CONFLICTS

1. CONFLICTS “there is not enough water in the system to do everything we want”

2. Key knowledge and skills • Conflict over water use • Importance of water as a resource • Factors affecting the patterns of water use

3. Enough for everyone?

4. Water in the basin can be classified as: • Scarce • Finite • ……. It is also a versatile resource, required to meet the needs of: • Economic • Domestic • Environmental • Recreational • Cultural • Aesthetics For those within and beyond the basin

5. Maintaining a healthy river environment • Wetlands • Floodplains • Wildlife • Vegetation

6. Providing reliable water supplies • Irrigation • Domestic needs • Industry • Mining • Recreation • HEP

7. Reduce impacts of flooding & ensure water is available during dry periods • Regulated • Storage • Dams • weirs

8. Conflict since 1851 • When the Murray became the border between NSW and Victoria • Exacerbated between 2002 – 2010 during the drought

9. How might conflicts arise? • Differing views and needs • One state vs another • Cities vs Rural • Environmental managers vs irrigators • Small farms vs big farms • Downstream vs up stream

10. Environmental flows • Concerns that if more water is returned to the river, less will be available for agriculture. • This will lead to loss of Jobs • Millions of dollars in economic growth • Decline of small towns

11. Users needs • Irrigators need to know how much water will be available so that they can plant their crops. • Tourist industry needs to know that there will be enough water to attract visitors • Environmentalists want “water for the river” • Residents in towns want enough water for every day use

12. Needs not always compatible • Irrigators and domestic users want to extract water from the river • while tourist operators, fishers and environmental managers want to keep it for the river

13. location • Depending on where a person is located may affect their perception of water use • SA is located at the end of the basin, and is the most dependent state

14. Factors contributing to conflicts over water use • Large number of stakeholders with varying needs • Water is unevenly distributed • Dams, weirs and channels provide irrigation water to regions were agriculture would otherwise not be possible • Between 1996 and 2006, the number of farm dams in the basin increased by 37% • The amount of water stored in them increased by 48% • Estimated to have reduced the flow by 450 GL

15. Factors contributing to conflict • Attitudes have changed regarding conservation and the need to supply environmental flows to the rivers • Australia’s growing population • River flows through 4 states and 1 territory • A number of LGA’s • Government organisations and NGO’s involved in allocating and managing water resources

16. Water has been over allocated in some regions • ½ the basins surface water management areas have been developed beyond 100% of sustainable water yield • Another third have exceeded 70% of sustainable yield

17. The cap • Limits the amount of water that can be extracted from the river

18. Regulated flows • Before development of the basin, the river mouth experienced drought like flows 5 years in every 100 • With water being extracted at 1994 levels these low flows were being experienced 61 years in 100 • If extractions were to continue at a similar rate, it is estimated this figure would rise to 74 years

19. Water extractions • From the basins rivers have continued to increase