The Perth Thread

[kane249]

So is anyone going to see The Giants this weekend? Was originally meh about it but have slowly started to get more into it.

 

[Forward Press]

And I think this is the problem with our dams now - they are in the wrong place. It never ceases to amaze me that at times, no matter how heavy the rain, none ends up in the dams. With all the clearing and developing going on the catchment area run off has completely changed and so much water collection is bein missed.

The dams are where they are because they are the deepest valleys in a location close to Perth. Our coastal plain is very flat and there would also be issues with surface salinity.

The Gnangara and Jandakot mounds are already overstressed. Desalination plants are the only viable option now, short of Colin Barnett still thinking a 2000km long canal is a good option.

 

[gaskin]

So is anyone going to see The Giants this weekend? Was originally meh about it but have slowly started to get more into it.

Nope. I have no idea what they are supposed to be for anyway.

 

[Off The Couch]

I have actually never minded the Kununurra pipeline idea - too expensive now though

 

[kane249]

Nope. I have no idea what they are supposed to be for anyway.

It's part of the Perth International Arts Festival

 

[Forward Press]

I have actually never minded the Kununurra pipeline idea - too expensive now though

The problem is the amount of pumps needed and the measures you'd have to take to reduce evaporation and leakage. The cost was astronomical then, too.

The Goldfields pipe was viable because back then Kalgoorlie was an economic powerhouse for WA and Australia and the economic and social benefits were very obvious. You won't get much extra benefit from the canal as you would in just building another desal or exploring options like Yarragadee.

 

[Off The Couch]

The dams are where they are because they are the deepest valleys in a location close to Perth. Our coastal plain is very flat and there would also be issues with surface salinity.

The Gnangara and Jandakot mounds are already overstressed. Desalination plants are the only viable option now, short of Colin Barnett still thinking a 2000km long canal is a good option.

I'm not saying we need new dams, I'm just saying that ongoing development and clearing of the land has contributed to the problem and other solutions need to be found.
The same things are happening with lake monger, Hyde park, herdsman lake etc. - they approve infill after infill with no thought to how that impacts on our underground water systems - it's a disaster in the making

 

[Forward Press]

I'm not saying we need new dams, I'm just saying that ongoing development and clearing of the land has contributed to the problem and other solutions need to be found.
The same things are happening with lake monger, Hyde park, herdsman lake etc. - they approve landfill after landfill with no thought to how that impacts on our underground water systems - it's a disaster in the making

I don't dispute that at all. It was inevitable, though - Perth is growing rapidly and climate change is happening. In an ideal world most of our wetlands would've been retained but population pressures always win out.

 

[Scotland]

Do we even recycle grey water yet? Or pump between dams?

Endless new suburbs with lawns and rose gardens on scheme water. **** we're thick sometimes.

 

[Teriyakicat]

I moved here 12 years ago and its still got me ####ed why every house in WA doesn't have water tanks installed...enforced by law.

Why are people still able to install 80,000 litre pools in their backyards? And then they don't use pool covers to reduce evaporation.... Pfft!

 

[Teriyakicat]

Do we even recycle grey water yet? Or pump between dams?

Endless new suburbs with lawns and rose gardens on scheme water. **** we're thick sometimes.

Is recycling grey water still illegal? It used to be, AFAIK.
Edit- it isn't... but there are a few hoops to jump through- eg with licensing and rules about what you can and can't do.

 

[kfc1]

Why are people still able to install 80,000 litre pools in their backyards? And then they don't use pool covers to reduce evaporation.... Pfft!

We live in one of the hottest cities in Australia - not getting rid of pools

 

[Teriyakicat]

My mother has slapped me in the face countless times.

Still does

Shouldn't slap a kid in public though because it would be quite humiliating

That's just sad

 

[Teriyakicat]

The dams are where they are because they are the deepest valleys in a location close to Perth. Our coastal plain is very flat and there would also be issues with surface salinity.

The Gnangara and Jandakot mounds are already overstressed. Desalination plants are the only viable option now, short of Colin Barnett still thinking a 2000km long canal is a good option.

I think they drew less from the Jandakot water mound last year. Groundwater levels are about a metre higher than I've seen then for over 4-5 years.

 

[Teriyakicat]

We live in one of the hottest cities in Australia - not getting rid of pools

On a hot summer day, my pool can lose an inch of water if the cover is off. That's about an hour of water running with the tap on full pressure, to top it back up.
No- I didn't build the pool. No- I would never have another pool. They're a pain in the arse to look after (I'm sounding grouchy- need more sugar, I think) and, no- my next house does not have a pool!

