A dusty red soil farm with a corrugated iron windmill pumping in the middle of it is a classic image of Australian folklore. But what the windmill is pumping — groundwater — remains a tumultuous issue in Australia water management; particularly in light of the new draft Murray Darling Basin Plan.
The use of groundwater is “a major determiner in Australia’s future when it comes to water”, according to Professor Craig Simmons, director of the National Centre for Groundwater Research and Training. Simmons is one of several world groundwater experts meeting in Sydney for a three day conference this week.
Groundwater is exactly what it says it is, water that lays under the ground and can usually only be accessed by pumping. But this isn’t any old water, it’s water in underground storage facilities that have filled up over thousands of years. These days it makes up about 20% of the world’s drinking water and 30% of Australia’s total water use.
Groundwater was raised as a key problem with the latest Murray-Darling Basin Plan guide in a 25-page report released by the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists last week, where they noted the issue of groundwater over-allocation and the lack of research conducted on what impact increased groundwater extraction will have in the basin.
Crikey
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