water management

Editor: Justin Healey
ISBN 978 1 920801 98 4
Year 2009

Price: $20.95

  

Water Management
Volume 288, Issues in Society

Water is a precious and increasingly scarce resource, particularly in drought-stricken Australia. How we manage our rivers systems and water usage has enormous impacts on our economy, environment and way of life. The federal Government has recently clinched agreement with the states to hand control of the Murray-Darling Basin to a single independent body, but has argued that without rain authorities are powerless to save the stricken river system. What is the current state of Australia’s water resources and how can we achieve sustainability? This book focuses on water management and quality; recently announced national water reforms, featuring the Murray-Darling; and domestic, agricultural and business water conservation measures.

Chapter 1  Australia’s Water Resources
Some water facts, Australia’s water resources, Droughts to be more severe and occur more often in the future, All about Australia’s drinking water, Water in Australia – how healthy are our rivers and estuaries?, Australia’s water resources – impacts of climate change, Water in Australia – rivers and estuaries, Australia’s salinity problem, Salinity – impacts, A nation’s liquidity at stake.

Chapter 2  Water Reform and the Murray-Darling
Water for the future, Murray-Darling Basin, Murray-Darling Basin, 2004-05, COAG shies away from Murray action, Ailing Murray-Darling system ‘now critical’, A plan for the Murray from concerned scientists, Buy back water to let the river run.

Chapter 3  Water Conservation
Water conservation and management, Water saving tips, Rainwater tanks and stormwater – fact sheet, Recycling water for drinking, Desalination.

Glossary; Fast Facts; Web Links; Index



fast facts
FAST FACTS from this volume
  • More than 97% of all water is in the oceans. This means that less than 3% of water is found on land. Most of this is locked up in glaciers and icecaps, while some is found in saline inland seas.
  • When it comes to the world’s freshwater, most people think of rivers and lakes. Yet this accounts for a minuscule 0.26% of the Earth’s total freshwater, and there is there is much more water in the ground than there is stored on the surface. Most of the water we see flowing in rivers comes from the seepage of groundwater into riverbeds.
  • Average annual rainfall in Australia varies substantially across the continent. Large areas of Australia have an average annual rainfall of 600-1,500 millimetres (mm), an amount comparable to most of Europe and North America. However, half the continent has an average annual rainfall below 300mm. Another key feature of Australia’s rainfall is not the amount but the variability from year-to-year and season-to-season. Many parts of Australia experienced below average rainfall in 2004-05, with drought conditions existing in some areas.
  • There was a progressive decline in the water storage level of large dams across much of Australia during the period from July 2001 to June 2005.
  • Almost two-thirds of the total amount of water extracted from the environment in 2004-05 was used by producers in the Agriculture industry (65%) and 11% by operators in the Water supply industry (which includes sewerage and drainage services); households share of total water consumption was also 11%.
  • The three highest water-using regions in 2004-05 were the Murrumbidgee Water Management Area (WMA) (in New South Wales), the Broken, Goulburn and Campaspe WMA and the Murray River WMA (both in Victoria). In 2004-05 the top 20 WMAs accounted for 70% of total water consumption; the top 30 WMAs consumed 81%.
  • According to a recent Bureau of Meteorology/CSIRO report, under a high scenario, droughts could occur twice as often, cover twice the area and be more severe in key agricultural production areas; and temperatures currently defined as ‘exceptional’ are likely to occur, on average, once in every two years in many key agricultural production areas within the next 20 to 30 years.
  • As of June 2008, there were 74 drought-declared areas across Australia receiving Exceptional Circumstances drought support. South Australia and the southern Murray- Darling Basin region are among the worst-affected regions in Australia.
  • “Drinking water” – sometimes called potable water – is water that has been treated so that it is safe for humans to drink and use for other domestic purposes, such as cooking, washing up, bathing and showering.
  • Over the past two centuries, the health of our river systems and estuaries has gradually declined due to a range of influences, including salinity, sedimentation through soil degradation, loss of biodiversity, altered flow regimes, toxic algal blooms and declining nutrients and water quality.
  • Australia has begun to tackle the issue of providing water for the environment and the trade-offs between water for production and water for environmental flows. Whilst Australia is introducing pioneering water reforms and is a world leader in the use of resource economics for natural resource management, much more knowledge is needed.
  • Both rainfall deficits and droughts are projected to become more extreme due to climate change. Climate models suggest that drought could be as much as 20% more common by 2030 over much of Australia and up to 80% more common in south-western Australia by 2070. The economic impact of these climatic conditions is significant. The cost to the Australian economy from the 2002-2003 drought was estimated as $6.6 billion.
  • Climate change is likely to increase the stress on rivers already under pressure from salinity, over-allocation and declining water quality. Higher water temperatures and reduced stream flows will tend to adversely affect water quality – water temperature, oxygenation, nutrient and pollution loads, salinity and other water chemistry – affecting habitat values for aquatic and riparian species and affecting human uses. Drought conditions are likely to exacerbate erosion and downstream sedimentation. Higher sediment loads enter rivers following extreme rainfall events or extreme bushfire events, both of which are projected to increase with climate change. Changed climatic conditions are also likely to produce conditions that favour riparian and aquatic weeds and algal blooms.
  • The impact of dryland salinity as a resource management issue is greatly increased by its off-site effects, its social and economic consequences and – most importantly – the often high level of inputs required and the long timeframes for management to be effective. Dryland salinity is more pervasive than other degradation issues but is also closely linked to them (e.g. causing soil erosion, eutrophication of streams and loss of riparian zone vegetation). Dryland salinity is difficult to manage because of the lasting nature of its effects on soil and water resources, and on the stability of ecosystems.
  • Drought and climate change have forced Australians to realise we cannot take our water for granted. We have traditionally relied on dams for our water supply. But dam-building in this country has all but ceased. There are more of us now (21,097,100 as of March 2008) and rain isn’t falling the way it used to. With the decrease in rainfall, flows into dams have declined much more markedly.
  • The Murray-Darling Basin is very important for rural com-munities and Australia’s economy. Three million Australians inside and outside the Murray-Darling Basin are directly dependent on its water. About 85% of all irrigation in Australia takes place in the Murray-Darling Basin, which supports an agricultural industry worth more than $9 billion per annum. The long-term productivity and sustainability of the Murray-Darling Basin is, however, under threat from over-allocated water resources, salinity and climate change.
  • Water reform in Australia is complex because states and territories largely have the responsibility for water and catchment management, but each one has different approaches to defining environmental needs and accept-able levels of water quality. This is further complicated when a river crosses state boundaries, such as in the Murray-Darling Basin which includes New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory.