August 2, 2025 • 16 mins
Have you ever thought about where your water comes from? Well, maybe you did when you were in your Year 10 Science class. But, in case you were sick that day, or you need a refresher, we are here to have an in depth look at the cycle of water. Trust us, it’s more interesting than it sounds.
We asked you what you wanted to know about where your water comes from, and today we are answering those questions.
Hosts: Billi FitzSimons and Sam Koslowski
Producer: Orla Maher
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
This podcast is brought to you by Sydney Water. Every
time you turn on the tap, flush the toilet, or
take a shower. Sydney Water is one of the suppliers
around the country, working behind the scenes to make it
happen safely, sustainably and at scale, from rainfall to other
sources like desalination.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
They're planning for.
Speaker 1 (00:18):
A future where clean water is always within reach. To
learn more about how it all works, head to Sydneywater
dot com dot au.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Already and this is the Daily This is the Daily OS.
Oh now it makes sense.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
Good morning and welcome to the Daily OS. It's Sunday,
the third of August. I'm Billy fitz Simon's I'm.
Speaker 3 (00:45):
Sam because Loski.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
Happy Sunday, Happy Sunday. We are here to talk about water. Now.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
Have you ever thought about where your water comes from?
Speaker 1 (00:53):
Well, maybe you did when you were in your year
ten geography class.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
But in case you were sick that day or you
need a refresh, get it.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
We are here to have an in depth look at
the cycle of water and trust us, it's more interesting
than it sounds. We asked you what you wanted to
know about where your water comes from, and today we
are answering those questions. And just a quick note, as
you heard at the top of this episode is sponsored
by Sitneing Water, but they have had no influence over
(01:21):
the content of this episode.
Speaker 2 (01:27):
Sam.
Speaker 1 (01:27):
Before we get started, I actually want to start by
asking you a question, where do you think water comes from?
Speaker 3 (01:33):
I have this idea in my head that the ocean
gives us water that's treated, comes out of the tap,
and we drink it. That's essentially my understanding of the
source of our water. I actually sometimes think that when
I'm in the ocean, I can't believe I'm going to
be drinking this.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
You're just having a big old golf of seawater.
Speaker 3 (01:55):
Yeah, yeah, I'm young.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
Well you're pretty close. That is how it happens for
some of the water.
Speaker 3 (02:01):
But then I think about rain. Yeah, get confused.
Speaker 2 (02:03):
About rainew, I will explain it. It's going today.
Speaker 3 (02:06):
Well, I think the first thing that we need to
establish really is whether there's enough order forever and if
water is a finite resource or if it's this constant
kind of topped up pile of pile of liquid.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
So it's not the latter, it's a former. It is
a finite resource.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
So all the water on Earth is all the water.
Speaker 3 (02:26):
We have, all that rain.
Speaker 1 (02:27):
It's a cycle, though, so I'm sure you know from
uten geography that water comes to the earth and then
it goes back up to the sky.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
That's a very simple.
Speaker 3 (02:38):
Wow, that's a bit of a that's a bit of
a mind blowing idea.
Speaker 1 (02:40):
Yeah, so how much water we have today is the
same amount of water we had ten years ago or
one hundred years ago, or when the dinosaurs were on Earth.
It's all the same water.
Speaker 3 (02:50):
I cannot get my head around that. So what about
droughts then, well, that's.
Speaker 2 (02:54):
When there hasn't been enough rainfall. Let me explain a
bit more.
Speaker 1 (02:57):
So. Obviously, the water moves around a lot, so it's
going through this continuous process of moving between the earth
and the atmosphere and then back again. And that's all
part of the natural water cycle. So you're thinking about
evaporation and precipitation, that whole process.
Speaker 3 (03:12):
Okay, In terms of.
Speaker 1 (03:14):
Drinking water though, which is what we're talking about today,
A fun fact is that only one percent of the
Earth's water is easily accessible to become drinking.
Speaker 3 (03:23):
Water, right, And what's the other vast majority of it?
Speaker 4 (03:26):
Then?
