Where does Australia get its drinking water from?

Answer 1

Western Australia is a vast state that has a variety of water supply sources, both ground and surface. The Web Link below may be of some assistance in locating some of these. Click on the "Water Regions" tab for details.

One of Australia's largest rivers, the Fitzroy, is in northwest Western Australia, supplying the Kimberley region. This is also where Australia's largest man made inland lake is found, Lake Argyle, on the Ord River. Considerable significant groundwater resources provide water to the main mining operations in the area, as well as supplying pastoral and irrigation requirements, town water supplies and industry.

The main populated areas around the state's capital, Perth, are supplied by the Avon River Basin. This area also includes the Gnangara and Gingin groundwater regions.

Most other areas have similar arrangements, with a combination of groundwater, rivers and man-made dams. However, one major difference is the Golden Pipeline, or Goldfields Water Supply Scheme. This incredible feat of engineering, pioneered in the late 1800s, brings water from the Mundaring Weir near Perth to the eastern goldfields of Kalgoorlie and Coolgardie.

Answer 2

Australia gets its drinking water from the same types of sources that people of other countries use. Rainwater is a major source. Rain fills the dams (sometimes); fills rainwater tanks; it fills reservoirs; contributes to excellent snowfalls in the Snowy Mountains which then thaws and runs off to the rivers, where it is diverted for use in towns and for stock and agriculture; monsoonal rains in the far north create runoff to southern-flowing rivers; and rain also replenishes the enormous underground water supply, primarily the Great Artesian Basin.

Answer 3

Australia's drinking water comes from a variety of sources, just as it does in other countries.

• Specially constructed dams
• Rivers and creeks
• Rainwater collected in tanks
• Bore water (pumped up from underground water basins suchas the Great Artesian Basin)

Answer 4

Perth gets it's scheme (drinking) water from a combination of 3 sources; fresh (dam) water, ground water and desalination plants. The dams and ground water sources are scattered around the Metro area.

In a typical glass of tap water, you'll probably have a percentage of all 3 sources. How much of each will depend on; where in the Metro area you are, how much water is available from each, and other factors such as equipment breakdown etc. It's all controlled by the Perth Water Corporation.

If you're interested in this, you should be able to get a lot of info from Water Corp's website.

Answer 5

Western Australia gets its water from rivers, dams and groundwater supplies.

One of Australia's largest rivers, the Fitzroy, is in northwest Western Australia, supplying the Kimberley region. This is also where Australia's largest man made inland lake is found, Lake Argyle, on the Ord River. Considerable significant groundwater resources provide water to the main mining operations in the area, as well as supplying pastoral and irrigation requirements, town water supplies and industry.

The main populated areas around the state's capital, Perth, are supplied by the Avon River Basin. This area also includes the Gnangara and Gingin groundwater regions.

Most other areas have similar arrangements, with a combination of groundwater, rivers and man-made dams. However, one major difference is the Golden Pipeline, or Goldfields Water Supply Scheme. This incredible feat of engineering, pioneered in the late 1800s, brings water from the Mundaring Weir near Perth to the eastern goldfields of Kalgoorlie and Coolgardie.

Answer 6

Despite Australia's reputation as the driest hot continent on Earth, known for its frequent droughts, it still has plenty of water resources. Australia's water comes from a variety of sources, just as it does in other countries. In the east and the major cities, where the population is mostly concentrated, water comes from:

• Specially constructed dams
• Rivers and creeks - these are also sometimes dammed, or water pipes directly from them, and filtered accordingly
• Rainwater collected in tanks

Once people move beyond permanent rivers and river catchments, they rely largely on bore water which is pumped up by windmills or mechanical pumps from underground water basins such as the Great Artesian Basin, which lies beneath a large proportion of the continental mainland.

Answer 7

Despite being one if the driest continents on Earth, Australia still has plenty of water resources. Australia's drinking water comes from a variety of sources, just as it does in other countries. Drinking water comes from:

• Specially constructed dams
• Rivers and creeks - these are also sometimes dammed, or water pipes directly from them, and filtered accordingly
• Rainwater collected in tanks
• Bore water (pumped up from underground water basins such as the Great Artesian Basin)