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Last crop for vegie growers
12 Dec 2003
Thousands of vegetable seedlings are being thrown away by Werribee market gardeners as water supplies dry up. Southern Rural Water has offered the growers cheap irrigation water within weeks if they agree to use recycled water in future years. At a crisis meeting on Wednesday evening, the utility set a 16-hour deadline for growers to take treated sewage, bringing forward the initial cut-off by a week. The Department of Human Services says "class A" recycled water is safe for vegetables, but growers are concerned consumers won't accept vegetables grown with treated sewage.
The water crisis began when the growers were banned from using ground water due to concerns that supply was running out. A deal was then made in which Southern Rural Water would sell the growers Thomson Dam water for $126.50 a megalitre, on the proviso they agree to use recycled water in the future. If they don't, growers will be charged 10 times that price for the same water.
Herald Sun, 12/12/03, page 9.
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