Speaker 1 (03:27):
So ninety seven percent of our water is salt water,
and of the three percent that's left over two percent
is locked away in ice caps and glaciers.
Speaker 3 (03:37):
And so the question then is you've got this one
percent of water that is water that we can actually
drink or that is accessible to be drunk. How does
that become drinking water?
Speaker 1 (03:46):
So there's a few different ways. The main source of
water in Australia is from rain water, right, Okay, So
whenever I'm with you and it's rating, you always say
it's good for the farmers.
Speaker 3 (03:58):
Great for the farmers.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
Always say that.
Speaker 3 (04:00):
And the first thing I thought of when you said
that sentence is the fact that you listen to rain
when you're working when you need it. When Billy needs
to lock in, she puts on the rain soundtrack.
Speaker 2 (04:10):
I look it up on YouTube and I just listen to.
Speaker 3 (04:12):
Rain all day. It's a very significant part of both
of our lives and the farmers.
Speaker 1 (04:17):
And the farmers. But the next time it rains, you
can say, well, I look forward to drinking this sometime soon.
Speaker 3 (04:22):
So explain to me that process of it falls from
the sky. How does it land up in a tap?
Speaker 1 (04:27):
So obviously you need something to catch the rain water,
and so that's what dams and water catchments are. Now
this might seem like a silly or obvious question, but Sam,
do you know what a dam is.
Speaker 3 (04:39):
I think about it as in the big bathtub of
wherever you are. It's the bit near the drain at
the bottom. What like, it's the bit at the bottom
that collects all the water that comes from all the
the bath Yeah.
Speaker 2 (04:51):
No, wait, you're really far off.
Speaker 3 (04:53):
Like all the water runs down all the hills and
like through all the different channels and collects in a
certain point.
Speaker 2 (05:00):
But it's not like in your house. No, that's what
I thought you were saying.
Speaker 3 (05:06):
No, oh my gosh, No, I don't think a dam
is a bathtub.
Speaker 1 (05:10):
You think it's like a big catchment in a reserve somewhere.
Speaker 3 (05:15):
Yeah, in the great house that is Australia. Okay, Well,
the dam is in the bathtub of the country.
Speaker 1 (05:21):
Okay, you're more close than I initially thought you were.
But it's actually the physical wall like structure that holds
the water back once it's caught in that catchment, and
it keeps it in this protected space. I'm like above, yeah,
kind of like above, But my brain is too literal
for your metaphors today clearly.
Speaker 3 (05:40):
And so then it collects in this bath slash dam,
and then the question becomes, I guess how much it
can collect? And that's where I guess rainfall becomes really important.
Speaker 1 (05:50):
Right, Yes, so rainfall is very important for the dams. So,
like I said, the dams are specifically in place to
catch the rainfall and turn it in to safe, clean
drinking water. Now, once it's in the dam, it then
goes to water filtration plants, which is the process where
it becomes safe to drink. Now, what's interesting when I
(06:11):
was looking into all of this, I discovered that water
utilities all around the world are actually wanting water processes
that are less reliant on rainfall because of things like
climate change and also housing growth.
Speaker 3 (06:25):
How does housing growth fit into.
Speaker 1 (06:26):
That, Well, it means that because you have more people
into more tightly packed areas, there's even more water needing
to go to those places.
Speaker 3 (06:35):
There's a greater stress on those really metropolitans supplies.
Speaker 1 (06:38):
And this particularly comes complicated during droughts. So in Sydney,
for example, in the last drought, our water supply dropped
by fifty percent over two years. So that was from
mid twenty seventeen to feb twenty twenty, and as these
extreme weather events become more common, we can't rely on
rainfall alone to sustain a city like Sydney's water supply.
Speaker 3 (07:02):
And that's I guess where we need to be bringing
in further processes that don't just rely on the rainfall
that's coming into the dam. Are there other sources that
we can get water from? Should there be another couple
of years of drought for example.
Speaker 2 (07:15):
Yes, the ocean, I know it well.
