Celebrating World Water Day

Today is World Water Day, offering a chance to celebrate the importance of fresh water and its value to people and communities around the world. First held by the United Nations in 1993, it has since become a well-known day of observance. The day is also related to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 6, which is dedicated to providing “water and sanitation for all by 2030”.

(For more information about the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals, you can refer to our article from last week that covers them in more detail).

The importance of water is something that is innately understood, but not all countries have the same access to it. This is particularly true of countries that suffer from droughts, including Australia.

The Australian natural gas industry is strictly regulated when it comes to water use, and works closely with landholders, graziers and other pastoralists within regional communities to ensure sufficient access to water is maintained. These companies also provide safe water for agricultural and industrial use in times of drought.

Landholders who allow natural gas companies to operate on their land can benefit from upgraded farms and cheap access to water, providing a knock-on benefit and boosting regional economies.

Natural gas companies also monitor groundwater, which can be treated and tested before being recycled. The Great Artesian Basin for example contains around 65 million gigalitres of water alone, which can be accessed by natural gas companies, cleaned and repurposed in lots of ways.

For more information about World Water Day, click here.