How Perth's water sources have changed over time

Climate change has dramatically affected where we get our water from. Because rainfall is unpredictable, we now have a growing reliance on more energy-intensive and expensive, rainfall-independent drinking water sources. This includes desalinated seawater - water from the Indian Ocean with salt and impurities removed. There are fluctuations in our water source mix year to year, depending on how much rainwater we get. But, on average, Perth has relied on desalinated seawater over the past 5 years for around half of its drinking water supply. This is expected to increase in the future.