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this page Newsletters - Water and the needs of Families
Australia
Water... Life-giving water which most of us, especially in Western societies, take for granted. As I write this, the area in which my family and I live is experiencing the fourth consecutive year of drought. We live on a sheep property in the rangerlands of South Australia where we normally run a flock of 8,000 sheep. At the moment we have under 6,000 sheep due to the lack of water and food. This impacts on our livelihood, our ability to employ workers, and eventually the possibility of having to leave the property. Our lives are dominated by the lack of rain: it affects our relationships – with each other, our extended family, our friends and our neighbours.
All the water we use on the property we have to collect from the rain that falls during the year; there is no underground water that is suitable for use, it is nearly as salty as the sea. Each building has at least one large rainwater tank, to collect the run-off from the roofs. In the paddocks, water is collected through a series of drains (channels) and stored in large earthen dams that are usually 20 feet or more deep.
The sheep, as well as the native animals such as kangaroos, use these dams for their water. We use them for our garden and our bathing. The tank water is used for the household drinking and cooking. In this area, we are used to dry periods – we know that we have to conserve water, because our average annual rainfall is about 18 inches per year. In the 30 years that I have lived here, this is the most prolonged period of drought. Even some of the trees, which are adapted to dry conditions, are dying. It is a stark reminder. The dam that supplies the houses went dry for the first time since 1963 when there were three families using it – now there is only one family using water from that dam. To keep our fruit trees alive, we have collected water from the laundry tubs and bath tub by the bucket-full.
We listen to the weather forecasts on radio and television in anticipation; we watch the build-up of clouds on the horizon; we watch for the signals Mother Nature sends us, to have our hopes dashed again. We forget what it is like to go to bed and listen to the rain falling on the galvanised roof, or we stay awake listening to the light rain that is falling and willing it to be heavier and last all night.
Five weeks ago, we had an inch of rain! It filled some of the dams, the house dam especially, and then, five days later, we had a dust storm! Oh, the joy of living in the rangelands – a land of contrasts. When we have good rains, then the landscape is transformed. The plants and animals respond and so do the people who live in this wonderful area. I would not choose to live anywhere else – it is part of God’s wonderful creation.
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