Archived Industry News for Water Professionals - December, 2013
This week’s Federal Government Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook (MYEFO) indicates changes on the way for several agricultural schemes and funds but not a lot of detail on what, if anything, will replace them.
Locals say good intentions doing damage
Farmers and residents on the banks of the Goulburn River have complained that environmental flows released under the Murray Darling Basin Plan may be damaging its banks.
Million dollar hosing after Newcastle spill
An oil spill in the Newcastle Harbour has cost one company over a million dollars.
More groundwater tests as Adelaide bores remain on hold
Residents in parts of Adelaide still cannot use their bore water after supplies were found to be contaminated in 2011.
More join call for court over Ipswich flooding
Hundreds have gathered to add their names to a list of thousands in a planned class action suit against the Queensland Government.
People want EPA back on their side, survey says
The New South Wales Environmental Protection Authority has to move away from industry-favouring and do more regulating if it is to gain more public trust, a recent survey found.
Pledge for more plans as Menindee Lakes diminish
Nearly a million dollars will be spent to work out how to save water in an important set of lakes.
Study puts cameras on Pilbara cave stars
Typically associated with arid, dry desert conditions, Western Australia’s Pilbara region is actually home to a unique set of aquatic life – the topic of a new study by Murdoch University.
Big dig confirmed; there will be mud
Dredging has been approved that many believe will condemn the Great Barrier Reef to silty strangulation.
Birmingham lets billions flow from Murray
Six hundred gigalitres of water from the River Murray system, the Goulburn and Murrumbidgee Rivers will be pushed where it is needed most, according to Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for the Environment, Senator Simon Birmingham.
Stone drips show monsoonal see-saw
Like counting age from tree-rings or calcium layers in teeth, scientists have used stalagmites to look into the history of the environment.
WA hooks in to shark cull for safety
In Western Australia, peoples’ right to swim in the ocean has trumped sharks’ right to live.
Broken record proves Port can handle more ore
One company has broken its old record for the biggest single shipment of iron ore, and said it is proof Port Hedland can handle large loads.
Watery model allows best practice to float
A new model has been created to show, with enhanced clarity, the best ways for mining companies to manage water resources and other environmental assets.
Weekend pile-driving approved to hurry port
Construction work at the Hay Point coal port expansion on the Queensland coast will occur on weekends and public holidays, with the extended times hoped to bring completion up to twenty days closer.
Million-litre uranium spill contained, calls for closure still
The recent spill of about a million litres of uranium ore and acid has been used as a platform to call for the end of uranium mining at the Ranger site.
Cave community proves the tenacity of tiny life-forms
In a world bathed in perpetual darkness, a recent study has found tiny communities bursting with vitality.
Doors to deal with flowback closing in NSW
A major coal seam gas company is shopping around for someone to deal with its chemical-laden ‘flowback water’, but the response from nearby treatment plants has not been favourable.
Funding to flood desert mines with irrigation ideas
The Western Australian Government has announced a multi-million dollar plan to investigate novel ways of watering the desert, hoping to propagate a new future for the Pilbara region.
New sugar system gives Reef command to farmers
A small group of Queensland canefarmers have signed-on to a program aimed at reducing toxic run-off to the Great Barrier Reef.
Study plots pollutant path from micro to macro problem
With plastic pollutants and additives piling up on land and in our oceans, an important study has sought to find whether the synthetic substances transfer to wildlife when they are eaten.