The Economic Perspective 22 August 2025
- klarsen94
- 5 days ago
- 3 min read
The Latest Trending Economic News Curated for You by Balmoral Group Australia
"Water is life's matter and matrix, mother and medium. There is no life without water." Albert Szent-Gyorgyi
Good morning dear readers,
This week Edwin had the privilege of attending the 2025 qldwater Annual Forum, Queensland’s flagship event for the water sector. Over two days, industry leaders, regulators, and providers came together to share insights, explore innovation, and address emerging challenges. Highlights included tours of cutting-edge PFAS treatment plants delivering low-energy, small-footprint solutions, and advanced recycling facilities turning construction and demolition waste into valuable resources. The forum also featured the Best of the Best Water Taste Test and strategic discussions shaping the future of water management in Queensland.
Our featured articles this week dive into key water issues and innovations: new PFAS detections in Sydney tap water, the soaring water demands of Melbourne’s proposed data centres, South Australia’s algal bloom crisis, and CSIRO’s groundbreaking labs in Adelaide enhancing groundwater management.
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Hope you enjoy the articles and have a great weekend!
21 new PFAS chemicals identified in Sydney tap water via sensitive testing methods
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are the “forever chemicals” used commercially and in industry for their durability. A UNSW study discovered an additional 21 PFAs in samples from Ryde, Potts Point, and North Richmond. The levels are very low, however, only one drop of water in 20 Olympic sized swimming pools and well within the safety threshold set by the Australian government. However, some foreign standards consider any amount of PFAs unsafe, and more research into long-term health effects is needed. Read more here.
Calls for guidelines after Greater Western Water documents reveal potential data centre water usage
19 newly proposed data centres in Melbourne would consume a combined 19,714 megalitres (ML) of water annually, equivalent to 330,000 Melbourne residents. One proposal would potentially consume the yearly equivalent of 66,000 residents and chugging 321 litres per second. Compared to the 33.1 ML consumption of existing data centres, the proposals are a massive increase. The article details the nuts and bolts of data centres and water use efficiency, effects on required infrastructure, the organisations involved, and potential policy changes by the Victorian government. Read more here.
How could we clean up the algal bloom?
South Australia’s algal bloom is ongoing and affects almost 30% of the coastline. It’s too large to be solved with past methods suitable for smaller sites, so action is needed to develop new largescale solutions. Research directions are varied, including the use of modified clay slurries to bind algal cells and remove phosphorous, harvesting natural algicides produced by aquatic bacteria – which only target a single algae species – or even large-scale restoration of oyster reefs, which filter out the anthropogenic chemicals fueling the bloom. Read more here.
New state-of-the-art lab facilities accelerate environmental protection and groundwater management
CSIRO has invested $6.5 million in two new analytical labs in Adelaide. The Ion Cyclotron Resonance (ICR) facility uses mass spectrometry instruments to detect tiny traces of chemicals, including PFAS or organic material, revealing the journey of contaminants through the environment. The second lab, the Tritium Facility via INgrowth (TRIFIN), uses tritium detection to radiometrically test the age of groundwater and infer the rate of its replenishment - critical information for resource management. These technologies are the first of their kind in the Southern hemisphere. Read more here.
Land and Ocean Temperature for July 2025
The following is a smoothed map of blended land and sea surface temperature anomalies, showing how far July’s temperatures departed from past averages. The map was taken from the monthly Global Climate Report published by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
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