Wounded rivers, thirsty land: getting water management right

Abstract

Fresh water is a very scarce resource, and it is also a finite resource. The quantity of freshwater available for human use is critical and, unfortunately, freshwater is frequently not available to humans in sufficient quantity in the right place at the right time, especially in arid and semi-arid countries like Australia. This means that some parts of Australia have an extremely unpredictable supply of surface fresh water, and humans demand predictability. We take it for granted that clean water will always pour abundantly from our taps, we expect to be able to water our lawns and gardens on a regular basis, and seldom question the role of water in keeping our cities and industries running. Agricultural systems are also dependent upon a regular and predictable supply of fresh water. In Australia about 70% of water use goes to agriculture, compared to 21% for urban and industrial supply and 9% for rural supply (Australia SOE 1996). Again, we take it for granted that there will be a predictable, although seasonal, supply of fresh vegetables and fruit in the supermarket.