Water

A "generational" piece of water infrastructure for Queensland has been completed after years of construction plagued by cost blowouts, inundations and COVID-19 disruptions.

Farmers have blocked NSW streets with tractors to protest water buybacks but some continue to support them, as an academic claims they are three times cheaper than saving water through infrastructure projects.

Critics of a plan to buy back water entitlements, as part the Murray-Darling Basin Plan have taken to the streets of the Riverina.

More than a quarter of Queenslanders have no access to the treated water after decision-making on the controversial topic was handed to local councillors a decade ago.

In 2023, about 90 per cent of Australians can access fluoridated water — but only 72 per cent of Queenslanders do.

Scientists and environmentalists say not enough water is being pumped back into the Murrumbidgee River system and momentum is building for a reassessment of a decades'-old agreement.

As green energy players are going to greater lengths in a bid to secure support, the French company behind South Australia's massive Goyder renewables project has handed over the nearby Worlds End Gorge as a new SA national park. 

There are growing concerns that the race to build more homes to address the housing shortage will impact access to water resources. The problem is particularly acute in the Gold Coast Hinterland.

Many in this community booming with treechangers are demanding a moratorium on residential development, fearing new arrivals will put further pressure on their dwindling creek water supply.

By popular demand, the artificial swimming lake in South Australia's south-east will be refilled for the school holidays, while the council looks to fix leaks that went undiscovered for years because of a misread water meter.

More than 50 lawyers and academics are urging the federal parliament to ensure pending changes to the basin plan tangibly improve how it incorporates First Nations' aspirations and values.

Environmental groups say the plan, which includes the Beetaloo Basin, is the "worst water decision" made in years, while industry groups say it is a positive step forward.

What contribution has privatisation made to the creation of a better, fairer, more harmonious society? Britain's experience with the sale of its water and sewage network suggests not all industries come out on top, writes Linton Besser.

A water scientist says there should be statewide alert about heavy metals in rainwater tanks after results of testing near Cadia Valley Operations' gold mine were released.

The Murray Darling Basin back in the spotlight as the federal government rushes to extend the 2024 deadline to return more water to rivers and restart water buybacks.

Centennial Coal says it has to release five Olympic pools' worth of "predominantly untreated groundwater" a day to stop a Lithgow mine flooding, which a water scientist says will worsen contamination.

Water as valuable as gold in Western Australia's historic Goldfields as researchers try to find alternate sources for the state's booming mining sector.  

Some parts of Queensland have run out of water, and landholders are paying a heavy price as paddocks become parched.

Just 3 per cent of residents of the South Australian town of Quorn use their mains water. The rest, rely on bottled or tank water.

The gallery houses artefacts of deep cultural significance to the diaspora in Australia, including a rare 1,000-year-old replica Rotuman headdress. 

A former senator's bid to get more information about SA Water's decision to build a desalination plant at Billy Light's Point is knocked back, but Rex Patrick says he won't give up and locals deserve to know more about the decision.

Residents in Adelaide's southern suburbs who have woken up to find their homes without water for a second morning, after the city's coldest October night in seven years, will be compensated with a deduction from their current bill.

A United Nations report warns the world is "perilously close" to triggering tipping points that could have "irreversible, catastrophic impacts for people and the planet" — but it's not too late to act.

Strange colours and smells have been seen on Sunshine Coast beaches.

A "rotting fish" stench and wild water colours are confusing beachgoers at some of Australia's most popular holiday spots. So what's behind the strange phenomenon?