Water

Thai cave rescuer Richard Harris and the owner of a popular dive spot in South Australia's south-east say the amount of water used by local farmers should be reduced to save unique wetlands.

Students at a NSW school have been issued bottled water while the source of lead and copper found during routine testing is investigated.

A record payout from a mining company — that drained millions of litres of Sydney surface water without a permit — will fund the rehabilitation of a heritage-listed swamp.

Bickham Coal Company says after decades of deliberations it has "no intention" of resurrecting plans for mining on its controversial site in the NSW Upper Hunter.

With many rainwater tanks across the Adelaide Hills running low or on empty due to an ongoing dry spell, two residents say thieves have used water trucks to steal nearly 200,000 litres overnight.

The Coalition has sent voters contradictory messages about whether it has accounted for the vast water requirements of its seven proposed nuclear plants after Peter Dutton declared the issue all but resolved.

A new $4 million wetland at Belconnen oval in Canberra opens in a bid to help reduce pollution caused by stormwater runoff into Lake Ginninderra and decrease its likelihood of toxic blue-green algae blooms.

As a mass of water makes its way down from Queensland, the Menindee Lakes in outback New South Wales could be the beneficiary. Having slowly dried up for months, the fortunes of the bird and fish sanctuary may be about to change. 

The deluge which battered south-west Queensland is now draining downhill to a catchment area five times the size of the UK.

An NT environment group has launched legal action against the government's Mataranka water plan, which allows 62,000 ML/year to be extracted from the aquifer feeding the iconic hot springs. 

Victoria's desalination plant is set to be switched on for the first time in years. During its period of prolonged dormancy, the government has been paying billions in repayments for the plant.   

The total reservoir levels across metropolitan Adelaide are at 38 per cent compared to 50 per cent at the same day last year, SA Water data shows.

An irrigation scheme will divert nutrient-rich, treated effluent water to crops instead of into sensitive waterways after a $120 million project secured final approval in south-east Queensland.

Soil moisture has declined more than 2,600 gigatonnes since 2000, making a greater contribution to sea level rise than Greenland's melting ice sheets.

Demand for water by the resources industry and prolonged dry spells contribute to mass tree deaths in WA's mining heartland, traditional owners say.

Farmers pushed to the brink by drought have joined the state opposition on the steps of Adelaide's Parliament House calling for more government action.

Sisters Diane and Lorraine's fear of the water has had a profound impact on their lives. Jacqueline Wong, who teaches adults to swim, says aquaphobia is the most "common thread" connecting her clients, but it can be overcome.

A 30-tonne congealed mass of items that should not be flushed, including wet wipes, sanitary products, oils and grease was removed by an excavator over two days.

As one end of the country contends with the fallout from ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred, another part of Australia is battling the opposite conditions. Hopes that water will make its way south are evaporating fast, with experts saying conditions are too dry. 

An invisible disaster is unfolding in South Australia, and those impacted want a future plan to make sure they have enough water to survive, writes Meagan Dillon.