Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
collated and analysed data on towns in the area from national census records
to estimate how sensitive the community would be to changes in water use
businesses (largely irrigation farms) arising from changes in water availability.
Two types of indices were prepared and plotted as shown in Figure 5.11.
The first index combined census information on age, education and
occupation, unemployment, income, family and housing, to give an overall
indicator of the communities' ability to adapt to change in any kind of locally
employing business. The second index combined data on the number of water
use businesses and numbers of occupied dwellings within each area to give an
indication of the dependence of the area on water use businesses. Plotting the
two indices together gives an overall indication of sensitivity to change.
The information on community sensitivity to water availability can be
coupled with data on periods of future shortfalls in supply to give qualitative
information on which areas can benefit (or be impacted) most by changes to
management arrangements.
Non-consumptive benefits
As discussed earlier, there are a wide range of benefits that can be derived
from water resources that do not require water to be extracted from the
resource. These include economic benefits such as hydro-electricity gener-
ation and tourism, through to social and cultural benefits such as recreation,
social relations and cohesion, amenity and cultural heritage and identity.
Figure 5.11
Community sensitivity to water availability index, Burnett River, Queensland,
Australia
(Source: Hausler and Fenton 2000: 69; © Department of Natural Resources and Mines,
Queensland, Australia. Used with permission.)
