The massive bushfire in Victoria located in South Australia may reduce Melbourne's drinking water supply by 30 per cent for 30 years, Xinhua reported.
Melbourne Water managing director Robert Skinner said that regrowth of plant takes a huge amount of water. Moreover, the longer-term issues of recuperating mountain ash trees, which reduces run-off of ash into reservoirs may also lead to water problems.
Run-off of ash into important reservoirs will contaminate water supplies in Melbourne, which are currently only 31.8 per cent full due to years of drought.
Those affected reservoirs will be contaminated for at least three months, taking away 24 per cent of Melbourne's drinking water, which may ultimately lead to a risk to the water quality in Melbourne's drinking water, said Skinner.