According to the Prime Minister, a contingency planning report released on Thursday 19th April on water shortages in the Murray-Darling Basin reveals an unprecedented situation in relation to irrigation allocations unless significant rain falls in the next month.
The report states that: “Unless there are very substantial inflows prior to mid-May 2007 there will be insufficient water available to allow any allocation at the commencement of the 2007- 2008 water year for irrigation, the environment or any purposes other than critical urban supplies.”
Below, water scientists respond to this latest update. Feel free to use these quotes in your stories. If you wish to speak to an expert, contact the AusSMC on 08 8207 7415 or email us.
David Mitchell is Adjunct Professor, School of Environmental Sciences, Charles Sturt University
John Argue is Adjunct Professor of Water Engineering at the Urban Water Resources Centre, University of South Australia.
Wayne Meyer is Professor of Natural Resource Science at the University of Adelaide.
Peter Schwerdtfeger is Emeritus Professor of Meteorology at Flinders University, SA
Kathleen Bowmer is Professor of Water Policy at Charles Sturt University and runs her own water consultancy
Shahbaz Khan is Professor of Water Hydrology at Charles Sturt University (CSU)
Any further quotes will be added here when they are received.
David Mitchell is Adjunct Professor, School of Environmental Sciences, Charles Sturt University in Albury.
“The statement is short on detail but stark in its reality! It recognises at last that the situation we currently face with respect to water supplies in the Murray-Darling Basin is urgent and immediate. This country has always had to plan for an uncertain rainfall, but, from long experience, has planned with optimism. Water managers have finally seen, in this year, the need to project future water supplies more realistically and right now that means with cautious pessimism to ensure survival.
Water is an essential component of all life, as we know it. We now face the need to make hard choices with regard to the allocation of our dwindling stocks of water. The first choice has to be supplying urban areas, where most Australians live, but survival of urban communities also require adequate food supplies, all of which require water for their production. The statement rightly identifies horticulture as a priority sector. The major component of horticulture, for example, would require five to seven years to restore productivity of the industry following any widespread death of permanent plantings. The country’s future also depends on sustainable rural productivity and rural communities must be allocated water resources to ensure this.”
David has also suggested some points that decision makers might consider for the future of the Murray Darling Basin.
John Argue is Adjunct Professor of Water Engineering at the Urban Water Resources Centre, University of South Australia.
“All indications are that the extreme period of drought which the lower half of Australia is experiencing at present is an unusual event lJanuary 9, 2008ven “once in 500-years”. The impact of such extreme events and the Prime Minister’s response to them is undoubtedly devastating for all those whose livelihoods depend on water for irrigation within the Murray-Darling Basin. The threatened shut down of “all (irrigation) allocations” however, does not distinguish between those who operate highly efficient systems and those whose practices are known to be water-wasteful.
Those who have been frustrated by the lack of political will over past decades to take the hard decisions must be heartened by the political process which has taken place in recent months. The issues which lie at the heart of the problem – in particular over allocation of river water and loss of water through unlined irrigation feeder channels – have been recognised and ways to solve them identified, including allocation of the necessary funding. There is real hope that the necessary overhaul of the Basin’s irrigation culture when completed in the medium to long term, will yield benefits, not only for the efficient farmers who remain and the river-dependent urban communities, but also for the Murray and Darling rivers themselves.”
Wayne Meyer is Professor of Natural Resource Science at the University of Adelaide.
“This has realised our worst fears about the availability of water but the PM had no choice. We’re in an unprecedented situation of limited supply.
One interesting thing that’s emerged with this announcement is the priority listing that we’ve always known about is now quite explicit. Urban demand takes priority and flows allocated to the environment are at the bottom of the list.
The impact on irrigators will be huge. Annual cropping is already down to less than 30% this year compared to previous years and the concern now is that with no winter rains the perennial crops like stone fruits and vines will struggle to survive. $6 billion worth of production is at risk but the flow on for dependent services is three to five times that.”
Peter Schwerdtfeger is Emeritus Professor of Meteorology at Flinders University, SA
“The Prime Minister’s shock announcement has caught the nation with its pants down in blazing sunlight. Apart from the looming long term disaster to Australia’s irrigation based industries, every one of the mainland’s state capitals, not counting Darwin, is thirsting, and although urban use is much less than that of primary industries, there is no future for a continent simply content to abandon its rural realm and retire all activities to five or six cities.
It is the insidious system of water allocations that lies at the root of most irrigation problems. While some inappropriate allocation agreements should definitely be terminated, that would be an unpleasant task which politicians have largely brought upon themselves. Equally important is the task of helping responsible producers reduce their call upon water. Not a moment should be lost in encapsulating into pipes, the otherwise ludicrous loss of water meandering in open channels across vast areas of the countryside.”
Kathleen Bowmer is Professor of Water Policy at Charles Sturt University and runs her own water consultancy
“We are in a crisis situation however, we need to be thinking now about what happens when the water starts to flow again. We do need to build resources again by filling the dams however we also have to be careful not to snap up the first flush of water down the tributaries. This water has all the little seeds and organisms and they should be protected for the environment.
Secondly we should be looking at all water uses carefully including to industry and power and accelerate projects to use waste water for coal mines and power stations. Also let us not forget that there is more capacity in dams that lie below the outlet valves. It would be expensive to pump this water up however, that should be weighed up against the cost of not irrigating horticultural crops.”
Shahbaz Khan is Professor of Water Hydrology at Charles Sturt University (CSU)
“Australia has the lowest annual average rainfall and lowest runoff per unit area of any inhabited continent. Prime Minister’s recent statement that ‘there will be insufficient water available to allow any allocation at the commencement of the 2007- 2008 water year for irrigation, the environment or any purposes other than critical urban supplies‘ reflects global climate change threats to the viability of irrigated agriculture, food production and associated industries in Australia. Under the present water laws and reforms, long term water security is not guaranteed since these reforms do not account for threats to water quantity and quality due to Australia’s extreme climate variability and climate change. More than anywhere else in the world – Australia needs a national framework linking short and long term climate forecasts to manage water resources vigilantly and smartly.
Provision of secure water supplies for necessary environmental flows, long term farming investments and for people and livestock is essential. People living in urban and regional Australia can also increase the efficiency of their water use, including the re-use of water. We need to reduce urban water consumption, especially as Australia’s population is due to increase to up to 28 million by 2050. We should use current ‘waste water’ – such as storm water and laundry and kitchen water – to reduce fresh water consumption.
Surface and underground water is a single resource and needs to be managed as such. Groundwater aquifers can provide vitally needed water during droughts. One option is to store surplus surface water during high water flows in ‘subsurface reservoirs’, such as unfilled aquifers, for re-use in years of low water flows, or even to recharge major rivers.
Farm management has a significant role to play for managing water scarcity and environmental needs. Farmers can better manage peak demand in summer by spreading the cropping season, reducing summer crops such as rice and maize and increasing winter crops such as wheat and canola. They could also construct off-stream and groundwater storages for re-using water later in the irrigation season.”