Freshwater scarcity is a critical challenge, with social, economic, political and environmental consequences. Water crises in Australia have already led to severe restrictions being applied in cities, drought ravaging farmlands, and the near-terminal decline of some rivers and wetlands.
A Water Storyprovides an account of Australian water management practices, set against important historical precedents and the contemporary experience of other countries. It describes the nature and distribution of the country's natural water resources, management of these resources by Indigenous Australians, the development of urban water supply, and support for pastoral activities and agricultural irrigation, with the aid of case studies and anecdotes. This is followed by discussion of the environmental consequences and current challenges of water management, including food supply, energy and climate change, along with options for ensuring sustainable, adequate high-quality water supplies for a growing population.
A Water Storyis an important resource for water professionals and those with an interest in water and the environment and related issues, as well as students and the wider community.
Author(s): Geoff Beeson
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Year: 2020
Language: English
Pages: 304
City: Clayton South
Cover
Title
Copyright
Contents
Foreword
Acknowledgments
Challenges and opportunities
1 Water and the earliest civilisations
Ancient Australia
Water management in ancient worlds: irrigation, canals, cities
Qanats
The earliest aqueducts
The Romans
2 Water use across the Roman Empire
A new water supply for Nemausus (Nimes)
Wells and cisterns: the basic water source
Further developments in urban water management
Building aqueducts
North African variations
Decline of the Roman Empire
3 Some basics about Earth’s water
The water cycle
Evaporation and evapotranspiration
Salinity
El Niño and La Niña
Coping with a paucity of fresh water
4 Water supplies for the First Fleet colonists
The situation the First Fleeters left behind
Water issues for the new arrivals
Efforts to become self-sustaining
The colony grows
Pollution of the Tank Stream
A new source of water
5 The search for water inland
Oxley: the Lachlan and the Macquarie
Sturt, the Darling, and dreams of an inland sea
Mitchell: seeking the elusive ‘Kindur’
The situation at mid-century
Rainfall patterns in Australia
6 Aboriginal Australia
Colonisation
Living as part of the country
Managing water resources
Changes to the country after 1788
7 The Great Artesian Basin
Artesian bores
Wasting GAB water
8 Groundwater: more than the GAB
Groundwater worldwide
Consequences of over-extraction
Groundwater in Australia
Some examples of groundwater use
Threats to groundwater resources
9 Kati Thanda–Lake Eyre and its basin
The Lake Eyre Basin
Effects of floods on Kati Thanda–Lake Eyre
Management of the Lake Eyre Basin
Northern rivers beyond the Lake Eyre Basin
10 The golden pipeline
A new gold rush in Western Australia
Shortage of fresh water
Attempts to overcome the water shortage
The Goldfields Water Supply Scheme
Development of the scheme since 1903
11 Adding water to the land: irrigation
Sources of irrigation water
The beginnings of irrigation in Australia
The Murray River
Major river works
North of the Murray River
The Ord and Burdekin rivers
Methods of irrigation
Negative consequences of irrigation
Modernising irrigation systems
12 Dams and reservoirs: storing water
The beginning of the age of dams
What dams are
Dams in Australia
The world context
Adverse effects
Dams for hydroelectricity
Lakes: natural water storages
Colour plates
13 The Murray–Darling Basin
The Murray–Darling Basin as a geographical entity
Working rivers
The Darling River
Some special places in the Murray–Darling Basin
The lower Murray River
A controlled and managed system
14 Saving the Murray–Darling Basin?
The Murray–Darling Basin Authority
The Basin Plan
Implementing the Basin Plan
The situation five years after acceptance of the Basin Plan
15 Water for cities, towns and farms
The capital cities
Water sources for regional and remote cities and towns
Water for farms
16 Living with scarcity
Looming shortages
New sources of water
Desalination
Recycling wastewater
Managed aquifer recharge
Stormwater harvesting
Water sensitive urban design
Rainwater tanks
Water trading
17 Facing the future
Rainfall diversity across Australia
Ongoing issues: ways forward
Addressing the future: opportunities for action
Where to from here?
Glossary
Appendix I: Case Study: South Australia’s long-term water plan
Endnotes
Index
