In some areas, such as the Yarra Valley, there are already apps that can be used to find the nearest water fountain.

Free water in restaurants, cafes and pubs

In the vast majority of restaurants, cafes and pubs drinking water is free of charge. If you are waited (which is often not the case), you habitually get a carafe and glasses on the table after sitting down. Alternatively, there may be a water dispenser at the bar or self-serve bottles in a fridge, where you can serve yourself as often as you want for free. Otherwise, just ask. I have never experienced that you do not get water. And it is usually chilled as well.

If you walk in a city and you cannot find a public water fountain, just go to a cafe or pub and ask for tap-water. In many cases you will get it for free, even if you do not consume anything there.

However, in most states (e.g., WA or VIC), it is required by law that premises with an alcohol licence must offer drinking water free of charge.

Though, in a few exceptional cases, you are sometimes asked for a small fee for e.g. providing and cleaning the glasses.

Tap or bottled water?

A litre of tap water costs only a fraction of a cent, but you can pay several dollars for a litre of bottled water – and the costs over time can add up considerably. If you drink two litres a day from the tap, you’ll pay about $1.50 a year. Drink the same amount from single-serve bottles, however, and you could be looking at more than $2800 a year.

A large proportion of this cost comes from producing the plastic bottle, lid and label. And less than half of these PET plastic bottles are actually recycled. The remaining 60% will be taken directly to the landfill.

The US research organization “The Pacific Institute” estimates that the production of the plastic bottle consumes twice as much water as in the bottle itself. This means that each litre consumed actually represents three litres of water.

You can drink Australian tap water without hesitation. Its quality monitoring is the responsibility of each state health department. Tap water has to comply with the Australian drinking water guidelines set by the National Health and Medical Research Council. The guidelines define safe and high-quality and how this quality is achieved and secured.

And 45% of the bottled water is just bottled tap water.

Interesting Links:

• Tapcafés in Sydney