‘Dire’: Shock drought reality hitting Aussies

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“She had been informed she'd have access to water in just over two weeks’ time.”

“There's just one story among many.”

“I had a couple out the back of Finniss, heading towards Clayton, and they were all out of water, I couldn't get to them for three or four days because I was so stacked up, and they had to take the newborn to the parents' place, just so they could get a wash.”

The tough conditions are widespread across South Australia, from the Fleurieu in the south and the Adelaide Hills area in the Greater Adelaide region to the Eyre Peninsula across the Spencer Gulf.

A stark map produced by the Bureau of Meteorology illustrates rainfall decile ranges, revealing that the entire southern part of the state experienced "very much below average" or "lowest on record" rainfall for the year.

South Australia got above-average rain in January 2024, but from February to May, the rural areas had well below-average rainfall.

“Big chunks of the country's farmland, including the Eyre Peninsula, Yorke Peninsula and the Upper South East region, have had their driest autumn on record.”

The drought is pushing farmers, growers, small businesses and hundreds of households to the point of collapse.

Yankalilla Mayor Darryl Houston, a cattle farmer, said farmers were "destocking" and trucking in water to get by.

“It’s going to be a pretty challenging next six months for certain.”

He said his own dam had almost run dry, something that had never happened before.

Hundreds of homes and farms located outside the main towns in the region aren't connected to the main water supply, so they rely on rain to fill up their water tanks and dams.

No rain means no water, and a call to suppliers like Mr Solly is the answer.

Mr Houston said if the Fleurieu didn't get a "good winter", the situation would become "problematic" and farms could go under.

“He reckons it's going to be a real tough year ahead,” he said.

“And you wouldn't want two years like this one again.”

“Another year like this would be cause for concern, and it would be very challenging to have two years in a row like this.”

Some of the state's winemakers are also experiencing the effects.

“We've got a lot of old vineyards that have got deep roots, and the key to us getting through a season in good shape is that our soils are like big water-holding machines, and they need to fill up with winter rain. When we're short on that, it doesn't happen.”

The dry weather also brings a higher likelihood of frost, he said.

“He reckons they're as good as joined at the hip.”

“Lots of people in the Barossa Valley have got frosted, and that's going to affect their crop, just like it has ours.”

Mr Pollock warned that climate factors may be tipping Australia into drier times.

“Rainfall in Australia is really unpredictable, but there's been a trend towards drier conditions in southern Australia over the past few decades, particularly from April to October, which are the cooler months.”

“There's been a noticeable drop in rainfall in the area and this is linked to a shift in the atmospheric pressure and changes in the big weather patterns - more high-pressure systems, fewer low-pressure systems, and a decrease in the number of rain-making low-pressure systems and cold fronts.”

“Since 1910, Australia on average has warmed up by 1.51 degrees Celsius, with most of this warming happening since 1950.”

“Every decade since the 1950s has been warmer than the one that came before it.”

The state government unveiled an $18 million drought relief package in November.

Helping measures include $2 million to cover charities' freight costs when they transport donated feed, $1 million for extra health and wellbeing support through the rural financial counselling service and $5 million in grants for drought-proofing farm infrastructure and a $100,000 fund for communities to run events that build connections and support.

Mr Houston said the package might not be enough to meet the task.

“Fair dinkum, I reckon that won't go far enough, considering the circumstances and the fact it's so widespread right across the state, as far as it is,” he said.

About 80 per cent of Mr Solly's customers are residential, but he also delivers water to caravan parks, cafes, shops and farmers.

He said he couldn't cope with the demand and he was now fully booked out for three weeks ahead.

“Just the sheer number of calls I’m dealing with,” he said.

I'm sorting through around 20 voice messages I haven't checked today.

“When it reaches that point, when people are going without water for days, it plays on your mind.”

I've been doing this for 18 years now and we've always been able to get to you within 24 hours, but this year we just can't.

“It’s getting to the stage where it’s almost too hard to handle.”