Speaker 1 (07:18):
Yes, so seawater can be used, as you said at
the start, as a drinking water source, but it needs
to go through a different process to what it goes
through with dam.
Speaker 2 (07:30):
So it needs to go through a specific process.
Speaker 3 (07:32):
Do you know what it's called desalination? Desalination plants that
are always talked about in politics and in kind of
government decisions.
Speaker 1 (07:40):
Yes, So desalination removes salt water and impurities from the
sea water to produce drinking water. Now, Sam, you said
at the start that this was the main way that
you thought we get drinking water, and it can be
so how dependent we are on the desalination process can
change depending on how other sources are going so for example,
(08:00):
if we're in a drought like I mentioned before, there
might be a greater reliance on the desalination process. It
is important to note that desalination is not only used
though in times of drought. So in Sydney their desalination
plant is currently operating and supplying water all year round.
Speaker 3 (08:17):
And so I guess the point there is it's meant
to take a little bit of pressure off the dams
in terms of how important they are to the water
infrastructure exactly.
Speaker 1 (08:26):
And again comes back to being less reliant on rainfall
and finding other sources to get safe drinking water.
Speaker 3 (08:33):
And is that the case around the country.
Speaker 2 (08:35):
So it varies state to state.
Speaker 1 (08:37):
Somewhere like Perth, for example, thirty five percent of their
water comes from the desalination process. In Sydney it's up
to fifteen percent. Melbourne has actually just committed to restart
using desalination because dam levels are dropping.
Speaker 4 (08:52):
Now.
Speaker 1 (08:52):
Another rainfall independent resource is something called purified recycled water.
So that's when you turn waste water into drinking water
and it goes through a huge process to of course
make sure that it's absolutely safe to drink. Now that
is used around the world. So in Singapore, for example,
about forty percent of their water demand can be met
(09:16):
with recycled wastewater. Now it's not currently used in Sydney,
but in Perth it contributes up to five percent of
their drinking water.
Speaker 3 (09:26):
Fascinating. And so water is going through these various processes,
whether from a dam or from the ocean or from
a recycled facility. It goes through a filtation process or
a desalination process, and then it comes through the taps, right.
Speaker 2 (09:40):
Yes, and so how does it get to the taps?
Speaker 1 (09:42):
You turn it on, You turn it on, but before
you turn it on, it has to go through pipes. Yes,
Now in Sydney there are twenty three thousand kilometers of
drinking water pipes and that's just drinking water pipes, so
there are also wastewater pipes. You combine drinking water pipes
and waste water pipes, which, to be clear, they don't
(10:04):
they're very separate. But if you did combine them, you
could wrap the earth one and a quarter times. That's
how long the pipes are in Sydney. And so that
gives you an idea of the scale of the water operations,
not just in Sydney, of course, but all over the country.
Speaker 3 (10:20):
And are there ways that we know that nothing along
all of these steps and processes is actually going wrong.
Speaker 1 (10:27):
Yeah, there are extensive processes throughout making sure that at
every stage there are tests happening to make sure that
it's clean and safe and everything's happening as it should.
Speaker 3 (10:36):
The thing I really enjoy about these types of stories
is that it's almost a subconscious habit. We have to
turn on the tap and to get water, and we
know that that's not the case all over the world.
But also there's a responsibility that we have as tax
payers to understand even how all of these systems come
and work together. And when we put this out to
(10:57):
the audience, it was clear that people had this real
curiosity with this process. One of the questions that I
was particularly interested in was a question we got about
the relationship between how the water system would change should
the climate continue to change.
Speaker 1 (11:12):
Yeah, and so this goes back to what we were
saying before that there is this real need to move
away from rainfall dependent water resources. Again, that's because with
more severe droughts it will lead to lower down levels
and reduced availability of water. And so the way you
diversify is through options like desalination, or through options like
(11:36):
the purified recycled water option. If you look at Sydney Water,
for example, they actually have a goal for sixty five
percent of their drinking water supply to be rainfall independent
by twenty fifty.
