Balancing Consumptive and Environmental Water Use –An Australian Perspective - Water and Agriculture: Sustainability, Markets and Policies - page 173

Chapter 13.
Balancing Consumptive and Environmental Water Use -
An Australian Perspective

Christine Schweizer and Judy Lai 1

Australia is the driest permanently inhabited continent. With annual rainfall of less than
600 millimetres across 80 per cent of the land and drought a regular feature of the
Australian climate, the development of water resources in regional Australia has made a
significant contribution to national wealth, underpinning the development of primary
industries as well as cities and towns. Settlement and economic growth has relied upon
large-scale damming, diversion, pumping and drainage of surface waters, reclamation
and loss of wetlands and extraction of groundwater for irrigation, stock, domestic and
industrial use. Many of Australia's waters and water-dependent ecosystems have suffered
degradation, including declining water quality, habitat loss, salinisation and loss of
biodiversity. Balancing the needs of the environment — including the flows required to
maintain and restore healthy rivers — with water allocation for consumptive users, is a
major task facing Australian governments and communities. This paper reflects on the
co-operative, intergovernmental responses in Australia to increase the efficiency of water
use and improve the sustainability and productivity of the agricultural sector, while
promoting the health of river and groundwater systems. Case studies, including from the
Murray-Darling Basin and Great Barrier Reef catchment, illustrate approaches taken by
Australian policymakers for policy setting and programme delivery to achieve these
multiple objectives.

1. Water — A key driver to achieving national growth in the sunburnt country

The Australian continent of 7.6 million square kilometres is the driest permanently
inhabited continent, facing extreme irregularity in water availability. Its rainfall level is
low and volatile. The average rainfall is only 469 millimetres per year (DAFF, 2004),
with 80 per cent of the land receiving less than 600 millimetres. Rain, when it does fall, is
unreliable compared to Europe and North America — recurring droughts are a regular
feature of the Australian climate. Extremely high evaporation rates compound the water
problem Australia faces with low and irregular rainfall — only 12 per cent of rainfall is
collected in rivers, compared with a world average of 65 per cent (DAFF, 2004).

1.

Land, Water and Coasts Division, Department of the Environment and Heritage, Australian
Government, Canberra.