An important  front page article by Grahame Armstrong in the 8, September 2002 "Sunday Times" reveals how Harvey region irrigators are failing to use their water allocation.
This shortfall is amazingly 30 gigalitres (GL)  a year, the same amount the Government is proposing to generate by desalination to "drought proof" Perth.
That's not all, the irrigators "waste" 38GL a year through inefficient practices.
That's not all either; at a time of low levels in Perth supply dams the Water and Rivers Commission has asked the irrigators to find ways of using "their" surplus !!!!  Quick, we have got to keep the shortage up in Perth.  
All staggering stuff for WA voters to digest.
You have to conclude, "what water crisis ?"
Read the article.

Note the claim 5 lines up re "..worst drought since 1914..". This is another example of Government misinformation in this whole "water crisis". It is utter nonsense, 2001 was a moderately dry year in the Perth region, in fact looking at Perth rainfall records 2001 was only the 15th dryest year.
Click for graphic comparing the 1914 drought with 2001, you can see the 1914 negative rain anomaly was much deeper than in 2001. 

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