Speaker 3 (11:48):
Right, so there's the real sense of trying to preempt
this challenge should be a couple of decades in the future.
Speaker 2 (11:55):
But it kind of already is happening now right as well.
Speaker 3 (11:58):
There was another question that I think was one that
we've all thought of. Why does water taste different everywhere
you go?
Speaker 1 (12:06):
Okay, this is my favorite question because I think about
this a lot.
Speaker 2 (12:10):
There is one.
Speaker 1 (12:11):
City in Australia where when I traveled there, I couldn't
believe how different the water tasted. And you will notice
when you move from state to state or city to city,
the water does taste different depending on your location. And
that's because of the different sources of where water can
come from, but also because of different treatment processes. Now,
(12:35):
there are Australian drinking water guidelines, but essentially how the
different systems meet those guidelines can differ, so there's not
only one way to achieve those safe standards, and something
like the presence of minerals can really impact how water.
Speaker 3 (12:52):
Tastes, and chlorine would be one of the key ingredients
that a lot of places add to water.
Speaker 1 (12:57):
Right, Yeah, chlorine is an interesting one. I don't think
I think I ever fully understood that chlorine is actually
added to drinking water at very small levels. I don't
know if you've ever been in a chlorinated pool and
accidentally had a mouthful of the pool water doesn't exactly
taste good.
Speaker 3 (13:14):
No, the yearnine swimming carnival drinking experience is not one
to be chosen by voluntary choice.
Speaker 1 (13:23):
But obviously the amount of chlorine in a pool in
your unine swimming carnival is very different to the amount
in drinking water. And there is a limit on how
much chlorine can be added to drinking water.
Speaker 3 (13:37):
And why is chlorine specifically an important part of the mix.
Speaker 1 (13:41):
So it's actually really important to be added to drinking
water to kill things like water borne disease causing microorganisms
like bacteria, So you can think of it like a protectant.
And chlorine has a really long history of safe use
in drinking water around the world and has helped to
virtually eliminate water borne diseases in developed nations like Australia.
Speaker 3 (14:05):
It's always interesting reading about some of the projects around
the world to uplift water infrastructure. I know the Gates Foundation,
for example, is very very involved in providing clean water
to different parts of Sub Saharan Africa and them talking
through always how important it is to have various minerals
and chemicals that go through our water to really ensure
(14:29):
that some of those preventable diseases aren't there for everyone
to drink.
Speaker 1 (14:33):
And that's when making sure that it's being tested at
every stage is also.
Speaker 3 (14:36):
Important, exactly, and that's really interesting. It's always so amazing
to kind of peel back the cover of how our
society works. I definitely found that when exploring what happens
to our Pooh, this is now a really interesting lie
of what happened.
Speaker 1 (14:49):
We got through the whole podcast without you mentioning that
it was valuable journalism, as is this.
Speaker 3 (14:54):
This is so interesting to think about when you turn
on that tap and you get a bit of h
duo that comes through. Thank you for taking us through that,
thank you and thank you for joining us on the
daily os. This Sunday water water everywhere, but not a
drop to drink, but we do have another podcast to
listen to tomorrow morning. We'll be back in your ears then.
Until then, have a beautiful rest of your weekend.
Speaker 1 (15:13):
I have no idea what you just said, but bye.
Speaker 4 (15:19):
My name is Lily Maddon and I'm a proud Arunda
Bungelung Calcuttin woman from Gadigol Country. The Daily os acknowledges
that this podcast is recorded on the lands of the
Gadigol people and pays respect to all Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Island and nations. We pay our respects to the
first peoples of these countries, both past and present.
Speaker 3 (15:41):
Now, if this episode got you thinking more about the
water that comes out of your tap, you aren't alone,
and Sydney Water is thinking about it too. As our
population grows and our climate changes, the way we manage,
protect and deliver water is becoming more important than ever.
