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Reticulate Australia

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Trader Paul

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:)

Hi folks,

Did you know that we have been pumping water from Perth to Kalgoorlie,
which is 360 metres above sea level, for over 100 years !~!

Imagine, how much water and energy we can save, if we could REVERSE
that flow ..... there would be a torrent of water flowing into our parched
reservoirs in Perth and other dry capitals, throughout Australia can also
be supplied, with some of the sweetest water, that you have ever tasted !~!

Described as the largest infrastructure project, since the Snowy River
Scheme, Reticulate Australia has the potential to bring into reality the
dreams of forward-thinkers, like Ernie Bridge, billionaire Richard Pratt and
C.Y. O'Connor ....

From the Ord River dam in the Kimberley, let's build a SHORT link to the
NORTHERN Officer Basin to MAINTAIN underground reserves in and then
another pipeline from SOUTHERN Officer Basin to Kalgoorlie, and on to
Perth and the dry interior of the South-west wheatbelt.

Fill the old gold mining pits and regional dams to optimum levels to
encourage local industry, leisure and tourism activities.

Another line from the Officer Basin to be run EASTWARDS, in tandem
with a GAS pipeline from Kalgoorlie and/or Canning Basin onshore gasfields
to the Palm Valley gasfields, the onwards to Alice Springs and Moomba.

From there, both water and gas can be distributed in this dual-pipe
configuration to link with established networks and create new links to
critical dams and reservoirs at the head of our failing eastern waterways.

We have the WATER and GAS , we have the technology, let's get a
committment from the pollies to stand up and lobby for a common-sense
approach to maintaining water and energy, throughout Australia.

Towing icebergs from Antarctica or giant desalination plants are NOT
the answer for drought-proofing Australia ..... instead, we have a PROVEN
underground resource of potable water, in the Officer Basin, more than
THREE times the size of Sydney Harbour ... and a means to CONTINUALLY
replenish that underground storage to give us a PERMANENT wtaer supply,
Australia-wide !~!

Imagine the benefits to farmers across the nation, a water supply, that
never runs dry!! Fill Cubbie Station catchments, with a mandate to
maintain water flows, in the Darling River system ... it CAN be DONE !~!

Broadacre irrigation to ensure a bumper cotton and grain crops along
the Darling River system ... EVERY YEAR!!

Open up new land that was previously marginal, due to lack of water.
and fill the Western Lakes Districts of Victoria again, to optimal levels.

Without any treatment, the water quality is much better, than that
delivered to Adelaide, for example and if our federal government does
not take the initiative, then the states will eventually be forced into
tapping this resource, anyway. If that happens, it will take a lot longer
to complete the national grid, as it will be a fragmented approach.

Get involved, have your say about the advancement of a pipeline network
that will drought-proof Australia and provide cheap energy nationwide.

In this election year, let's get a commitment from the politicians to build
a national gas and water grid ... once and for all, let's drought-proof this
country and finally Reticulate Australia, with BOTH GAS and WATER ... !~!

have a great day

paul

P.S. ..... Rudd has already indicated, that WATER will be an election issue.
Let's see if either major party has the political gumption to support
the BIGGEST infrastructure project, that Australia has ever seen !~!

:)


=====
 
Re: Reticulate Australia .....

I'm with you trader paul.

Hell, if the romans could supply running water to their cities by gravity and simple lifting mechanisims 2000 years ago, there is absolutely no reason why we shouldn't be doing more of it today.

There might be a little bit of contamination in some of the big old mine pits, but that shouldn't be too difficult to correct.
 
Re: Reticulate Australia .....

Trader Paul said:
:)

Hi folks,

Did you know that we have been pumping water from Perth to Kalgoorlie,
which is 360 metres above sea level, for over 100 years !~!

Imagine, how much water and energy we can save, if we could REVERSE
that flow ..... there would be a torrent of water flowing into our parched
reservoirs in Perth and other dry capitals, throughout Australia can also
be supplied, with some of the sweetest water, that you have ever tasted !~!

Described as the largest infrastructure project, since the Snowy River
Scheme, Reticulate Australia has the potential to bring into reality the
dreams of forward-thinkers, like Ernie Bridge, billionaire Richard Pratt and
C.Y. O'Connor ....

