Australia has been known for many things. Due to its seemingly barren and unforgiving landscape, it was a notorious British penal colony. Its Great Barrier Reef is a natural wonder, and Australia's underground endowment of uranium is an object of envy. But Australia has never been rich in water.

Now, confronted with a 100-year drought that is driving thirsty poisonous snakes into cities, and threatened by a parched future, Australian officials have their backs against the wall of shortage.

"These are ugly decisions, but you either drink water or you die. There's no choice. It's liquid gold, it's a matter of life and death," said Peter Beattie, premier of the northeastern state of Queensland.

Liquid gold, indeed. A worldwide debate has ebbed and flowed with the political tide over recent years as urban populations skyrocket yet freshwater supplies remain fixed. Irrigation techniques used since the time of the ancient Egyptians have come under intense scrutiny, and the back-and-forth touches on everything from wealth distribution to biofuel cultivation.

Australia's current conservative government, led by Prime Minister John Howard, is spearheading a drive to nationalize the country-continent's remaining resources, raising the ire of local governments who would rather regulate themselves than yield to the control of the capital in Canberra.

Yet there are those like Queensland's Beattie who say the choices will be tough no matter when they are taken. Beattie has put forth the least appetizing, short of dying of thirst.

"I think in the end, because of the drought, all of Australia is going to end up drinking recycled purified water," Beattie told a local radio station.

The practice of filtering waste water for consumption is not unknown. Even in the United States, advanced filtration systems have led to tap water in the middle of New York City that is every bit as pure and germ-free as a bottle of Evian costing 500 times as much.

But Aussies are understandably fickle about the most basic liquid in the world.

Water You Doing?

The prospect of giving up water rights, real or perceived, leaves a bitter taste in the mouths of voters. That makes John Howard's new water plan an especially brave undertaking, since this figures to be an election year in Australia.

When it comes to voting on the issue of water directly, there hasn't been an outpouring of support for either sharing or recycling.

The Queensland Water Commission forecasts that dedicated-use drinking water could run out by 2009. Nevertheless, in the midst of a terrible drought last year one Queensland town struck down recycled water proposals. The statewide scenario does not look much more favorable.

All seven other major sub-federal bodies in Australia (states and territories) besides Queensland have opted against recycling initiatives, choosing desalinization or underground aquifer taps instead.

In the meantime, Queensland and other states are engaging in drought-proofing campaigns, which largely consist of infrastructural improvements. A spokeswoman for Queensland's deputy premier for infrastructure says that consumers will face "significant increases" in water delivery prices in order to pay for some AUS $7 billion worth of new facilities, pipes and pumps.

The state government estimates that desalinized water will cost about four times as much per megaliter as conventionally treated water.

Australia is facing a choice that most of us will have to face in our lifetimes. Is water a right? Though food is necessary for sustenance, some are priced out of even a cup of rice. As more and more move into the middle class and "me" culture, communal rights are giving way to commoditization.

What is there to make people place posterity over the poshness of their lawns? Governments and markets can both instill a desire to self-regulate, but which will effect real change in the long run?

Perhaps the last straw will be the last drop.

Regards,

Sam Hopkins

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