Adelaide Hills residents desperately in search of a drop as water supplies dry up
Many South Australians have run out of water as the state deals with below average rainfall and longer than usual wait times for water delivery.
Adelaide Hills residents have been forced to turn to their communities for help as unprecedented dry conditions across the state run water tanks and dams dry.
Meadows local Leah Craig ran out of water in early February.
When Craig noticed she was running low on water, she contacted her regular water supplier who gave her a six to eight week wait time.
“So then I went into a panic and was calling everywhere and everywhere was saying the same thing. I’m so sorry we’re not taking on new customers or the books are full,” Craig said.
Local water delivery companies are unable to keep up with the increased demand, leaving people like Craig waiting for over a month.
As the tank ran dry, Craig and her family thought they were going to have to leave their home.
“We were considering leaving our house, we were going to have to move and the only reason that we didn’t is because our neighbour heard about us and he helped us.” Craig said.
“He was like, ‘look, I can put the hose over the fence and try and help you out’.
“If it wasn’t for our neighbours we wouldn’t be living here. They literally came to the rescue.”
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Craig and her family are finally receiving a water delivery this week, but they are not alone in their struggle as the region awaits rainfall.
“Lots of people are going through the exact same thing,” Craig said.
Environment and Water Minister Susan Close said four more water carting providers have now registered through SA Health’s accreditation process to help address the bottleneck in carting services.
According to the Bureau of Meteorology, last year was Adelaide’s driest year since 2006, with the city receiving nearly 200 millimetres below the average rainfall.
January and February continued the trend with below average rainfall across much of South Australia.
Despite attempting to conserve as much water as possible, it was not enough to stop Craig and her family from running their supply dry.
“I grew up in the hills my whole life. I know all about conserving water, bucket showers,” Craig said.
“I think we’ve maybe watered the garden once or twice since November… so that’s obviously not enough.”
Homes are not the only places feeling the dry conditions, with some Adelaide Hills schools struggling without a mains water supply.
Craig’s daughter’s school, Mylor Primary, was forced to close for multiple days due to having no water.
“It’s still not quite sorted out,” Craig said.
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Last week the SA Government announced emergency collection points throughout the region to help residents until much needed rains fill the empty tanks.
Water is available from three emergency collection points, Ridge Road, Woodside, Koennecke Road, Sandergrove and Peggy Buxton Road, Brukunga from 7am to 7pm every day of the week.
A fourth emergency water collection point was opened today in McLaren Vale on Field St behind the Coles, as the Fleurieu Peninsula grapples with similar conditions.
So far, about 100 people have collected 110,050 litres of water from the emergency bulk water collection sites.
The collection points require locals to have their own containers and transport for water, making it difficult to collect enough water for many locals.
“I don’t own a truck to transport it. What am I going to do, put them in a few tubs? Unless I’ve got a vehicle that can collect water it’s not really helpful,” Craig said.
These collection points are for emergency household and domestic use only, leaving livestock, crops and gardens in the lurch.
“Our garden, which is a very old garden, it’s well over a hundred years old, it’s shrivelling up,” Craig said.
The lack of rainfall has left properties dry, raising concern for the increased fire risk and locals calling for better planning for these conditions.
Craig said the school is currently using portable toilets and is working with the Adelaide
Hills Council and Education Department to find a longer-term solution.
“Especially on high fire risk days, everything is as dry as a bone, if anything was to happen… there needs to be a lot more planning in place,” Craig said.
As dry conditions continue into autumn, the National Council for Fire and Emergency Services (AFAC) have advised that there is an increased risk for bushfires throughout parts of South Australia, Western Australia and Victoria.
Some relief may be on the way with rain forecast for much of the region late in the week and early next week.
“It’s really sad to see how destructive the weather has been. We’ve been really affected by it,” Craig said.
