Water Crisis Leaves Farmers Dry

Water Crisis Leaves Farmers Dry

   
April 2007 -   Record low water 
inflows to the Murray-Darling Basin this year mean that water 
will not be available for irrigation, the environment or any 
purpose other than critical drinking water supplies, Prime 
Minister John Howard and the premiers of three Australian 
states said today. 
The prime minister called the drought "unprecedented" and said 
that "based on the need to provide a critical minimum supply 
of water to urban communities within the Basin, there is 
unlikely to be any water available for irrigation purposes" at 
the start of the upcoming water year on July 1, unless 
significant rain falls in the next month. 
"If there are no allocations possible, it will have a 
potentially devastating impact on horticultural crops like 
grapes and stone fruits and other primary industries that rely 
on irrigation such as the dairy industry," Howard said. 
Dry lands and dead trees in the South Australia portion of the 
Murray-Darling Basin 
The dire warning from Howard and the premiers of New South 
Wales, Victoria and South Australia is based on a report by 
water experts from the Murray-Darline Basin Commission made 
public Thursday that projects severe impacts of the drought on 
agricultural industries. 
The Murray-Darling Basin, which covers the catchments of the 
Murray and Darling rivers, occupies an area of over one 
million square kilometres in southeastern Australia. 
About three-quarters of the total area of irrigated crops and 
pastures in Australia is in the Murray-Darling Basin and 
around 70 percent of all water used for agriculture in 
Australia is used by irrigation in the basin. 
It is home to over two million people and another million 
outside the basin rely upon its water resources. Residents of 
the Australian capital city of Canberra obtain their drinking 
water from the Basin. 
The city of Adelaide gets its drinking water from the 
Murray-Darling. In most years, Adelaide draws more than 40 
percent of its water from the Murray. During droughts this 
dependence increases to more than 90 percent. 
In addition, many small communities of under 1,000 people 
scattered throughout the basin, many small towns, several 
larger towns and a few small urban centers rely upon water 
from the Murray-Darling river system. 
The basin is inhabited by at least 35 endangered species of 
birds and 16 endangered mammals. 
Announcing the report, Commission Chief Executive Dr. Wendy 
Craik tried to strike a positive note, saying, "We've had 
improved rainfall over the southern Murray-Darling Basin with 
falls near average over January to March 2007 quarter." 
Dr. Wendy Craik heads the Murray-Darling Basin Commission. But,
 she said, "Realistically, it is likely to take multiple 
years of well above average rainfall before storages return to 
long term average levels." 
Dr. Craik confirmed that water availability for 2007 and 2008 
is projected to be "extremely low," particularly early in the 
next irrigation season. 
Victoria Premier Steve Bracks said today that previous reports 
from the commission have warned of a prolonged drought. "I 
don't think it will come as any surprise to the irrigators in 
Victoria, who have had that notice for some time. I can't say 
what that notice was in other states. Certainly in our state, 
it will be of no surprise. Probably a surprise for the rest of 
the nation," he told ABC Radio. 
Concerned about the basin's crops and livestock, the National 
Farmers' Federation held urgent talks with the Australian 
Government today. 
"Farmers recognize that when water levels are so low, the 
paramount consideration must be securing water supply for 
basic human needs," said federation president David Crombie. 
"However, the prime minister yesterday also seemed to be 
ruling out allocations for other essential water use, to keep 
permanent tree plantings and livestock alive." 
"When you consider the Murray-Darling Basin constitutes 40 
percent of the total value of Australian agricultural 
production, with some 50,000 farmers dependent on the system, 
we're talking about a national economic crisis we have not 
seen before in this country," said Crombie. 
The irrigation of rice is a major user of water in the 
Murray-Darling Basin 
"Annually, agriculture drives and generates A$103 billion in 
production for the nation underpinning 12 percent of GDP, $30 
billion in exports, and supports 1.6 million Australian jobs 
across our cities and regions," Crombie said. "We are also 
responsible for most of the food on Australian supermarket 
shelves." 
"With the Murray-Darling Basin such a huge contributor, if the 
farm sector – particularly the perennial and livestock growers 
– is allowed to just wither and die, we're looking at billions 
of dollars wiped off the national accounts. There is also the 
potential impact on employment and, for the first time, 
Australia may have to turn to imports to feed its people," he 
warned. 
If the livestock herds, trees and vines die, Crombie said, 
"the economic impact will take up to 10 years before we can 
hope to recover." 
The commission said the cutoff of water to irrigators as of 
July 1, will mean that most of the basin residents will have 
drinking water. But, the commission said that for some smaller 
towns, where access is interrupted and where water quality 
issues arise, special measures, possibly including trucking 
potable water, may be required. 
In their statement, the prime minister and premiers said the 
headwater catchments of the River Murray have received the 
lowest rainfall on record from January 2006 to February 2007. 
Due to the "critical" situation, they warned that contigency 
planning would continue through to mid-2008. 
In addition, they said, the current water sharing system under 
the Murray-Darling Basin Agreement will be have to be modified 
"as a matter of urgency." 
It is proposed that the quantities of water currently in 
storage and estimated to be available in 2007-08 based on the 
minimum inflow scenario, be first allocated for critical human 
water consumption needs. This will enable core critical demand 
to be met most effectively. 
This drought, which in many parts of the basin dates back to 
1997, is at least as serious as the major prolonged droughts 
1895-1903 and 1938-1945, the commission report states. 
The year of 2006 has been as dry if not drier than the 
previous extreme drought years of 1902, 1914, 1938, 1940, 
1944, 1967, 1982 and 2002 across much of the Basin. 
In the Murray Valley, the commission said, inflows have been 
less than 60 percent of the previous minimum. 

---


More Aging Earth Headlines >> 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10 - 11 - 12 - 13 - 14 - 15 - 16 - 17 - 18 - 19 - 20 - 21 - 22 - 23 - 24 - 25 - 26 - 27 - Aging Earth Home

AGING EARTH HOME

---

© 2009; Aging Earth .com
Powered by WorldsLargestNetwork.com