That's why Sydney Water is investing in smarter, more zillliant
systems to make sure our drinking water is safe, sustainable
(16:03):
and future ready. Every drop has a story and it's
backed by thousands of kilometers of infrastructure, twenty four to
seven testing and long term planning, so whether it's a
hot shower, a cold drink, or water in your plants, no,
there's a whole system working quietly in the background to
keep it flowing. Learn more at sydneywater dot com dot
au
This podcast is brought to you by Sydney Water. Every
time you turn on the tap, flush the toilet, or
take a shower. Sydney Water is one of the suppliers
around the country, working behind the scenes to make it
happen safely, sustainably and at scale, from rainfall to other
sources like desalination.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
They're planning for.
Speaker 1 (00:18):
A future where clean water is always within reach. To
learn more about how it all works, head to Sydneywater
dot com dot au.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Already and this is the Daily This is the Daily OS.
Oh now it makes sense.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
Good morning and welcome to the Daily OS. It's Sunday,
the third of August. I'm Billy fitz Simon's I'm.
Speaker 3 (00:45):
Sam because Loski.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
Happy Sunday, Happy Sunday. We are here to talk about water. Now.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
Have you ever thought about where your water comes from?
Speaker 1 (00:53):
Well, maybe you did when you were in your year
ten geography class.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
But in case you were sick that day or you
need a refresh, get it.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
We are here to have an in depth look at
the cycle of water and trust us, it's more interesting
than it sounds. We asked you what you wanted to
know about where your water comes from, and today we
are answering those questions. And just a quick note, as
you heard at the top of this episode is sponsored
by Sitneing Water, but they have had no influence over
(01:21):
the content of this episode.
Speaker 2 (01:27):
Sam.
Speaker 1 (01:27):
Before we get started, I actually want to start by
asking you a question, where do you think water comes from?
Speaker 3 (01:33):
I have this idea in my head that the ocean
gives us water that's treated, comes out of the tap,
and we drink it. That's essentially my understanding of the
source of our water. I actually sometimes think that when
I'm in the ocean, I can't believe I'm going to
be drinking this.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
You're just having a big old golf of seawater.
Speaker 3 (01:55):
Yeah, yeah, I'm young.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
Well you're pretty close. That is how it happens for
some of the water.
Speaker 3 (02:01):
But then I think about rain. Yeah, get confused.
Speaker 2 (02:03):
About rainew, I will explain it. It's going today.
Speaker 3 (02:06):
Well, I think the first thing that we need to
establish really is whether there's enough order forever and if
water is a finite resource or if it's this constant
kind of topped up pile of pile of liquid.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
So it's not the latter, it's a former. It is
a finite resource.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
So all the water on Earth is all the water.
Speaker 3 (02:26):
We have, all that rain.
Speaker 1 (02:27):
It's a cycle, though, so I'm sure you know from
uten geography that water comes to the earth and then
it goes back up to the sky.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
That's a very simple.
Speaker 3 (02:38):
Wow, that's a bit of a that's a bit of
a mind blowing idea.
Speaker 1 (02:40):
Yeah, so how much water we have today is the
same amount of water we had ten years ago or
one hundred years ago, or when the dinosaurs were on Earth.
It's all the same water.
Speaker 3 (02:50):
I cannot get my head around that. So what about
droughts then, well, that's.
Speaker 2 (02:54):
When there hasn't been enough rainfall. Let me explain a
bit more.
Speaker 1 (02:57):
So. Obviously, the water moves around a lot, so it's
going through this continuous process of moving between the earth
and the atmosphere and then back again. And that's all
part of the natural water cycle. So you're thinking about
evaporation and precipitation, that whole process.
Speaker 3 (03:12):
Okay, In terms of.
Speaker 1 (03:14):
Drinking water though, which is what we're talking about today,
A fun fact is that only one percent of the
Earth's water is easily accessible to become drinking.
Speaker 3 (03:23):
Water, right, And what's the other vast majority of it?
Speaker 4 (03:26):
Then?
Speaker 1 (03:27):
So ninety seven percent of our water is salt water,
and of the three percent that's left over two percent
is locked away in ice caps and glaciers.
