TheBanyanTree: No rain

[Red Pepper]

When, o when, is it going to rain?  We're well into Autumn now, and the 
skies are still blue and the sun still has bite. The last time it rained 
was 3 weeks ago, and this after nearly 12 months of drought already. 
(though that is only here in south-eastern Victoria - some areas have 
been suffering drought for years). In some areas of Melbourne, we have 
recorded the worst 12 month rainfall on record.

The mornings and evenings have turned cool, that delicious frostiness 
that makes you think twice about getting out of bed for a morning run or 
ride.  But the moistness in the air is very short-lived, and is probably 
being sucked greedily from what little remains in the ground, which is 
then lost when the sun comes up and it evaporates.  Unfortunately, it is 
not turning  into precipitation here.

All over Melbourne, lawns are dying over cracked soil, and brick houses 
are sinking. I have never before seen cracks the size of those appearing 
in our front lawn - wide enough to force my hand into. As a result, our 
short set of steps leading to the front door is trying to pull away from 
the main wall, and cracks are appearing inside in the lounge-room. Small 
circles are appearing in the ceiling -
my partner tells me they are the points where the plaster has been 
secured to the beams, not normally visible, but now so because the 
plaster is being stretched.

In the backyard, the lawn is shrinking away from the bricks that gird 
the vegetable garden. Amazingly, plants are surviving with the limited 
allowable tap watering and occasional rains, most of which fell in 
March. Probably the cooler temperatures are a relief to them too.  I 
have been collecting waste water from the kitchen tap for months, and 
it's amazing how much you can collect to keep your poor pot plants 
struggling along.

We are on "Stage 3a" water restrictions in Victoria, which means we can 
water only between 6am and 8am two days per week.  Which days you can 
water is determined by your house number - odd number houses can water 
on Sunday and Wednesday, even number houses can water on Saturday and 
Tuesday. You can only water with a hand-held hose fitted with trigger 
nozzle, a watering can, bucket or manual dripper system. (If you have a 
timer-controlled dripper system, you can also water midnight to 2am on 
your nominated days).

We also can't fill new pools or spas, or refill existing ones. If you 
indulge yourself and buy a new pool, you are also required to buy the 
bore water to fill it.  Many people have bought rainwater tanks, which 
ironically were illegal to install in metropolitan houses just a few 
years ago. Now, however, the water companies have figured out how to 
make money from them. They don't sell the tanks, but they give you a 
rebate on the cost of the tank. Then, since they know you have a tank, 
they start charging you more for your water rates. The rationale seems 
to be that you are collecting a resource that they own (but in fact 
could never collect for profit before). It's hard not to be cynical.

We also can't wash our cars, we can only clean mirrors, windows and 
lights with a sponge and bucket. You are, however, allowed to use a 
commercial carwash if it is deemed "efficient" - that is, using 70 
litres or less per car. The next stage of the water restrictions will 
rule that option out.  I feel sorry for all the kids who have seen a 
good source of pocket money go down the gurgler, so to speak. But 
hopefully only temporarily.

Only one in four local sportsgrounds can be watered at any one time, so 
local councils are rotating them. Even then, the amount of water used 
has to be reduced by 75%.  Many local councils long ago started using 
hardier strains of turf to get the grounds through hot summers and 
reduce the chance of injury to players, so that foresight is paying off 
now.  In regional areas, they are on Stage 4 water restrictions, so many 
suburban swimming pools have closed as local councils have consolidated 
their resources. 

It's a timely reminder that we live in an environment that pays no 
attention to our needs, and refuses to play along with our fantasy that 
life continues according to our rules. The climate change debate is 
fascinating, because it shows me that we built our society on the 
assumption that our climate and environment would never change, and now 
instead of trying to adapt many of us are madly refusing to acknowledge 
that our assumption was wrong.  I can't help admiring the Japanese who 
didn't fight the fact they lived in an earthquake zone, but instead 
started constructing buildings that swayed with the ground's movements. 
Like the proverbial reed...

Anita