From the Ord River dam in the Kimberley, let's build a SHORT link to the
NORTHERN Officer Basin to MAINTAIN underground reserves in and then
another pipeline from SOUTHERN Officer Basin to Kalgoorlie, and on to
Perth and the dry interior of the South-west wheatbelt.

Fill the old gold mining pits and regional dams to optimum levels to
encourage local industry etc
Click to expand...


Hey thats my idea...cept the pipeline should go south east to hook up with the Adelaide Darwin
Hwy and water SA, Mildura and the Eyre peninsular.

Before anything is done Lake argyle should be extended into the next valley to the west.

I would gladly give up my promised $20 per week tax cut for it.:)
 
Re: Reticulate Australia .....

Trader Paul said:
Hi folks,

Did you know that we have been pumping water from Perth to Kalgoorlie,
which is 360 metres above sea level, for over 100 years !~!

Imagine, how much water and energy we can save, if we could REVERSE
that flow ..... there would be a torrent of water flowing into our parched
reservoirs in Perth and other dry capitals, throughout Australia can also
be supplied, with some of the sweetest water, that you have ever tasted !~!

Described as the largest infrastructure project, since the Snowy River
Scheme, Reticulate Australia has the potential to bring into reality the
dreams of forward-thinkers, like Ernie Bridge, billionaire Richard Pratt and
C.Y. O'Connor ....

From the Ord River dam in the Kimberley, let's build a SHORT link to the
NORTHERN Officer Basin to MAINTAIN underground reserves in and then
another pipeline from SOUTHERN Officer Basin to Kalgoorlie, and on to
Perth and the dry interior of the South-west wheatbelt.

Fill the old gold mining pits and regional dams to optimum levels to
encourage local industry, leisure and tourism activities.

Another line from the Officer Basin to be run EASTWARDS, in tandem
with a GAS pipeline from Kalgoorlie and/or Canning Basin onshore gasfields
to the Palm Valley gasfields, the onwards to Alice Springs and Moomba.

From there, both water and gas can be distributed in this dual-pipe
configuration to link with established networks and create new links to
critical dams and reservoirs at the head of our failing eastern waterways.

We have the WATER and GAS , we have the technology, let's get a
committment from the pollies to stand up and lobby for a common-sense
approach to maintaining water and energy, throughout Australia.

Towing icebergs from Antarctica or giant desalination plants are NOT
the answer for drought-proofing Australia ..... instead, we have a PROVEN
underground resource of potable water, in the Officer Basin, more than
THREE times the size of Sydney Harbour ... and a means to CONTINUALLY
replenish that underground storage to give us a PERMANENT wtaer supply,
Australia-wide !~!

Imagine the benefits to farmers across the nation, a water supply, that
never runs dry!! Fill Cubbie Station catchments, with a mandate to
maintain water flows, in the Darling River system ... it CAN be DONE !~!

Broadacre irrigation to ensure a bumper cotton and grain crops along
the Darling River system ... EVERY YEAR!!

Open up new land that was previously marginal, due to lack of water.
and fill the Western Lakes Districts of Victoria again, to optimal levels.

Without any treatment, the water quality is much better, than that
delivered to Adelaide, for example and if our federal government does
not take the initiative, then the states will eventually be forced into
tapping this resource, anyway. If that happens, it will take a lot longer
to complete the national grid, as it will be a fragmented approach.

Get involved, have your say about the advancement of a pipeline network
that will drought-proof Australia and provide cheap energy nationwide.

In this election year, let's get a commitment from the politicians to build
a national gas and water grid ... once and for all, let's drought-proof this
country and finally Reticulate Australia, with BOTH GAS and WATER ... !~!

have a great day

paul

P.S. ..... Rudd has already indicated, that WATER will be an election issue.
Let's see if either major party has the political gumption to support
the BIGGEST infrastructure project, that Australia has ever seen !~!


=====
Click to expand...

:)


Hi folks,

S.A Water says, that they will likely be handing out
bottled water in Adelaide, within the next year ... !~!

Seems like it will be only a short period of time, before S.A Water will
be building that relaitively short Reticulate Australia pipeline, from
officer Basin to Adelaide ..... to bless them with the sweetest water,
that croweaters have ever tasted ... :)

In this election year, let's get a commitment from the politicians to build
a national gas and water grid ... once and for all, let's drought-proof this
country and finally Reticulate Australia, with BOTH GAS and WATER ... !~!

have a great weekend all

paul

:)

=====
 
Re: Reticulate Australia .....

