Watersheds on the Potomac and the Red Continent
by Michelle Bennett, Environmental Sustainability Consultant, Mt. Rainier, MD
Michelle Bennett, Environmental Sustainability Consultant, shares observations about both Sydney, Australia and Washington, DC in this first in a series of comparing and contrasting the environmental scene of the District with a variety of urban areas around the globe.
With the spate of natural disasters in Washington DC this summer, I sat down to compare our troubles with those in a very different part of the world: Sydney Australia. I studied Environmental Studies there for two years and came to appreciate a fundamentally unique and fragile continent.
The east coast of Australia receives reliable rainfall, unlike the Red Center, so it is characterized by Eucalypt forest and littoral rainforest. The local climate around Sydney might compare to mid-California: summers are hot and it rarely frosts in the lowlands come winter. Typhoons rarely veer so far south; flooding is controlled with a huge system of dams; and earthquakes are rare and weak. The area is prone to fire, like parts of California. Drought comes in cycles, both short and unbearably long, all across the ancient continent.
But Australia, and especially Sydney, is prone to bizarre natural hazards – damaging phenomenon so strange and alien that the first settlers felt they had landed on another planet. The local fauna didn’t help, of course, because most things in Australia, including adorable koala bears and their vicious cousins the dropbears, can kill you. Sydney is home to two varieties of deadly spiders, and kangaroos are as dangerous as deer on the road.
Even the soil can be dangerous. Over millennia, peat deposits absorbed iron sulfide minerals. When these soils remain under the water table they are benign. But expose them to the air and they react with oxygen to ooze sulfuric acid, arsenic, and even heavy metals. In parts of Australia, especially along the east coast, the land bleeds poison when disturbed.
The water table that covers these deposits can also be problematic. Most of Australia is composed of porous sedimentary rock, which in turn sits atop the salted crust of an ancient shallow sea. That means there are large aquifers beneath the surface, which feed or deprive whole watersheds. If too much water is pumped out of the ground, the water table falls and regions dry up. If not enough water is used, the water table will rise and bring salt with it, indefinitely decimating scarce arable land.
The endemic species of Australia evolved in this hostile situation, and have devised clever ways to moderate or survive the many excesses of the land. Some species of eucalypt grow their roots just deep enough to sip from the water table during drought, and to drain it during times of rain. With just enough trees across a landscape, the water table is managed. But grow too many trees and precious water drops beyond reach; chop down too many trees and water rises to salt the watershed. Talk about the value of ecological services!
“I was surprised that the Chesapeake is still unable to filter enough nutrients and pollution through its world-famous shellfisheries. Clearly more habitat restoration, or “bush regeneration”, as the Aussies call it, is needed.”
Australians also contend with many of the same issues we face in the D.C. watershed. Agriculture and household wastewater dump too many nutrients into rivers, causing eutrophication and toxic algal blooms. As a recent D.C. transplant, I was not surprised to learn about the industrial and agricultural pollutants that local water sheds struggle with, but I was surprised that the Chesapeake is still unable to filter enough nutrients and pollution through its world-famous shellfisheries. Clearly more habitat restoration, or “bush regeneration”, as the Aussies call it, is needed.
We can learn a thing or two from Sydney’s reaction to water quality issues. Most dish soaps, detergents and other cleaning agents are now nitrogen- and phosphate-free. Local environmental groups and the government spent years educating citizens and forged partnerships with businesses and industries. New products were not mandated, but encouraged, marketed and rewarded. It was a slow, sometimes halting process, but through consistent, multi-pronged efforts, these products are becoming the new norm. Sydney residents were doubtful, at first. It took several years for new products to attain comparable quality, but now a major source of water pollution is declining. I can assure you that the products work just as well as their polluting counterparts.
It’s not uncommon to see locals swimming in the surf for their morning exercise, regardless of the air or water temperature. Every popular beach has an active swimming, surfing and water rescue club. When water quality is poor, residents notice.
Over the years, many diverse groups have banded together to protest and demand better water quality: from young surfers to wealthy residents who can afford beachfront property. Australians enjoy and appreciate aspects of the natural environment around them, but they also participate in their democracy. They are required by law to vote, and they get a day off work to do so. They demand comparatively high standards of their politicians, media, business and non-profit organizations. They appreciate the role of each in society.
Some helpful links:
Many, though not all, also experience huge fluctuations, both natural and man made, that occur on their continent and understand that without a healthy environment, their economic and personal well-being are exposed to greater costs and risks.
Look for other knowledgeable DCEN participants writing about how Washington, DC and the surrounding region compare to Buenos Aires, London, Belgrade and other cities around the world.