Chapter 4 : The Pipes

I'm no engineer but I imagine that the pipes transporting the clean water will be very large and have a ratchet system where water can only flow forward. Also, a corkscrew system within some of the pipes powered by wind or solar could pump the water through the pipes uphill. That's an ancient technology. As mentioned previously, every 500 to 1000 meters or so there will be a large silo that stores water.  That water was pumped into the silo during daylight hours from the pipes when excess solar energy was available. Forget about Snowy Hydro 2. We don't need that.

The water is released to keep the water flowing forward at an acceptable rate during the night or whenever necessary. Depending on how much water you release and from how many silos, you can control the flow of the water even though you are far from the desalination plant and the original pumping stations. You can even control the flow of water at night. 

The silos are painted by local artists with murals promoting the local area. In case of bushfires, the silos can be accessed by firefighting helicopters from above. The silos can be rigged up to act as hydro batteries, providing energy at night or whenever needed. When the silos release water back into the pipes, they spin a turbine at their base which generates power back into the grid. 

As mentioned previously, the pipes and silos are built to scale and built to last as long as possible. In this way, the cost can be discounted over the maximum number of years of use. 

Also, the pipes can be interconnected so you can drive water to the place of highest demand to maximize the return on investment. You can also protect property by moving flood water away from areas where it might cause damage. Imagine emptying a dam or reservoir with this pipe system before a major rain event. Every little bit might make a huge difference to the damage toll. Yes, this infrastructure will cost a huge amount. But if built to last and in a way that it can be easily upgraded as technology improves, then over a long enough time it will pay for itself. Also, think how much damage might be done by floods if it is not done. Remember, floods come with climate change, not just drought and heat. 

Presently, the township of Lismore in NSW is dying because it floods too often. Business owners rebuild, but it's impossible to insure for flood damage. Fewer and fewer facilities are being provided in the town, making it an undesirable place to live. Lismore was established in 1856. Climate Change is killing it. Which town will be next? 

The manufacture of green steel in Australia, as suggested by "Twiggy" Andrew Forrest, could, over time, be ramped up to such an extent that Australia would have an internationally competitive steel industry. We could design and build those pipes here in Australia. It's a ready domestic market with a huge appetite, which allows for production at scale. Tapping into such a scale will provide huge benefits for competitiveness. The loss of Chinese iron ore markets due to the economic downturn in China could be replaced by massive demand for green steel in Australia. 

In America in the 19th century, steel manufacturing rode on the expansion of railways throughout the entire country. Here in Australia, we can replicate that success story by piping clean water to our interior using an ever-expanding domestic green steel industry. 

Think of the trouble Jack Laing had building the Harbour Bridge. Imagine Sydney’s development without the Harbour Bridge. In our present age, we think of building the Sydney Harbour Bridge as a “no-brainer”. But that was definitely not the case back in the late 1920s and early 1930s when the Harbour Bridge was being proposed. During the Great Depression, building the Harbour Bridge was known as "the Iron Lungs" of the NSW economy. The employment created by that project suppressed the effects of the Great Depression in NSW. Similar to the building of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the spinoff benefits from this major development, with an entirely new class of infrastructure, will probably become apparent in the years that follow. 

Why not have open canals pushing water where it's needed? I would argue that Australia is such a dry and vast country that we would lose too much water through evaporation. By all means, have townships with artificial lakes as part of their city botanical gardens. Even have elite subdivisions in new country towns with artificial waterfront canals leading to large man-made recreational lakes. It would make country life more livable and attractive. It might help control inland temperature variations slightly. But open canals to transport water and our hot Australian sun are not a winning combination. I prefer pipes!