78% of Australians 'would drink recycled water'

The Straits Times, February 13, 2007
By William Choong, For The Straits Times



CANBERRA - NEARLY four-fifths of Australians are in favour of drinking recycled water in a form similar to Singapore's Newater, according to a poll.

The survey, conducted by ACNielsen at the weekend, showed that 78per cent of Australians supported the introduction of recycled water.

Nineteen per cent were against it, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.

A total of 1,142 people were questioned, of whom 80per cent were from New South Wales, the paper said.

AC Nielsen told respondents that one option to increase water supplies was 'to treat sewage and other waste water', and that the water would be safe for drinking. It then asked respondents if they would support or oppose recycled water to supplement supplies.

Support for recycled water was high across states, age groups and supporters of political parties.

It was not clear whether ACNielsen made an explicit reference to Singapore's Newater in its survey questions.

The Singapore system recycles and purifies water via a process involving microfiltration, reverse osmosis and ultraviolet technologies to a standard exceeding that of the World Health Organisation.

AC Nielsen declined to give The Straits Times the full results of its poll, saying it had been carried out exclusively for the Herald and its sister paper, The Age of Melbourne.

The federal government led by Prime Minister John Howard has been urging state governments across Australia to implement water recycling systems as a long-term supply solution.

But yesterday, opposition New South Wales Premier Morris Iemma said his government's stance against the use of recycled water remained unchanged despite the AC Nielsen poll.

Asked by reporters if public opinion was changing on the sewage issue, he said: 'Maybe it has, but we are getting on with our job of securing Sydney's water supply with the strategy that we have developed.'

He said it would take four to five years to build the infrastructure to add treated sewage water to the water supply and would cost A$4 billion (S$4.75 billion) - about twice the cost of a planned A$1.9 billion desalination plant.

He said the government was determined to proceed with the desalination plant, as experts warn there could be a shortage of rain for at least 15 years. Australia is in the midst of a long-running drought.

Last month, Queensland, the country's second-largest state, said it would start recycling waste water for drinking.

The water issue and climate change in general are becoming hot issues for Mr Howard's ruling coalition and the Labor opposition in an election year.