Australia has 5.6 per cent of the world’s land mass, but less than 1 per cent of its run-off. Most of that flows into the rivers of northern Australia and Tasmania. Just 6 per cent flows into the Murray-Darling system, which supplies two-thirds of the water for Australia’s irrigation farmers.
We all know there is a water crisis. It has been dramatised by the drought – arguably the worst in 100 years – but the crisis came first. Governments, especially in New South Wales, have given irrigators more water than the system can stand, shrinking river flows, bringing salt to the surface of land and water, and starving native fish of the chance to breed.
The mouth of the Murray River has been closed for two years. Scientists predict that by 2020, Adelaide’s drinking water will be below World Health Organisation safety levels two days out of five. And now irrigators are being cut off because there is virtually no water in the dams.
Download “From waste-d-water to pure water ” by Jenifer Simpson [pdf 37MB]
Restoring environmental flows, rightly, is now part of a wider agenda of reforms. It includes large-scale interstate and intrastate trading of water rights; giving farmers greater security, if for smaller water allocations; and massive investment to convert irrigation channels to pipelines, so water no longer evaporates into the air or leaches away.
Climate change is significantly affecting the security of existing water supplies in Southeast Queensland. This situation is set to worsen over the next 25 years with a projected reduction in average rainfall of 15% and an unsustainable increase in demand. This is placing significant pressure on Governments for new water supply infrastructure.
Existing water supply infrastructure, such as dams and weirs, have caused the permanent degradation of rivers and waterways in Southeast Queensland. The over extraction of surface and groundwater, coupled with poor catchment management, has altered environmental flows and led to poor instream water quality. This has much wider impacts on ecosystem services and receiving environments such as Moreton Bay.
The current emphasis is to avoid more costly dams and therefore avoiding the same aforementioned mistakes that led to river degradations. New technologies and retrofitting will be necessary to avoid the shortage that now exists.
Demand management and reduced water consumption should be the highest priority to offset the need for additional water supply infrastructure.
Rainwater harvesting is the priority alternative water supply option for potable use in SEQ. However, water harvesting must contribute to overall riverine health and not impact on environmental flow requirements in rivers and waterways.
Water recycling has the potential to provide supply for a range of uses. However, there is a requirement for the immediate implementation of the proposed state-based regulations for the operation and management of recycled water infrastructure. The Queensland Water Recycling Guidelines provide an adequate risk management framework and water quality standards.
There is an urgent need to improve the general public knowledge of water issues and importantly supply options for Southeast Queensland. Current consultation needs to be significantly improved to develop constructive and well informed community feedback on urban water issues.