Sydney: Dam Water, Filth to the Ocean
Sydney: Dam Water, Filth to the Ocean
In this chapter of the virtual exhibition “Drought, Mud, Filth, and Flood: Water Crises in Australian Cities, 1880s–2010s,” the authors describe how the city of Sydney, New South Wales, has pursued the dual goals of plentiful water and cheap sanitation through the construction of the massive Warragamba Dam and ocean outfall sewers. Sewage polluting Sydney’s iconic beaches saw large protests in the 1980s and 1990s and closer monitoring of the ocean outfalls. Householders successfully curtailed their water consumption during the Millennium Drought, but as soon as dam levels rose again, water restrictions were abandoned because water retailers gain financially from higher consumption.
Drought, Mud, Filth, and Flood: Water Crises in Australian Cities, 1880s–2010s
In this exhibition, we invite visitors to consider the historical relationship of “water crises” of various kinds to the development of urban water systems, through the experience of the driest inhabited continent on earth, Australia. We have chosen a range of different departures from water-related business as usual—from shortage to flood, pollution to drainage—in the five mainland Australian state capitals from the late nineteenth century to the present. The part of this exhibition devoted to each city focuses thematically on just one or two kinds of crisis, while the timeline covers a wider range of events in each place.
About the ExhibitionAbout the author
![Gaynor, Andrea](https://www.environmentandsociety.org/sites/default/files/styles/author_thumb/public/andreagaynor.jpg?itok=DuXgjjo-)
University of Western Australia
Show more![Cook, Margaret](https://www.environmentandsociety.org/sites/default/files/styles/author_thumb/public/margaretcook.jpg?itok=lQnI65T_)
University of Queensland & La Trobe University, Australia
Show more![Frost, Lionel](https://www.environmentandsociety.org/sites/default/files/styles/author_thumb/public/lionelfrost.jpg?itok=Dcp3lQPt)
Monash University, Australia
Show more![Gregory, Jenny](https://www.environmentandsociety.org/sites/default/files/styles/author_thumb/public/jennygregory.jpg?itok=FJsghrSO)
University of Western Australia
Show more![Morgan, Ruth](https://www.environmentandsociety.org/sites/default/files/styles/author_thumb/public/ruthmorgan.jpg?itok=0jTEkKrB)
Monash University, Australia
Show more![Shanahan, Martin](https://www.environmentandsociety.org/sites/default/files/styles/author_thumb/public/martinshanahan.jpg?itok=eTutnRoj)
University of South Australia
Show more![Spearritt, Peter](https://www.environmentandsociety.org/sites/default/files/styles/author_thumb/public/peterspearritt.jpg?itok=B3sC-L-Z)
University of Queensland, Australia
Show more![Avey, Susan](https://www.environmentandsociety.org/sites/default/files/styles/author_thumb/public/susanavey.jpg?itok=3yo7f_Cc)
University of South Australia
Show more![Etherington, Nathan](https://www.environmentandsociety.org/sites/default/files/styles/author_thumb/public/nathanetherington.jpg?itok=wugwMwC3)
University of Sydney, Australia
Show more![Gralton, Elizabeth](https://www.environmentandsociety.org/sites/default/files/styles/author_thumb/public/elizabethgralton.jpg?itok=Lm-9yV-I)
University of Western Australia
Show more![Martin, Daniel](https://www.environmentandsociety.org/sites/default/files/styles/author_thumb/public/danielmartin.jpg?itok=P_OmLQvj)
University of Western Australia
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