Australian police are hunting for thieves who stole 300,000 litres (79,000 gallons) of water amid the worst drought to hit the east of the country in decades, officials said Thursday.

The thieves drained the water from two tanks on a property in Evans Plains, a hamlet about three hours west of Sydney in New South Wales state, police said.

The theft was discovered Sunday, but could have occured anytime in the previous two weeks, they said.

"Police wish to speak with anyone who saw water trucks or vehicles fitted with equipment/ability to cart water in the Evans Plains area," they said in a statement.

A police spokeswoman said the prolonged drought and water shortages suffered across parts of outback New South Wales likely prompted the crime.

"I would think that the recent conditions with drought etc had something to do with it," she said.

Australia is the most arid inhabited continent and has just gone through it's driest southern spring on record, with no significant rain forecast in coming months.

New South Wales has been the region hardest hit by the drought, with a number of towns running out of water, farms in crisis and ranchers forced to sell off livestock.

The state is also suffering from unprecedented bushfires across vast swathes of land left tinder-dry by the drought, which scientists say have been exacerbated by global warming.

Related Links
Water News - Science, Technology and Politics

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The Space Media Network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceMediaNetwork Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceMediaNetwork Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Unique form of quartz may power deep-Earth water cycle
Washington (UPI) Dec 17, 2019
Most of what scientists know about Earth's water cycle involves processes - evaporation, condensation and precipitation - happening above the planet's crust. But new research suggests the water cycle may have a deep-Earth component. In a new paper, published this week in the journal PNAS, scientists have described for the first time the remarkable water-carrying abilities of the mineral stishovite, a unique form of quartz. Lab tests showed the mineral can transport surprisingly large a ... read more