Letter: Here's a water solution that's inexpensive; use less of it

That's why it is priority number one in council's Vision Bathurst 2040 Strategic Plan that maps out our land use needs for the next 20 years.

So, I'm curious. Are we serious about leading on this issue or are we just paying lip service to it?

Australians are among the most extravagant water users in the world. On average, Australians use about 250 litres of water per person each day. Israel uses 90.

The tight restrictions during the last drought showed us that we are capable of significantly reducing our usage.

That, in itself, is the single cheapest way to save water.

I'm curious to know if we reduced our water usage by even a third, how resilient that would make Chifley Dam supply through future droughts.

This isn't about reducing freedoms, in practical terms it's about:

It's about investigating the use of pipelines and it could be about raising the dam wall.

But it's definitely about councillors engaging with the issue and bringing some vision to the table.

That's why I was disappointed to learn last week that the two councillors who represent Bathurst on the Regis Resources Kings Plains' gold mine Community Consultative Committee have attended two out of 13 meetings since December 2018.

Our younger generations worry themselves sick about the future.

If we want to give them a real future, if we want to give them hope, we need to protect and treasure our precious water supplies rather than allowing them to be wasted and our catchments degraded.