Speaker 3 (03:37):
And so the question then is you've got this one
percent of water that is water that we can actually
drink or that is accessible to be drunk. How does
that become drinking water?
Speaker 1 (03:46):
So there's a few different ways. The main source of
water in Australia is from rain water, right, Okay, So
whenever I'm with you and it's rating, you always say
it's good for the farmers.
Speaker 3 (03:58):
Great for the farmers.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
Always say that.
Speaker 3 (04:00):
And the first thing I thought of when you said
that sentence is the fact that you listen to rain
when you're working when you need it. When Billy needs
to lock in, she puts on the rain soundtrack.
Speaker 2 (04:10):
I look it up on YouTube and I just listen to.
Speaker 3 (04:12):
Rain all day. It's a very significant part of both
of our lives and the farmers.
Speaker 1 (04:17):
And the farmers. But the next time it rains, you
can say, well, I look forward to drinking this sometime soon.
Speaker 3 (04:22):
So explain to me that process of it falls from
the sky. How does it land up in a tap?
Speaker 1 (04:27):
So obviously you need something to catch the rain water,
and so that's what dams and water catchments are. Now
this might seem like a silly or obvious question, but Sam,
do you know what a dam is.
Speaker 3 (04:39):
I think about it as in the big bathtub of
wherever you are. It's the bit near the drain at
the bottom. What like, it's the bit at the bottom
that collects all the water that comes from all the
the bath Yeah.
Speaker 2 (04:51):
No, wait, you're really far off.
Speaker 3 (04:53):
Like all the water runs down all the hills and
like through all the different channels and collects in a
certain point.
Speaker 2 (05:00):
But it's not like in your house. No, that's what
I thought you were saying.
Speaker 3 (05:06):
No, oh my gosh, No, I don't think a dam
is a bathtub.
Speaker 1 (05:10):
You think it's like a big catchment in a reserve somewhere.
Speaker 3 (05:15):
Yeah, in the great house that is Australia. Okay, Well,
the dam is in the bathtub of the country.
Speaker 1 (05:21):
Okay, you're more close than I initially thought you were.
But it's actually the physical wall like structure that holds
the water back once it's caught in that catchment, and
it keeps it in this protected space. I'm like above, yeah,
kind of like above, But my brain is too literal
for your metaphors today clearly.
Speaker 3 (05:40):
And so then it collects in this bath slash dam,
and then the question becomes, I guess how much it
can collect? And that's where I guess rainfall becomes really important.
Speaker 1 (05:50):
Right, Yes, so rainfall is very important for the dams. So,
like I said, the dams are specifically in place to
catch the rainfall and turn it in to safe, clean
drinking water. Now, once it's in the dam, it then
goes to water filtration plants, which is the process where
it becomes safe to drink. Now, what's interesting when I
(06:11):
was looking into all of this, I discovered that water
utilities all around the world are actually wanting water processes
that are less reliant on rainfall because of things like
climate change and also housing growth.
Speaker 3 (06:25):
How does housing growth fit into.
Speaker 1 (06:26):
That, Well, it means that because you have more people
into more tightly packed areas, there's even more water needing
to go to those places.
Speaker 3 (06:35):
There's a greater stress on those really metropolitans supplies.
Speaker 1 (06:38):
And this particularly comes complicated during droughts. So in Sydney,
for example, in the last drought, our water supply dropped
by fifty percent over two years. So that was from
mid twenty seventeen to feb twenty twenty, and as these
extreme weather events become more common, we can't rely on
rainfall alone to sustain a city like Sydney's water supply.
Speaker 3 (07:02):
And that's I guess where we need to be bringing
in further processes that don't just rely on the rainfall
that's coming into the dam. Are there other sources that
we can get water from? Should there be another couple
of years of drought for example.
Speaker 2 (07:15):
Yes, the ocean, I know it well.
Speaker 1 (07:18):
Yes, so seawater can be used, as you said at
the start, as a drinking water source, but it needs
to go through a different process to what it goes
through with dam.
Speaker 2 (07:30):
So it needs to go through a specific process.
