Victoria, Australia's Coal-Fired Utilities Want More Access To Dams, Aquifers

[hatrack]

VICTORIA'S coal-fired power industry is seeking a substantially bigger share of the state's water, telling the Brumby Government that plans to reduce carbon emissions will probably increase its water needs. Latrobe Valley power generators already use about 125 billion litres of water each year - equivalent to one-third of Melbourne's annual consumption - and have asked the Government for improved access to dams and groundwater.

Among a host of controversial requests, generators want to tap into a portion of unallocated water, likely to be about 20 billion litres a year. The bid has sparked a new battle between power generators and environmentalists who believe the water should go to stressed rivers if it is to be tapped.

The generators also want their water supplies guaranteed rather than subject to availability, and have asked the Government to relax rules that govern the waste-water they pump into Gippsland's rivers. The Government is writing a 50-year water strategy for Gippsland, and the power generators have lobbied for their needs to be the top priority.

The use of Blue Rock reservoir, north of Moe, looms as a key decision. About 40 per cent of its water is now allocated to power companies, but close to 36 per cent of the remainder is unallocated. In a joint submission to the Government, the five big Latrobe Valley power companies have urged that ''unused volumes in Blue Rock … are reserved exclusively for its bulk entitlement owners''.

EDIT

http://www.theage.com.au/environment/fury-over-coal-giants-water-bid-20091104-hxyn.html

[BrklynLiberal]

1. uh-oh. This will not end well.

[pscot]

2. It never does

n/t

[phantom power]

3. I shall K you and R you