Just use a cover or get people with pools to have a water tank to augment the water supply.

**i am aware that pools are not the biggest consumers of water in our country.

 

[Teriyakicat]

So is anyone going to see The Giants this weekend? Was originally meh about it but have slowly started to get more into it.

Nope. Read about it though. Will you go for all 3 days or just part of one of the days?
Looks interesting if you have young kids.

 

[Off The Couch]

I was so naught last night - forgot that I had turned the hose on to top up the pool
Our yard won't need watering till next summer
Come at me

 

[gaskin]

They're a pain in the arse to look after

We had a pool in one of our old houses and we have lived in 4 houses since and my dad is still adamant he will never get one again for that reason.

 

[Admiral Byng]

We had a pool in one of our old houses and we have lived in 4 houses since and my dad is still adamant he will never get one again for that reason.

You need a Creepy Crowley thingy.

 

[Righteo]

You need a Creepy Crowley thingy.

Very good, Eddie

 

[Scotland]

We had a pool in one of our old houses and we have lived in 4 houses since and my dad is still adamant he will never get one again for that reason.

We had one too. Has been nothing but a pain in the arse for about a decade now.

If I ever build/renovate a family home I might put in a lap pool or a spa, but never a big pool like 80s/90s houses have.

 

[Ljp86]

Thanks for providing those stats, Ljp. I really find that stuff fascinating.
So there's a rise of 50-80-ish mm in the 1901-1950 period, then a 100+ mm drop in the next 60 years.
Have you read any theories as to what might've caused it? More tree-clearing, more carbon emissions, more data collection points? Makes me wonder what caused the high rainfall from '01-'50.

I haven't read many theories. I guess the records in the much older years come to down to accuracy. Some of these records are more than 130 years old so the reliability or accuracy back then could have been questionable although the earliest periods are around the same mark, so their accuracy might not be so bad after all. What I did notice though in the wetter periods was the rainfall in the winter months was a lot higher than what it is now while the summer months were generally the same and in some cases a little lower. I saw for one particular period that the rainfall in June was close to 200mm on average which is extremely wet and other months of the year were also wetter than the current averages we're experiencing right now.

I've also noticed that the winters are drier here from say 20 years ago and that the summers are getting warmer and are warmer for longer. An interesting point to note is that March is now warmer on average than December and has been for some time, so in effect Perth now experiences four months of summer and only two a bit months (April to early June) of autumn. There also seems to be more longer drier spells, we had a 61-day spell this summer and there have been plenty over the previous summers to the point where it's generally happening every summer without fail. Previously this was a much more uncommon occurrence although it did happen on some occasions. The summer months are also seeing us receive more severe thunderstorm activity hence the spike in the average rainfall for January over the past 21 years.

I know that we seem to get more showery-type stormy rain here, as opposed to full on grey sky dropping a roughly even amount of rain in every gauge - which means there can be pretty different rainfall totals from one suburb to another. I haven't been in Perth long enough to know if this sort of rainfall is the same as it's always been. How does that match up historically?

Yeah it's pretty much the same as what it's been, some areas will get a modest amount of rainfall whereas other areas will get nothing and others it might bucket down. That's partly down to the vast urban sprawl that Perth has in that the metropolitan area is getting so big there can be big differences in rainfall figures when comparing places in the south in say Kwinana compared with Yanchep in the far northern suburbs. Another factor is the Darling scarp which forces the clouds carrying the precipitation upwards to clear the scarp. The only way they can do this is to release the rain they are carrying so they do so which is why places near the scarp, Kalamunda etc are wetter then the city and the suburbs near the coast. It also explains why our dams are placed there as they receive the most rainfall.

The scarp also acts as a "rain shadow" in that it blocks a lot of that rain from reaching the agricultural areas to the east. This explains why Northam only receives 426.5 mm (1877-2015) per year compared with Perth's 731.6mm.

 

[BALKAN]

So is anyone going to see The Giants this weekend? Was originally meh about it but have slowly started to get more into it.

Yeah I think it looks pretty cool actually.
Will probably go see it on Saturday.

 

[kane249]

Nope. Read about it though. Will you go for all 3 days or just part of one of the days?
Looks interesting if you have young kids.

I live in the city so its not far for me to check it out

Downside is with the road closures its going to be a nightmare if i want to take my car out.

 

[BluesMan]

What do the giants actually do? Am i missing something...?