Imagine what could have been done regarding Australia's water problems with the money that has been spent fighting illegal wars in Iraq and Afghanistan...
 
Re: Reticulate Australia .....

Imagine what could have been done regarding Australia's water problems with the money that has been spent fighting illegal wars in Iraq and Afghanistan...
Click to expand...

It's easier to fatten their own wallets with oil than water ...
 
Re: Reticulate Australia .....

Kimosabi said:
Imagine what could have been done regarding Australia's water problems with the money that has been spent fighting illegal wars in Iraq and Afghanistan...
Click to expand...
Even a fraction of the reconstruction dollars would cover the cost of a nationwide network of waterpipes and there would be enough to cover our major irrigation systems to reduce the loss due to evaporation.
I'm glad some see this is a major issue for Australia.
 
Re: Reticulate Australia .....

Trader, you are talking a veritable river of water. This to my mind means a set of pipes the like of which you see running down the mountain to the Snowy River scheme power station running for hundreds of kilometres. I couldn't find an exact diameter but these look 2-3m in this small picture. The construction and pumping costs would be huge. Remember each cubic metre of water weighs one tonne. Do you have any estimates?
 

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Re: Reticulate Australia .....

Totally agreed that something needs to be done.

Another option would be an undersea pipeline from Tas. That could be used to replace the Murray supply for Adelaide thus freeing up some water for other uses. Another pipe could be built to supplement Melbourne's supply thus freeing up some of that water for other uses also.

North Queensland is another potential source of water for SE Australia. It's a pretty logical one for SE Qld and also parts of NSW.

Which one? Cost is the logical means to decide since it doesn't really matter whether the water comes from WA, Nth Qld or Tas as long as it ends up in SE Qld, NSW, Vic and SA where it's needed.

Realistically, we're only talking about adding modestly to the existing supplies. That is, we don't need to replace all the water we use now, just add some to it.:2twocents
 
Re: Reticulate Australia .....

Not doing something would be of utmost neglect on the governments behalf, and not supporting a well thought out solution, irrespective of the fact that its gonna cost megabucks, would be heinous on behalf the voters, no matter which party your favour.

Australia is richer now than ever...now is the time create a really well engineered long term solution. My suspicion is that like many infrastructure solutions of the last 30 years whatever is eventually decided upon will be half-baked at best.
 
Re: Reticulate Australia .....

I can't see that it would ever be practical to pipe water long distances for irrigation purposes but it is practical to shift agriculture closer to the water as has been done at the ord.
However it would be practical to pipe water long distances for household use, as was done for Kalgoolie. Not long ago the WA opposition party did have as one of it's election promises a plan to pipe water from the Ord to Perth, from memory the plan was costed at about $1billion. The Govt of the day scoffed at the scheme and it would take some riducle if it changed it's mind now.
There was also a scheme suggested for flooding central Australia by means of a canal to the sea. The suggestion was that by creating an inland sea it would create a different weather pattern over the eastern half of Australia and bring more ( and regular) rain to the western areas or NSW. SA and southwestern QLD.
It still gets back to WE NEED MORE DAMS.
There is enough water goes past my door in the Clarence River on most days of the year to keep the Murray running a "banker". A proposal that would see a local pollie lose their seat if they even thought about it. I,m in favour of sending some of it over the hill but I would be outnumbered by 100 to 1.
 
Re: Reticulate Australia .....

nioka said:
I can't see that it would ever be practical to pipe water long distances for irrigation purposes but it is practical th shift agriculture closer to the water as has been done at the ord.
However it would be practical to pipe water long distances for household use, as was done for Kalgoolie. Not long ago the WA opposition party did have as one of it's election promises a plan to pipe water from the Ord to Perth, from memory the plan was costed at about $1billion. The Govt of the day scoffed at the scheme and it would take some riducle if it changed it's mind now.
There was also a scheme suggested for flooding central Australia by means of a canal to the sea. The suggestion was that by creating an inland sea it would create a different weather pattern over the eastern half of Australia and bring more ( and regular) rain to the western areas or NSW. SA and southwestern QLD.
It still gets back to WE NEED MORE DAMS.
There is enough water goes past my door in the Clarence River on most days of the year to keep the Murray running a "banker". A proposal that would see a local pollie lose their seat if they even thought about it. I,m in favour of sending some of it over the hill but I would be outnumbered by 100 to 1.
Click to expand...