Speaker 3 (07:32):
Do you know what it's called desalination? Desalination plants that
are always talked about in politics and in kind of
government decisions.
Speaker 1 (07:40):
Yes, So desalination removes salt water and impurities from the
sea water to produce drinking water. Now, Sam, you said
at the start that this was the main way that
you thought we get drinking water, and it can be
so how dependent we are on the desalination process can
change depending on how other sources are going so for example,
(08:00):
if we're in a drought like I mentioned before, there
might be a greater reliance on the desalination process. It
is important to note that desalination is not only used
though in times of drought. So in Sydney their desalination
plant is currently operating and supplying water all year round.
Speaker 3 (08:17):
And so I guess the point there is it's meant
to take a little bit of pressure off the dams
in terms of how important they are to the water
infrastructure exactly.
Speaker 1 (08:26):
And again comes back to being less reliant on rainfall
and finding other sources to get safe drinking water.
Speaker 3 (08:33):
And is that the case around the country.
Speaker 2 (08:35):
So it varies state to state.
Speaker 1 (08:37):
Somewhere like Perth, for example, thirty five percent of their
water comes from the desalination process. In Sydney it's up
to fifteen percent. Melbourne has actually just committed to restart
using desalination because dam levels are dropping.
Speaker 4 (08:52):
Now.
Speaker 1 (08:52):
Another rainfall independent resource is something called purified recycled water.
So that's when you turn waste water into drinking water
and it goes through a huge process to of course
make sure that it's absolutely safe to drink. Now that
is used around the world. So in Singapore, for example,
about forty percent of their water demand can be met
(09:16):
with recycled wastewater. Now it's not currently used in Sydney,
but in Perth it contributes up to five percent of
their drinking water.
Speaker 3 (09:26):
Fascinating. And so water is going through these various processes,
whether from a dam or from the ocean or from
a recycled facility. It goes through a filtation process or
a desalination process, and then it comes through the taps, right.
Speaker 2 (09:40):
Yes, and so how does it get to the taps?
Speaker 1 (09:42):
You turn it on, You turn it on, but before
you turn it on, it has to go through pipes. Yes,
Now in Sydney there are twenty three thousand kilometers of
drinking water pipes and that's just drinking water pipes, so
there are also wastewater pipes. You combine drinking water pipes
and waste water pipes, which, to be clear, they don't
(10:04):
they're very separate. But if you did combine them, you
could wrap the earth one and a quarter times. That's
how long the pipes are in Sydney. And so that
gives you an idea of the scale of the water operations,
not just in Sydney, of course, but all over the country.
Speaker 3 (10:20):
And are there ways that we know that nothing along
all of these steps and processes is actually going wrong.
Speaker 1 (10:27):
Yeah, there are extensive processes throughout making sure that at
every stage there are tests happening to make sure that
it's clean and safe and everything's happening as it should.
Speaker 3 (10:36):
The thing I really enjoy about these types of stories
is that it's almost a subconscious habit. We have to
turn on the tap and to get water, and we
know that that's not the case all over the world.
But also there's a responsibility that we have as tax
payers to understand even how all of these systems come
and work together. And when we put this out to
(10:57):
the audience, it was clear that people had this real
curiosity with this process. One of the questions that I
was particularly interested in was a question we got about
the relationship between how the water system would change should
the climate continue to change.
Speaker 1 (11:12):
Yeah, and so this goes back to what we were
saying before that there is this real need to move
away from rainfall dependent water resources. Again, that's because with
more severe droughts it will lead to lower down levels
and reduced availability of water. And so the way you
diversify is through options like desalination, or through options like
(11:36):
the purified recycled water option. If you look at Sydney Water,
for example, they actually have a goal for sixty five
percent of their drinking water supply to be rainfall independent
by twenty fifty.
Speaker 3 (11:48):
Right, so there's the real sense of trying to preempt
this challenge should be a couple of decades in the future.
Speaker 2 (11:55):
But it kind of already is happening now right as well.
Speaker 3 (11:58):
There was another question that I think was one that
we've all thought of. Why does water taste different everywhere
you go?
