‘Real struggle’: Map shows silent crisis threatening Australia

Australia faces an uncertain future when it comes to our continent’s most precious resource: water.

That’s the discouraging warning presented Thursday in a draft report from the government’s Productivity Commission, which highlights the immense challenges facing the country as it seeks to reform its national water policy.

Otherwise, a dark future awaits them.

The twin trends of population growth and climate change mean Australia’s parched continent will struggle to meet our future needs as water scarcity becomes an increasingly pressing problem, a major study has found.

In the worst-case scenario imagined in the report, water demand in the city of Melbourne could exceed supply in just seven years.

“In large cities where readily available water supplies are already accessible, continued population growth is likely to create significant pressure on water supplies,” the report said.

“The scenarios developed for Melbourne, for example, include a worst-case scenario where demand would exceed supply by around 2028.”

Signed in 2004 during the Millennium Drought, the National Water Initiative (NWI) was credited with making positive changes in water use by capping the amount of water that could be withdrawn from river and groundwater systems, by improving industry efficiency and allocating water to the environment. . However, the review found that the NWI had “reached its use-by date.”

“If we look at the current NWI, it will really struggle to cope with our future challenges,” Commissioner Jane Doolan said.

Climate change is at the heart of Australia’s looming water problems

The draft report on the NWI, a federal-state reform agreement that has guided water policy for 17 years, urges governments to make climate change a major concern, as severe droughts and flooding is expected to increase.

“Climate projections indicate hotter, drier and more extreme weather conditions, particularly in southern Australia. This will likely result in a significant reduction in water availability across most of the country and an increase in the frequency and severity of droughts and floods across the country,” the report said.

Planning will need to take into account climate and population growth, which risk undermining the amount of water available to the environment, urban populations and farmers.

Ms Doolan said around 11 million more people would live in Australia’s capital cities by 2050.

“The NWI needs to be refocused to provide strong guidance on how to adapt water management to best meet our needs in a changing climate,” she said.

“The droughts and water scarcity we have experienced over the past 20 years are likely a harbinger of things to come. »

The report insists on greater attention to urban water management, stricter economic criteria for projects and an end to special treatment for mining and fossil fuel companies.

Among the recommendations is a call for mining and oil companies to no longer be exempt from the planning requirements faced by farmers and other water users.

The report also calls for indigenous people to have more say in water use to support cultural goals and economic development.

Federal government criticized for ineffective water strategy

The draft report also launches a scathing assessment of governments’ funding decisions regarding dams, spillways, pipelines and other water infrastructure projects.

It reveals seven projects received federal funding without a business case or environmental approval.

Rookwood Weir in Queensland is used as an example of a funding commitment at odds with Infrastructure Australia’s independent project assessments.

The harshest criticism concerns the $484 million Dungowan Dam, near Tamworth, New South Wales, which is funded equally by the federal and state governments.

The dam is estimated to provide an additional six gigalitres of water per year, with a current market value of $11 million.

Direct purchase of the same quantity of water would cost 2% of the dam amount.

Based on the cost of the dam, the additional six gigalitres would be valued at 44 times current market rates for irrigators.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Nationals leader Michael McCormack have made separate funding announcements for the dam over the past 18 months.

The commission warns that maintaining the same approach to financing water infrastructure will represent an unnecessary burden on taxpayers.

with PAA

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