What's even more interesting is when you research HHO and Fuel Cells, is we could get the energy to pump the water from, well Water...
 
Re: Reticulate Australia .....

long$$ said:
Trader, you are talking a veritable river of water. This to my mind means a set of pipes the like of which you see running down the mountain to the Snowy River scheme power station running for hundreds of kilometres. I couldn't find an exact diameter but these look 2-3m in this small picture. The construction and pumping costs would be huge. Remember each cubic metre of water weighs one tonne. Do you have any estimates?
Click to expand...
Pipelines of that size aren't cheap. Basically, pipes on this scale are something you build only when canals, flumes and so on aren't practical.

As for the cost, a few situations to compare with.

The Lake Margaret power station has a woodstave pipeline (penstock is steel) of 2.2km length diameter 1.2m.

The existing pipeline is for practical purposes worn out (looks like a giant soaker hose losing about 10% of total flow to leakage) and was in danger of complete collapse when closed mid-2006.

The cost of a replacement pipeline is around $10 million and is similar for woodstave, steel or glass reinforced plastic (GRP). The latter has a relatively short 30 year design life so is not being seriously considered. The favoured option is woodstave for heritage reasons (the power scheme commenced operation 1914 and still has the original machinery etc) but if it wasn't for that aspect then steel would be the answer due to less ongoing maintenance required.

Costs in this situation are relatively high due to the inaccessible location. Road vehicles of any type can't get there so it's either literally carry the whole lot in and assemble it (the way it was originally built) or use helicopters. Also the weather there is truly shocking (it was largely wind blown ice that wore through the pipe from the outside in) which makes everything more difficult.

Another thing is much of the pipe needs to be supported on pillars (which also need replacing) as it's a very steep location going round the side of mountains for most of its length. None of the pipe will be underground.

So $4.5 million per kilometer of 1.2m diameter pipe is pretty much the worst case scenario. If all goes to plan then the new pipe should be up and running sometime in 2010.

Some other ones are the Vic - Tas undersea gas pipeline (completed 2002) cost about $400 million. The length I'm not certain but 250 - 300 km undersea. Diameter from memory is about 400mm.

Onshore major gas pipelines generally $0.25 million per kilometer (before the recent rise in materials costs) under good conditions - digging through farmland etc and not having to cross rivers, major roads etc.
 

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Re: Reticulate Australia .....

:)

... of course, it will be expensive, but doing NOTHING will be even
more expensive !~!

Instead of GUARANTEED crops EVERY year, Australia will continue in the
boom/bust cycle that comes with every drought, followed by a brief period
of "normal" rains ..... THAT has ALREADY cost Australia $$$billions$$$.

We have the technology ... just look at Libya ... piping water more than
1,000 km from 300 water wells in Saria, located in the middle of the
Sahara Desert to the Mediterranean coast, through a 5 metre (15 feet)
diameter concrete pipeline ... yes, concrete ... cast in situ !~!

..... it is called, the man-made river ... :)

We have the energy (gas) and water, we have the technology and the
federal government could fund this long-term infrastructure project in a
flash ... all that is required is a commitment from the politicians !~!

Reticulate Australia, with BOTH gas and water ... and droughtproof Oz !~!

happy days

paul

:)

=====
 
Re: Reticulate Australia .....

Trader Paul said:
:)

... of course, it will be expensive, but doing NOTHING will be even
more expensive !~!

Instead of GUARANTEED crops EVERY year, Australia will continue in the
boom/bust cycle that comes with every drought, followed by a brief period
of "normal" rains ..... THAT has ALREADY cost Australia $$$billions$$$.

We have the technology ... just look at Libya ... piping water more than
1,000 km from 300 water wells in Saria, located in the middle of the
Sahara Desert to the Mediterranean coast, through a 5 metre (15 feet)
diameter concrete pipeline ... yes, concrete ... cast in situ !~!

..... it is called, the man-made river ... :)

We have the energy (gas) and water, we have the technology and the
federal government could fund this long-term infrastructure project in a
flash ... all that is required is a commitment from the politicians !~!

