Bill GreenWATER WARS ABOUT TO BEGIN
August 24th 2008 03:03
The water wars between the states are about to begin. So far the need for water has been totally underestimated by city people but they will feel the lack of it when water is rationed. This may be as early as the approaching summer.
Queensland farmers have stolen 1.6 million megalitres this year. This is the highest level of theft since reporting under the Murray Darling Water audit began in 1994-95. The Murray-Darling basin states signed a cap on such activity (water diversions) in 1995. The previous biggest theft was 910,000 megalitres in 2003-4.
How has it happened? Simple. There is no monitoring process built into the reporting system. Governments are so out of touch with water shortages that they didn't conceive that monitoring and water theft would be a problem
For an illustration of exactly how much 1.6 megalitres represents it should be understood that it is the equivalent of the water entitlement held in the Victorian Goulburn Murray Irrigation District. However Victoria has also been accused of water theft (diversion) of a similar amount, which will mean South Australia will be somewhat bereft of water - for saving their lake system and even for drinking. It already has the vilest tasting water in the nation.
Our PM is concerned, and his response to save the South Australian problem, reflects his abysmal understanding of the water problem. He advised last week that he will buy out not only irrigation properties but whole irrigation communities in the Murray darling Basin. It sounds fine but the success of such a scheme depends on rain in considerably larger quantities than has been falling over past years. The grimness of the situation is shown by this one fact: the irrigation season began last week with another zero opening allocation for farmers in the Goulburn and Murray systems.
This lack is caused by the continuing climate change that decison makers imagine will be solved somehow by rain. Rain is not forecast for this spring. If there is not large amounts Melbourne and Adelaid will be without water this summer. This is not news, as it has been reported for the past six months. However what people will do to survive is an other thing altogether. We should recognise that the first water war was between Israel and Syria and was called the six day war. Syria had planned to take the water flowing into Israel.
The bottom line is what would we do for a glass of water? Maybe go to war? Not necessarily officially but irrigation banks have been altered to change the flows of ones neighbors.
Queensland farmers have stolen 1.6 million megalitres this year. This is the highest level of theft since reporting under the Murray Darling Water audit began in 1994-95. The Murray-Darling basin states signed a cap on such activity (water diversions) in 1995. The previous biggest theft was 910,000 megalitres in 2003-4.
How has it happened? Simple. There is no monitoring process built into the reporting system. Governments are so out of touch with water shortages that they didn't conceive that monitoring and water theft would be a problem
For an illustration of exactly how much 1.6 megalitres represents it should be understood that it is the equivalent of the water entitlement held in the Victorian Goulburn Murray Irrigation District. However Victoria has also been accused of water theft (diversion) of a similar amount, which will mean South Australia will be somewhat bereft of water - for saving their lake system and even for drinking. It already has the vilest tasting water in the nation.
Our PM is concerned, and his response to save the South Australian problem, reflects his abysmal understanding of the water problem. He advised last week that he will buy out not only irrigation properties but whole irrigation communities in the Murray darling Basin. It sounds fine but the success of such a scheme depends on rain in considerably larger quantities than has been falling over past years. The grimness of the situation is shown by this one fact: the irrigation season began last week with another zero opening allocation for farmers in the Goulburn and Murray systems.
This lack is caused by the continuing climate change that decison makers imagine will be solved somehow by rain. Rain is not forecast for this spring. If there is not large amounts Melbourne and Adelaid will be without water this summer. This is not news, as it has been reported for the past six months. However what people will do to survive is an other thing altogether. We should recognise that the first water war was between Israel and Syria and was called the six day war. Syria had planned to take the water flowing into Israel.
The bottom line is what would we do for a glass of water? Maybe go to war? Not necessarily officially but irrigation banks have been altered to change the flows of ones neighbors.
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