Speaker 1 (12:06):
Okay, this is my favorite question because I think about
this a lot.
Speaker 2 (12:10):
There is one.
Speaker 1 (12:11):
City in Australia where when I traveled there, I couldn't
believe how different the water tasted. And you will notice
when you move from state to state or city to city,
the water does taste different depending on your location. And
that's because of the different sources of where water can
come from, but also because of different treatment processes. Now,
(12:35):
there are Australian drinking water guidelines, but essentially how the
different systems meet those guidelines can differ, so there's not
only one way to achieve those safe standards, and something
like the presence of minerals can really impact how water.
Speaker 3 (12:52):
Tastes, and chlorine would be one of the key ingredients
that a lot of places add to water.
Speaker 1 (12:57):
Right, Yeah, chlorine is an interesting one. I don't think
I think I ever fully understood that chlorine is actually
added to drinking water at very small levels. I don't
know if you've ever been in a chlorinated pool and
accidentally had a mouthful of the pool water doesn't exactly
taste good.
Speaker 3 (13:14):
No, the yearnine swimming carnival drinking experience is not one
to be chosen by voluntary choice.
Speaker 1 (13:23):
But obviously the amount of chlorine in a pool in
your unine swimming carnival is very different to the amount
in drinking water. And there is a limit on how
much chlorine can be added to drinking water.
Speaker 3 (13:37):
And why is chlorine specifically an important part of the mix.
Speaker 1 (13:41):
So it's actually really important to be added to drinking
water to kill things like water borne disease causing microorganisms
like bacteria, So you can think of it like a protectant.
And chlorine has a really long history of safe use
in drinking water around the world and has helped to
virtually eliminate water borne diseases in developed nations like Australia.
Speaker 3 (14:05):
It's always interesting reading about some of the projects around
the world to uplift water infrastructure. I know the Gates Foundation,
for example, is very very involved in providing clean water
to different parts of Sub Saharan Africa and them talking
through always how important it is to have various minerals
and chemicals that go through our water to really ensure
(14:29):
that some of those preventable diseases aren't there for everyone
to drink.
Speaker 1 (14:33):
And that's when making sure that it's being tested at
every stage is also.
Speaker 3 (14:36):
Important, exactly, and that's really interesting. It's always so amazing
to kind of peel back the cover of how our
society works. I definitely found that when exploring what happens
to our Pooh, this is now a really interesting lie
of what happened.
Speaker 1 (14:49):
We got through the whole podcast without you mentioning that
it was valuable journalism, as is this.
Speaker 3 (14:54):
This is so interesting to think about when you turn
on that tap and you get a bit of h
duo that comes through. Thank you for taking us through that,
thank you and thank you for joining us on the
daily os. This Sunday water water everywhere, but not a
drop to drink, but we do have another podcast to
listen to tomorrow morning. We'll be back in your ears then.
Until then, have a beautiful rest of your weekend.
Speaker 1 (15:13):
I have no idea what you just said, but bye.
Speaker 4 (15:19):
My name is Lily Maddon and I'm a proud Arunda
Bungelung Calcuttin woman from Gadigol Country. The Daily os acknowledges
that this podcast is recorded on the lands of the
Gadigol people and pays respect to all Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Island and nations. We pay our respects to the
first peoples of these countries, both past and present.
Speaker 3 (15:41):
Now, if this episode got you thinking more about the
water that comes out of your tap, you aren't alone,
and Sydney Water is thinking about it too. As our
population grows and our climate changes, the way we manage,
protect and deliver water is becoming more important than ever.
That's why Sydney Water is investing in smarter, more zillliant
systems to make sure our drinking water is safe, sustainable
(16:03):
and future ready. Every drop has a story and it's
backed by thousands of kilometers of infrastructure, twenty four to
seven testing and long term planning, so whether it's a
hot shower, a cold drink, or water in your plants, no,
there's a whole system working quietly in the background to
keep it flowing. Learn more at sydneywater dot com dot
au
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