Reticulate Australia, with BOTH gas and water ... and droughtproof Oz !~!

happy days

paul

:)

=====
Click to expand...
Completely agree.

Both sides of politics agree on the need for a sound and growing economy.
But I think sometimes in all the spin and hype it's easy for them to overlook the basic reason for having a sound economy, i.e. to provide for the needs of the populace. And the whole water situation is a real priority throughout much of Australia. Withdraw the troops from Iraq and Afghanistan, reduce the level of pay rises for politicians, just stop spending money on any other number of wasteful programmes and just build the pipelines. There is enough pure fresh water pouring into the sea from Fraser Island to supply the whole of the Fraser Coast without even any need for the current dam.
 
Re: Reticulate Australia .....

I think a lot of you people are just dreaming.

It takes a lot of water to grow food. How much will it cost to pump this water all this distance you are talking about? I have no idea, maybe smurf would know, but for it to work in agriculture, the economics has to add up. If it doesn't add up, we would be better off just importing the food, and letting some other country worry about the water situation.

This article,..
http://www.clw.csiro.au/issues/water/water_for_food.html#howmuch

Shows how much water is required per crop. It says,...



CSIRO Land and Water scientists have used precision weighing systems to measure water use by various crops, and the yield from the crops. The following approximate figures were revealed:

To produce one kilogram of oven dry wheat grain, it takes 715 – 750 litres of water
For 1 kg maize, 540 – 630 litres
For 1 kg soybeans, 1650 – 2200 litres
For 1 kg paddy rice, 1550 litres
For 1 kg beef, 50,000 – 100,000 litres
For 1 kg clean wool, 170,000 litres


So, just using the wheat figure. Here is a commodity worth just 40c per kilo. And this is current drought prices. Normally it would be closer to 20c per kilo. It takes 750 litres of water to grow 20c to 40c worth of wheat. The farmer has to make a profit. It might cost him 15c per kilo for fertilizer, diesel, sprays etc, so he might be only making 5c per kilo.

Lets use beef. Farmers are getting about 400c dressed for beef. So it takes 50 000 litres to grow a kilo of beef.

I can't see how water could be pumped these massive distances and it to be economic at current farm commodity prices, although if someone can show otherwise, fire away.

The Snowy scheme worked so well because everything is running down hill, and generating power as it goes, but theres only one Snowy Mountains. Pumping water across up and down dale, thousands of ks is another matter altogether.
 
Re: Reticulate Australia .....

Once, although i myself havnt done the figures, i think it is volume that would make it worth while.

thoeretically, if a pipe from Darwin to Adelaide went straight down the middle of australia, and say even 1km each side was open to irrigation, this is a vast amount of land which could now be used, which couldnt previously. Providing the pump and pipes could handle the amount of water needed, as you have suggested, then it is very possible imo.
 
Re: Reticulate Australia .....

I would like to know the costs.

Just because something is possible to do, doesn't mean it should be done.

Years and years ago, the Saudi's were growing barley in the desert using desalinated sea water. I believe the costs were about $1000 a tonne. This was using natural gas that was almost worthless at the time. The grain could have been bought from Australia for about $100 a tonne delivered.

They did this because it gave them a self sufficient warm and fuzzy feeling. Doesn't mean it was sensible.

The worst thing was, being Saudi's, it wasn't even turned into beer.!!!
 
Re: Reticulate Australia .....

The Once-ler

Yes, of course the figures would have to add up for agriculture.
The other day I bought two bunches of asparagus, both at $1.25.
One was Australian grown and the other was from Peru!
We could be importing NZ produce at feasible prices.

But when Brisbane will simply run out of drinking water if all the recycled pipelines don't produce sufficient water, and the S.A. water authority is making enquiries about supplying Adelaide with bottled water, don't we have to consider pipelines from where the water is abundant?

And on the question of more dams, the dams supplying Brisbane are there - the rain just isn't falling into them so I don't see how building more dams will help if it simply doesn't rain.
 
Re: Reticulate Australia .....

Julia said:
But when Brisbane will simply run out of drinking water .
Click to expand...

I'm certainly not concerned about Brisbanes drinking water.
This place gets over a metre a year rain average.
It's got 500 mills this year. Including 20 mills just last week.
There is hundreds of thousands of litres of the best water running off every ones roof tops every year.
If people can't help themselves in such a wet climate, then that's their problem.
 

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