Life In Australia

I though I’d return to the drought theme. I haven’t written about it for a while, but it hasn’t gone away – in fact it’s now the worst drought Brisbane has seen in one hundred years.

Normally we would get storms in the afternoon or night in the summer but there were very few this year. There seems to be no relief in prospect. Winter is the dry season so everyone is hoping for a wet spring and summer.

The water level in the dams fell below 30 percent a couple of weeks ago, bringing with it a total ban on using hoses outdoors. I see today that the water levels are at 29.5 percent. We’re still allowed to water our gardens but it needs to be done with a handheld watering can.

One of our neighbours is having a tank installed to collect rainwater from their roof. It’s something we’re probably going to get done too.

The Bureau of Meteorology says last year was the hottest ever in Australia. I believe them.

The heat we can cope with (almost). This is Australia. We came for the blue skies and the heat. What’s harder to cope with is the lack of rainfall. Water is life and without it we’re finished.

Queensland had 25 percent less rain than usual last year. The dams that store water for Brisbane are two thirds empty, hence the water restrictions I’ve been writing about in the last few days. More rain would be really welcome.

Most other states also got less rain than usual, but not as bad as Queensland.

Long term, I’m sure Queensland will be okay. It’s subtropical and usually gets plenty of summer rain. Unless there’s a truly tremendous shift in climate, that shouldn’t change.

In the worst drought in Brisbane’s history, it looks like my fellow citizens have been saving enough water to delay the start of level 3 water restrictions. We’ve now been spared until mid-March at the earliest.

Normally we get rain on summer afternoons – often dramatic lightning storms – but we’re not getting them this year. The water levels in the dams that feed Brisbane are falling.

Brisbane City Council had told us the city needed to cut water consumption to 920 megalitres a day. We’ve done better than that, cutting to 860 megalitres a day. We’ve been rewarded by the delay of increasingly severe water restrictions. I just hope we get a bit of decent rain between now and March.